Happy Endings at my Happy Place :)

Although the last few weeks at the PLC were a little frustrating, my experience as a whole was one that I will never forget. I learned so much there from the teachers and the students. I felt so out of my comfort zone when I first started at the PLC, and learned what it feels like to have confidence in myself. I had to tell myself everyday when I left to keep trying and to believe in myself. Because I started going to the PLC last semester my experience has been over the course of the school year, and I am really glad that it was. I have learned how to explain things in a million different ways, and even when I feel like I am totally clear, the student may be completely in the dark. I learned that you don't have to be serious 100% of the time to get respect from a student. I  learned from the PLC and the books I read this semester, that every student has a story and every student wants love and respect from their teachers/ tutors. I think I was able to give both of those to Tangela, and I think over the course of the year I have been able to impart on her not only strategies to succeed in an academic setting, but in life as well. She taught me to never give up on a student. There were a lot of times I was so frustrated, but I know that the rewards I felt from this experience completely overshadow my frustrations. When I walked in the first day and I was supposed to help Tangela with an essay and her first statement to me was "I know what a paragraph is, but I just don't really know how to put one together" I thought there was no way that little old me could help this student who was so behind, but guess what- I did. I have never felt so proud and can't wait to continue helping other students grow and learn in the future. Tangela taught me a lot about outside circumstances effecting the way a student performs at school. I had a lot of sympathy for Tangela, but I knew that she just needed more encouragement in the school setting, so I provided it. Mr. Piazza taught me by example to stay calm, collected, and that you can have control of a classroom without ever raising your voice in a mean way. I cannot wait to student teach next year, and have a classroom of my own the following year! I plan to use all that I've learned at the PLC in my future classroom. :) I learned so much at my happy place!

Wrap Up/ Some Explanations

Entries: While I have credit for 15 hours at the PLC, I only have 10 entries. One of these was an oversight on my part. Throughout the semester I have been keeping my entries on paper. I was usually running from the PLC to do a million and one other things, so everyday when I got to my car I kept a notebook in there to write things that happened that day and then transferred it to blog form when I had the time. Somehow, I misplaced my February 29th entry. I cannot accurately recall what I did at the PLC from then, but I am sure it has worked along with the other times I was there to form my new thoughts based on my experiences. Sadly, there were FOUR times during the semester that I went to the PLC or talked to Tangela via text before and was not needed. I had to start texting Tangela the night before, to encourage her to go to class and that I really wanted to work with her and help her! This worked for the most part, but when I saw that I could not convince her to come just because I wanted her to come, I went to the PLC and tried to tutor other students. This worked once, and it was great, but because it was near the end of the semester there were students scattered about taking tests, finishing the course early, etc so there wasn't a huge need. I tutored at the PLC first semester on my own, and never ran into this problem, so I think it is just how it goes at the end of the year. The most devastating and upsetting time was this week, when Tangela and I were supposed to have our last meeting. It was supposed to be today, Friday, and I texted her last night to plan what we were going to do and she told me she decided to skip school. I was so upset and told her that I was sad, and now we wouldn't get to say goodbye! Her reply was "sorry". I hate that we ended the year on a negative note, but I won't let me have a negative view of my experience at all! I loved the PLC so much nothing can get me down. :)
Book Club Books and their Relevance: The first book that my group read was Jocks and Burnouts. This book had a lot of aspects that helped me at the PLC. I think many of the students at the PLC could be classified as "burnouts" or people would be quick to classify them as such. I think that I learned in the novel, that there is going to be a division in my classroom, and there will be cliques in the high school that I teach at, and it is a waste of time to pretend like it's not there. The students know it, the teachers know it, and the administrators know it. I have formed the opinion from the book and my experiences at the PLC that students want you to be upfront and honest with them, and not to pretend like all of the students are BFF's, because NEWS FLASH, they aren't. What I plan to do in my classroom is to bring my students together and have as much sharing as possible and connecting novels and other things we read to their own lives. I think having common ground is a great thing between people and could lead to surprising friendships. I would like to have each student work with their friends sometimes and work with different people other days to keep a variety going. I realized that many people who are "burnouts" have an attitude that says "the school doesn't give me anything so why should I give it anything". I would like to make these students feel important in my class and give them encouragement often. The next book we read was Hopeful girls, Troubled boys: Race and Gender Disparity in Urban Education. The thing that impacted me the most, was when the author described an awesome teacher in the classroom she observed whose name was Ms. Gutierrez. She respected the students, and they respected her. The way Ms. Gutierrez was described reminded me of Mr. Piazza. He is such an amazing teacher. He gives all of his students respect, but in the past few weeks I do not think they have been giving him the respect he deserves. I think that because of most of the class being on E2020 the teacher- student relationship suffers. It would be very frustrating and upsetting to be treated as Mr. Piazza has been on numerous occasions. I do not think many students have been "mean" to him, but just refusing to do some assignments or commanding him to do things and not giving him so much as a thank you for his help was even worse. I learned so much by watching him handle these situations. He was patient, caring, and encouraging always. He never raised his voice or spoke rudely to a student, that I heard. The last book we read was White Teachers/ Diverse Classrooms: A Guide to Building Inclusive Schools, Promoting High Expectations, and Eliminating Racism. The part of this book that was most influential to me was a section on the benefits of having a service- learning component to classes at the high school level. It points out the benefits for students, teachers, schools, and communities. I know that it would be hard work to implement, but I plan to try to include this in my classroom when I begin teaching. I think that the students at the PLC could benefit from having this in one of their classes. I think that because they have so many tutors and mentors in and out of their classes all the time, they might like to do it themselves. There is something rewarding about helping others that many people feel, and I think the students at the PLC would enjoy it and get a lot out of helping others instead of always being the ones helped.

Candy encouragement? 4/25

I was determined to have an awesome day today! Before I went to the PLC, I went to the gas station across the street and got a lollipop for Tangela and I! I thought if I started us off on a good note, we would surely have a great day! When I got to Mr. Piazza's class the class was doing Conflict Management again. Today, they were continuing the discussion on the way they react to conflict and the counselor said the way to change behavior is first to recognize it, so they were going to choose an animal that was most like them. The options were a gorilla which was overpowering and aggressive, a turtle which was withdrawing and hiding, etc. The counselor went around the room asking each student, and when she got to Tangela, she said that she wasn't an animal and wasn't going to choose one. The counselor kept her cool and just moved onto the next student. I chose and animal to try and convince Tangela to do the same, but failed. We then got into groups with the other students in the class who identified with our same animal. I worked with a group of 3 students: Boo, Tay, and Derek. We worked well together, and it was nice working with some different students. Tangela seemed almost annoyed/ jealous that I was working and laughing with other students. She once again refused to fill out the small 3 question assignment at the end for the counselor, and when she walked to her seat said to me with attitude, "are you going to come help me, or just sit there and talk to them?" I told her that I was wrapping up with my group and would be over in a minute. When I sat down and gave her the lollipop she softened. THANK HEAVENS. :) We worked on some lessons and did homework assignments. I noticed that some strategies I have given Tangela over the course of the year she has begun implementing on her own while she is answering homework questions. I was very excited to see this. When we were finishing up Tangela told me why she had been in a bad mood at the beginning of class, and it was because she found out that she had failed all of her graduation tests. :( She said she did not want to talk about it, but that she was taking her EOCTs in a week or so and if she passes those they will exempt her from the GHSGT's. I told her that I wouldn't be able to help her much because my final schedule was crazy with papers, tests, and projects, but that I could come Friday and help her with any class, as long as she needed me because I didn't have class. She then proceeded to tell me no because she was skipping school on Friday. I was absolutely shocked. I felt like it was necessary for her to be in school to prepare for her EOCT's and she had also mentioned she was failing math with a 61. I tried to beg her to come on Friday and that I thought it would be a good decision to come to school. She said she was skipping because it was Clarke Central's senior skip day and that she had already cleared it with her mom. I continued trying to change her mind and finally as I was saying bye to her and she finally said okay that she would come!!!! I was ECSTATIC! I told her that I would see her in two days and that would be our time to say our goodbyes, but we would get a lot of work done too! I told her I would text her Thursday and see what time I should come, for what classes, etc. I left my happy place with a happy feeling. :)

New approach... 4/18

Today when I got to the PLC, the class was doing "Conflict Management" with a counselor. The class was trying to identify the ways they react in situations and learned some strategies to confront people that they have problems with in a positive and effective way. The class got to act out some scenarios with partners. The counselor encouraged them to act as though it was a real life situation, and encouraged them to curse if necessary and to be as realistic as possible. I thought it was interesting that she let them act in negative ways, and did not get them in trouble. She was trying to have them act it out, recognize that some of their actions were unnecessary, and gave them alternative ways to act. I thought the class did a good job, and most students participated. Sadly, at the end when the counselor asked them to fill out a sheet with 3 simple questions reflecting on the activity, Tangela said, "no that's stupid and I'm not doin' it!" She then shoved the paper back towards the counselor (sadly, I do not know this woman's name). It was just a little rude, because the assignment was short and the counselor was very nicely trying to convince her to do it, but instead Tangela just walked back to her seat. I walked over and she told me that she didn't want to do her "stupid econ" today. I asked her why not and she said because she was about to have to listen to an entire "boring lesson". So I told her that if she listened to the lesson (which is only about 10 mins in length) that I would listen to it after her and help her to paraphrase and make some notes. She seemed very excited and we began working. The rest of our day was pretty uneventful. We finished the notes and a short quiz after too!

Senioritis? 4/11

Today, there was something different at the PLC. I walked into Mr. Piazza's classroom and the room was buzzing. People were singing, there were two male students wandering around the room, and almost everyone was talking. Mr. Piazza greeted me with a smile (as always) and told me that Tangela was very excited that I was going to be able to tutor her today. Tangela and I said our hello's and talked briefly about our weekends before continuing her E2020 work. She had just finished watching the videos for the lesson and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw she had a page front and back of notes!! I was so excited and told her that her notes looked great! She ended up doing really well on her homework and got a 100% on the quiz! She was having a great day academically, but the way she was acting was like nothing I had ever seen. I need to take a moment to fully describe the relationships between Mr. Piazza and the students in the class. First of all, he always has a smile on his face. He is positive, funny, and up- beat. He always gives the students words of encouragement. He is very helpful and patient. Literally, I would say that he is the model teacher. He is always prepared and gives the students candy rewards sometimes! I honestly can't think of one bad thing to say about Mr. Piazza. Additionally, Mrs. Mimi, who is a part of the administration and deals specifically with tutors and the students. When I have seen her interact with the students she is always very friendly. She is informative and loving. When I see her walk down the hallway, almost every student says, "Hey Mrs. Mimi!!!" That being said, the way the students acted towards Mr. Piazza today was an utter disgrace. They were all yelling his name constantly, and ordering him to do this and that for them. I did not hear one person say thank you. He was constantly telling them to please keep the volume down so that we could have a good study environment. The final part of the day was the worst. The student sitting next to Tangela, Keisha, yelled Mr. Piazza's name really loud and he walked over and whispered to her to please be patient because he could not concentrate while helping other students. She immediately started mocking him. Thank goodness there were only 5 minutes left in class, because Keisha and Tangela started saying how they were over the class, over the school, over Mr. Piazza, that he was annoying, etc. It absolutely broke me heart! </3 I told them to be quiet because he would hear them and be upset, but they said they did not care. I told them that I thought he was awesome and they were lucky to have him! I also reminded him that he is always kind and helpful. They just kept telling me no, and that he was annoying. Then I tried to change the subject, but they kept going. Finally, class ended and Mr. Piazza walked up and calmly asked the two of them to stay after class. He did not lose his cool, and his positive attitude did not change. He really taught me a lot today about patience. Mr. Piazza is a great role model for me, and I hope the students do not act this way again. Sadly, most of them are graduating in the next month, and I think they have a bad case of senioritis. That, however, is no excuse for the disrespect they showed Mr. Piazza today. Today was a sad day at my happy place :(

Observation day :) 4/4

Today I did a lot of watching! It was a nice change to actually sit back and watch for the day! I got to the PLC and the class was having "conflict management" class. A lady had come to the class with her materials.  I walked in after they had started, but Mr. Piazza pulled up a chair for me to sit in. It appeared she had told the class some strategies to solve conflict in a positive way, and had handed them scenes on a piece of paper to act out. The different groups were pretty involved. They were enthusiastic for the most part, but they were embarrassed at first. They encouraged the students to be realistic and said they could cuss if necessary. So they did. haha :) I really enjoyed watching the class participate and get to move around and do some group work. After this, Tangela told me that she was invited to participate in this study that UGA students were doing and Mr. Piazza said that it would be good if I went and checked out what it was they were doing. I am so glad that I did! The UGA students were great with the PLC students and were very friendly. They explained that they were marketing students and that they were going to try and improve the brand of the school. They started off with a fun game where they threw around a soccer ball that they had written questions on. When you caught the ball you had to answer the question that your right thumb was on. They answered questions like "What was your favorite song from the 90's" and "What was your first pet?" I thought it was a nice ice breaker and the PLC students were laughing and having a good time. It was refreshing to see some UGA students who aren't in the field of education, but still notice how interesting the PLC is and want to volunteer there. I had a great day observing at my happy place. :)

New student, new attitude! 3/21

Today, I went to the PLC and Tangela wanted me to come into her math class because she was doing a review session and packet for a test. When I went into the class, the teacher seemed to be frustrated and one student was sleeping on the table. It did not look like anyone was paying attention. Sadly, Tangela called my name and interrupted her teacher when I walked in. After sitting in the class with her for about 10 minutes, Mr. Piazza came in and asked if I would like to help a student who needed help writing an essay. I was very excited, because I haven't gotten to tutor English at all this semester! I walked in and Mr. Piazza introduced her as Kayla. I could tell right away that she had a good attitude and was ready to work. She told me that her essay was about technology and if it has helped the world. Then I read the prompt and we started pre-writing. She said that she liked to make outlines in the beginning to get her ideas together and I almost jumped for joy! How exciting that she has been taught how to make an outline, and even when it is not required, she likes to make one to organize her thoughts! We started making the draft and she would throw out some ideas to see what I thought and I would help her with a few ideas as well. After we finished the outline then we moved onto a rough draft. She said that she wanted help with the introduction, because it was hard for her to get started. I could relate to this a lot, because I often feel the same way. It has gotten much easier with practice, but I can see how that would be one of the toughest parts of an essay, and it was exciting for me to try and help her start. We started with me giving her a few examples of how I start off an essay. She liked the idea of using a quote (the quote that was mentioned in her writing prompt) and then giving her own interpretation of the quote. She then started to write a few more sentences and had me help her with the wording. She would say her idea and we would word together to choose words that sounded well and flowed nicely. We finished the rough draft and moved onto the final draft. We read through the entire essay in our head and then aloud. We changed a few sentences and corrected any mistakes. I thought the essay was very good and she got an 84% on it. I have a problem with how E2020 (the online school program they use) grades papers. Mr. Sigmund explained to me earlier this year that when the students submit their papers the computer compares them online with other papers on the same topics and forms a grade based on how they add up to those. I personally thought her paper was more of a high B or low A. She seemed fine with the grade and the class ended right after that. The thing that was so different with Kayla than with my usual student is that she had so much more energy! She seemed very motivated and was bursting with ideas! She was laughing and talking to me like we had been working together for a while. It was just so different from any of the other times I've worked with a student for the first time. It's days like today that confirm to me why I want to teach :) what a great day at my happy place!