The second classroom I observed was departmentalized Math/Science. This was an amazing opportunity to see other students working on the same things our class works on, but on a different, much tighter, schedule. This is where the management aspect is so important, because these students would not be able to cover topics necessary to meet standards in such a short amount of time if their teacher didn't have an amazing management system in place.
The third classroom I observed was another departmentalized Literacy classroom. This one was by far the most amazing to see. My beliefs of management are very much aligned with those of Linda Albert. This classroom was to the extreme left of that. Everything was very structured and very strict, and I was hesitant to believe in the success of it, but after watching for a short block, I could see that it was very much successful in this classroom. The students were on task, they followed the rules, the teacher could very easily get them to transition or change behaviors, and it just worked.
This week rotating around the fifth grade world allowed me to see many things. It made me realize that it is ok for me to be critical of other styles or management systems, but that I should keep an open mind and acknowledge that sometimes they do work really well. I was so blessed to be able to see so much in a week and I am forever influenced from what I saw. I took notes in each classroom about things that worked and didn't work, things that I liked and didn't like, and I will be able to take these things with me in my teaching career.