There are many actions teachers need to take to reduce the gap in the student-teacher relationship. However, teachers are not students' best friends, they do not know everything about their students' lives and difficulties, but friends do. Student interaction is a key variable in determining the best teaching methods. To know/understand how students interact, we need to use the reflective cycle, to observe how students talk, act and respond to each other in their comfort zone, or simply outside the classroom. For example, we need to observe how students interact before school, during lunch breaks, and after school. Observers/teachers rely on the seeing/describing and analyzing phases of the reflective cycle because it helps them focus their efforts on student learning, on how students' lives and experiences influence their learning; this gives teachers a plan to improve their learning (Rodgers, 2002). As a student teacher, I observed students before school, during lunch time, and after school at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, for approximately 2 hours total. I will delve deeper into what I observed in the first part of this article. In the second part I will connect my observation to the articles we read in class. Finally, the third part will focus on my experience as a student teacher. Part I: Before School Observation Roosevelt High was extremely quiet at 7:00 am, 40 minutes before the scheduled start of first period. Several students slowly enter with bags and binders, backpacks and duffel bags. When students first enter the school, they are faced with 2 tables with a bell tower in between. At the two tables closest to the gate, two groups of students, cheerleaders and football players, all dressed in t...... middle of paper....... Also, as I conducted my observation, I tried to blend in with the students because I felt it was the only way to observe them acting naturally. This helped me hear some anecdotes and even language that students don't usually say to teachers. Overall, school observations are important for student teachers as they remind them that they should understand students' thinking and ideologies to teach them without prejudice or offensive ideologies. Works Cited Milner, H. R. (2010). An explanatory framework on diversity and opportunity gaps. Start where you are, but don't stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today's classrooms (pp. 13-44). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Rodgers, C. (2002). Seeing student learning: Teacher change and the role of reflection. HarvardEducational Review, 72(2), pages 230-253.