Sunday, February 25, 2007
Pep Rally
When I arrived at my school, I went to the 'tutoring' classroom, and on the white board was a message about their schedule for the day. The kids were having their Winter Homecoming game that night, so the pep rally was during their 7th hour (one of the hours that I was at the school). The hour before was impossible to find the kids I was assigned to tutor. For the first hour I was on a hunt for my students, just trying to find them in the school. After 30 minutes I realized that by the time I found one of them, there wasn't going to be any time to tutor. So I went back to the room and started my own homework.
Once their 7th hour bell rang, the pep rally was to follow. The band marched down every hallway and played their fight song, my old one. I decided to go to the pep rally, because I went to the school, so I knew the traditions and some of the people that still attend the school. Sitting in the bleachers of the fieldhouse was really old. I half expected to turn around and find my old school mates, but instead I just saw kids that I didn't really know. The format was the same, announcing all of the sports teams and recognizing the senoirs on the teams. Then watching the cheerleaders, drama club, poms, hot steppers, and more. It's funny to see how much I had forgotten about how high school was, and how the students acted at school events. The school had so much spirit. I hope to work in a school like that, where the students cheer for their peers, and support each other.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
All Them Parties
This past week was my first actual tutoring session. I never got to speak to my students teacher, except for the 15 second phone conversation. He didn't even know he was in a tutoring program. He came to our room without even a pencil, let alone a book. I asked him why he didn't bring a book, and he simply responded that he didn't even know why he was called out of class.
We went down to his locker and got his books and he stopped to talk to a few people in the halls, that were most likely skipping class considering they were asking about where the security guards were. He grabbed the book that he had the most homework in.
Once in the room, I asked him why he was put into this program. He said he hadn't been doing very good in his classes, and when I asked why he just said "I dunno." I told him to just do the homework on his own, because he said he knew what he was doing, and then told him if he had any questions just to ask. After about 30 minutes he said he was done and I went over the answers and they were all right. I asked him why he had done so poorly in his classes and he said that he just didn't ever feel like doing his homework.
One really funny part of the session was when I asked him if he wanted to go to college and where. He responded "State, so I can go to all them parties." I wasn't quite sure what to say in response to that. However, I couldn't help but laugh.
During my second hour there, I was to have a girl to tutor. I called but there was no answer to the phone, so I went to the class. The teacher said she wasn't in class that day and the students started talking about how she never goes to class.
We went down to his locker and got his books and he stopped to talk to a few people in the halls, that were most likely skipping class considering they were asking about where the security guards were. He grabbed the book that he had the most homework in.
Once in the room, I asked him why he was put into this program. He said he hadn't been doing very good in his classes, and when I asked why he just said "I dunno." I told him to just do the homework on his own, because he said he knew what he was doing, and then told him if he had any questions just to ask. After about 30 minutes he said he was done and I went over the answers and they were all right. I asked him why he had done so poorly in his classes and he said that he just didn't ever feel like doing his homework.
One really funny part of the session was when I asked him if he wanted to go to college and where. He responded "State, so I can go to all them parties." I wasn't quite sure what to say in response to that. However, I couldn't help but laugh.
During my second hour there, I was to have a girl to tutor. I called but there was no answer to the phone, so I went to the class. The teacher said she wasn't in class that day and the students started talking about how she never goes to class.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Still Waiting...
So I haven't been to my school yet because we weren't supposed to start going until this upcoming week. We did, however, have a meeting at the school with the woman in charge of the Service Learning. Being that I went to this high school it was really interesting on how the counselor presented the school to my fellow students. I learned a few facts about the school that I had never noticed in high school, for example about 10% of the school is placed in the special education rooms.
The meeting was scheduled right before their school day ended. I forgot how many people would stand around the school, in the halls, outside, in the parking lot, anywhere, about 15 minutes before the last bell. After the last bell rang, I remember walking through the crowded halls and having someone run into you, and have them yell some rude comment about how it was your fault. There were so many bizzare and random events that happened between students that it's just funny today.
I sat in the office for a few minutes talking to the secretaries about how I was doing and what I had been up to when a girl came into the office asking to use the phone. (The secretaries always allow the students to call for rides or call their parents.) The girl had called a family member, it sounded like her sister, and started a conversation about where they were going after school. She continued the conversation for about 10 minutes. After the secretaries continuously asked her to get off, she responded by rolling her eyes and smacking her lips. This is something that happened very often when I went there. In a way it was funny to see the traditional actions of the students and how they treated the authorities. That's about when I realized that these kids were going to be treating me the same way. To them I am an authority figure. When I meet my kids for the first time, I want to make sure to explain to them, that I went to their school, and I expect to be treated with more respect than what I've seen in the past. I guess I'll see what happens.
The meeting was scheduled right before their school day ended. I forgot how many people would stand around the school, in the halls, outside, in the parking lot, anywhere, about 15 minutes before the last bell. After the last bell rang, I remember walking through the crowded halls and having someone run into you, and have them yell some rude comment about how it was your fault. There were so many bizzare and random events that happened between students that it's just funny today.
I sat in the office for a few minutes talking to the secretaries about how I was doing and what I had been up to when a girl came into the office asking to use the phone. (The secretaries always allow the students to call for rides or call their parents.) The girl had called a family member, it sounded like her sister, and started a conversation about where they were going after school. She continued the conversation for about 10 minutes. After the secretaries continuously asked her to get off, she responded by rolling her eyes and smacking her lips. This is something that happened very often when I went there. In a way it was funny to see the traditional actions of the students and how they treated the authorities. That's about when I realized that these kids were going to be treating me the same way. To them I am an authority figure. When I meet my kids for the first time, I want to make sure to explain to them, that I went to their school, and I expect to be treated with more respect than what I've seen in the past. I guess I'll see what happens.
TE 250, Welcome!
Hey, this is Suzie. I'm a sophomore and an Education major. I'm really excited to start at my school. I met with the director at the school and I must say that that meeting was very informational. It was mostly about the type of students I'll soon be dealing with. I hope to see lots of comments posted about my entries. Good luck at your schools.
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