Figueroa 1

Debbie Figueroa

Professor Lawson

February 15, 2017

Ethnography

Word count: 514

VAAS Ethnography

Entering The Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences it was loud and music was playing. Students were out

on their break and enjoying their lunches and listening to music while hanging out with their friends. The

students on stage playing the music were making an announcement about Valentines Day grams. As the

time hit 11:55 students were heading to their next class. As the students were heading up the stairs to their

next classes some were departing into different hallways. Walking up to the third floor into room 330 was

David Chos room. His room had chemistry lab written all over it the room smelled like Lysol and food

from the previous students that were in there for lunch, Mr. Cho greeted his students as they entered his

room. As the students sat down and settled down Mr. Cho got the lesson ready onto the projector, as he

got that ready the students were pulling up their iPads for lesson. The chemistry between the students and

the teacher was so different; the students would talk to Mr. Cho like a friend instead of a teacher. While

the students did their group work together the classroom was loud but the students were actually on task.

Walking around you can hear and see a form of cliques that the student made, whether it was intentional

or not it was interesting to see different backgrounds and cultures come together and work on something.

The room was mostly filled his Latinos and you can hear students speaking in Spanish to each other. The

whole room felt like they were all friends and everyone knew each other. Mr. Cho sat at the front of the

room at his desk and waited for students to come up to him when they needed assistance.

By the last class the new set of students had a different vibe to them. They seemed tired and just didnt

really want to do the work. Mr. Cho knowing this would happen had a different strategy to wake up the

students. He played a chemistry game on the projector and that made the students wake up. Mr. Cho made

them get into groups but they felt small and the students didnt really seem like they really associated with
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each other. The groups felt forced and not like if they were actually friends but just classmates. The

difference between this group and last group was major. The way the students in the other period just

came together and they were all just one group, even though they were separated in groups they all still

spoke to one another, everyone was a friend with everyone. Unlike the last group they were basically

forced to work together but even if they were working together they werent really communicating. Being

in the same room as the first group felt welcoming and everyone wanted to communicate with everyone

but the second group didnt want to communicate and just wanted to be left alone. Students wouldnt

speak up or volunteer.