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.
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