#1 - Describe an example of a positive culture that you have experienced as a student or as a member of a school. What were the aspects of the culture that made positive impacts on students and staff?

#2 - Conversely, describe an example of a toxic/negative culture that you have either experienced as a student or witnessed as a school member. What were the aspects of the culture that made negative impacts on students and staff?

#2 - In school, we had a permanent substitute for the year - she really didn't seem to care about the students unless they were male athletes and that is who she gave 90% of her attention to. She socialized with these students on social media, including Snapchat. We really didn't learn anything in the class and felt very unsupported throughout the year.

#2- I think respect is a big negative culture most students have to face when it comes to teachers. I have had multiple encounters with teachers who just do not care what is going on in your personal life that may be affecting you, like getting angry at you for lack of sleep or grades dropping. I also think some believe that students are just there to listen to everything they say and are not allowed an outlet to express their opinions on the way some things are taught. I am a hands-on learner and, like most of my friends, I was not happy with my grades because the one teacher I had last semester just talked throughout the entire semester. I was frustrated and angry and so was everyone else in the classroom. And, when addressed to the teacher, she still did not try and engage with us in another way. My friends had Fs and Ds when they usually are on the honor roll or have straight As. So, respect is one thing I think is a negative culture that should be talked about more and taught to teachers.

#2 During my senior year of High School my teacher who was teaching us about education made the classroom negative. She made it clear from day one that she prioritized the Library over teaching the students. A lot of my classmates who originally wanted to become teachers changed their minds because of this teacher. We even went to the principal together to tell them what was going on. We told her that Although we believe that our teacher is a good person we don't believe that she should be teaching this class because it isn't her priority. She is a librarian and that comes first, as future teachers there should be a teacher who pays attention to the students and makes sure that they can help guide them when they need help, not be with them for 20 minutes and take off.

2#- At WKU, I had a professor who made the course incredibly challenging for everyone, especially one autistic student in our class. Her syllabus stated that getting an A was nearly impossible and that she wouldn't reteach any missed classes or give missed notes. She had a long list of strict rules, including a ban on recording or taking pictures of the lessons. On the first day, she went over these rules, and a boy sitting next to me, who was on the spectrum (autistic), asked if he could record the lessons because it was how he learned effectively. She told him no. Despite trying his best to follow her rules, he struggled. He even brought a doctor’s note for her, explaining his needs, but she still did not make any accommodations. The class was required for his major, and he barely managed to pass, thanks to the help of other students. This experience highlighted a lack of empathy and flexibility from the professor, creating a stressful and unsupportive environment that made learning much harder than it needed to be and a non-productive environment.

#2- In middle school, I had a teacher that provided a very negative culture to her students. Not only did she yell, scream, and throw things at students, but she told many that they would never amount to anything. Many times this teacher threatened to throw materials at students for asking "too many" questions or not having access to complete online homework at home. Many students were scared of this teacher. This teacher created an unhealthy learning environment where students were scared to expand their knowledge or even ask for help. It was also often that this teacher would talk badly about students to the other teachers in the hallway where students in the hallway could hear, as if it were intentional. This behavior made it very hard to learn in the class and left many scaring memories for many students.

#1 - During last semester's teaching clinical, I observed a positive cultural environment. I had several diverse students but that did not change the positive culture, it made it more interesting. All of the staff members and students were wonderful. The staff offered an inviting atmosphere and the students were always ready to learn. My mentor teacher was by far one of the best teachers that I have observed. All of the students loved her.

#2 - A negative culture that I have experienced was in one of my high school classes. This teacher was one of those teacher who always picked the jocks and cheerleaders over all the other students. She would allow them to come to her desk and talk, which would interrupt our class time, but she did not care. Our assignments were mostly copying from our textbook and doing presentations. I felt as if I was wasting my time in that class. There were students in this class that wanted to learn, but it always felt like a carnival in that classroom. Let's just say that the teacher is no longer employed at that school.

#2 - Unfortunately, I have been an Instructional Assistant for a school that I feel had a negative culture. One of the things that made this school feel negative was feeling like I did not fit in. There seemed to be cliques in this school, and I felt like there was nowhere that I felt accepted. I would hear staff talking negatively about other staff members or whole grade-level teams. The school did not feel like a family at all. In addition, I felt like my every move was being examined and that I could not meet any expectations. While I do think it is important to set high expectations for staff, I would constantly be pulled into the office and told I was not doing my job correctly. When asked what I could do to improve, I would never get a response from the principals or teachers that I worked with. It was very confusing and stressful for me. I adored the students there, but the staff made me feel very unwelcome and unaccepted. I felt looked down upon and felt like the school as a whole thought they were better than everyone else. I ended up being told not to come back the next year. When I asked why or what I did wrong, I was looked at like I was crazy and told to leave the office. To this day, I am not sure what I did wrong and I am still hurt by the negativity of this school. In addition, the negative culture did show through to the students. There would be plenty of days when our students would come in unhappy and unmotivated to learn. The teacher I worked with would allow them to throw tantrums and not do their work, causing a negative learning environment for others. Some days, I stayed inside during recess to help students with schoolwork while the teacher and other students went outside.

2- For my previous education class, I was fortunate enough to earn some observation hours. So, I completed them at a local elementary school in a 2nd grade class. There was a student who was having a hard time sitting in his spot. The teacher corrected him, and he reacted by not moving or talking. The teacher began talking poorly about him to a teaching assistant. This was done in front of him and other students. Sadly, the other students had no reaction. So, it made me think they were used to it in a way. The teaching assistant also joined in on the conversation.

#2 - Last semester I was observing at a school in my old county that is known for having challenging administration, the admin knew I would be coming to observe their agriculture program. When I arrived at the classroom, I met the teachers and the admin but to my surprise the admin did not leave the classroom after the lesson had begun. The admin staying in the classroom made for a very tense environment for not only me but the teacher and students as well.

2. While I was observing last year I was in a kindergarten class with a teacher that had an interesting way with class management. She would be very strict on the kids. For example, she made one kid sit out of the Halloween party because she kept talking before raising her hand. This created a toxic environment because it caused the kids to be scared to participate. The kids seemed almost terrified to ask questions or take part in activities.

I had a negative experience with the culture at my high school during my junior and senior years. The all-male math department teachers also coached many school sports, particularly girls' track, basketball, and volleyball. Everyone knew that the sports girls would receive an automatic "A" with minimal effort and rarely had to come to class. When they were in class, all they would have to do was flirt a little with one of the teachers, and they would get a pass to get out of class. I was in high school over 36 years ago, so this sort of thing was somewhat commonplace, and I would like to think it would not occur in most of today's schools. This negative culture was allowed to happen and continue, and for those of us who were not sports-minded-minded, this behavior left us disillusioned and frustrated. I still remember it all these years later, unfortunately.