Observation Assignment
Introduction
The observation occurred in an office in Hope Academy senior primary school. This location was chosen because the conversation involved a teacher and a parent. The parent wanted to know whether children should be allowed to use twitter or facebook. The parent had witnessed her child trying to use facebook and twitter and thus she decided to come and enquire from the child’s teacher whether the child should be allowed to use such social sites. The parent and the teacher met in the school office in order to discuss whether the parent’s child could be allowed to use facebook and twitter. Observations for this conversation were guided by the question “Should children be allowed to use Facebook or Twitter?”
Background Information
Time: 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm
Location: Hope Academy staff office
Participants: The participants involved in this observation are the class teacher of class five pupils and a parent of one of the pupils in that class.
Purpose or Function: The participants had met in the office to discuss whether children should be allowed to use facebook and twitter. The parent had witnessed her child in class five in this school getting into facebook and twitter in the computer while at home. This made the parent to come to enquire from the class teacher whether she could allow her child to use facebook and twitter. The purpose of the conversation was to make the teacher and the parent understand the effects of facebook and twitter on children in order to answer the question should children be allowed to use Facebook or Twitter?
Frequency: the participants rarely engage in the observed activity because the parent wanted to know the policy on whether children should be allowed to use facebook and twitter.
Duration: The observation lasted for one hour
Sketch
Symbols
The participants used various communication symbols in the conversation. One of the symbols included verbatim discourse. This symbol was used in word to word conversation between the teacher and the parent.
2.00 pm Parent: “Good afternoon Teacher John?”
2.01 pm Teacher: “Good afternoon Mother James, how are you doing?”
2.03 pm Parent: “Am doing fine. I can here to consult about the policy on social media sites and our children. Should children be allowed to use facebook or twitter?”
2.04 pm Teacher: “what makes you make such an inquiry or is James attempting to use such sites?”
2.05 pm parent: “I am making this inquiry because James is always trying to use facebook and twitter every day after school. He is already registered in those sites and this makes it hard for him to concentrate in other activities after school. In fact I find it hard to convince him to do his homework because he seems so busy in those sites!”
2.10 pm Teacher: (smiling) “Thank you for making such an inquiry. I will explain to you the effects of allowing our children to use facebook and twitter. I will also ensure that the message is passed to other parents in order to ensure that they do not allow their children to use facebook and twitter”
2.15 pm Parent: (Laughing) “I will be so relieved! I have been unable to control James since he started using facebook and twitter. I never knew that those sites have effects on our children”
2. 20 pm Teacher: “Do worry, it is not yet late to control him. This is necessary because facebook and twitter have many effects on our children”
(facebook and twitter are internet social network sites which enable people to communicate with other people at far places. The sites are addictive and thus when people get used to using such sites, they find it hard to stop using them. This shows that we should not allow our children to use the sites because it will interfere with their class performance. In addition, the children may get exposed to pornography and other unnecessary staff which are posted in the social sites. When children are allowed to use facebook and twitter, they will spend most of their time in the sites and neglect their studies. Children should therefore not be allowed to use facebook and twitter)
2. 40 pm Parent: (showing appreciation) “I’m so grateful for that information, my son was getting spoiled by these sites! I will never allow him to get into the sites again.”
3.50 pm {The parent was very worried about the behavior of his son due to his lengthy use of the facebook and twitter. She appreciated the information provided by the teacher on the effects of using facebook and twitter by the children and promised never to allow her child to use facebook and twitter. The teacher also promised to pass the message to the other parents in order to ensure that children are not allowed to use facebbok and twitter}
3.00 pm < The conversation was important for the two participants because it helped each of them to learn new information. The teacher learnt that the parents were not aware of the effects of allowing their children to use social networking sites. The parent on the other hand learnt that social networking sites affect their children and thus children should not be allowed to use facebook and twitter>
Conclusion
In this observation, the symbols used in communication intrigued me to understand the importance of the conversation. It was confusing to see how each of the participants could understand the communication symbols used in the conversation. The observations made in this conversation led me to ask questions concerning the freedom of children to use social sites in the school compound. This observation was a good research method that helps researchers to learn more about the participants.
In another research, I would ensure that the conversation involves more participants. For example, the conversation can have many parents and teachers in order to ensure that they learn from one another. The observation helped in answering the question Should children be allowed to use Facebook or Twitter? The question was well answered and does not need to be changed.
Reference:
Johnny S. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. New York. Penguin publishers
