John was not in school today so I worked with a girl named Christy for the first part of my tutoring session. Christy was a little quiet and shy but very nice. She was a little distracted because her father was in the hospital. We worked on some quizes and activities dealing with Microsoft office. It did not give Christy a tutorial on Office but expected her to know complicated names for things and different functions of the program. I was not able to help her much because I don't know much about Microsoft Office. I was able to help her by insisting that she think each question through. She had an especially hard time with true/false questions. She would read the question through once and choose the wrong answer but as soon as I asked her to reread it she understood the answer and the statement.
Christy left early to visit her father in the hospital. At this point the number of tutors in the classroom outnumbered the number of students so I went across the hall to Mr. Dana's classroom. There I worked with a girl named Alex. I asked my opening question which is "what do you want to do after you graduate?" Alex is the only person that has had an answer to this question so far. Alexa wants to go to school to become a psychologist though she worries about having to get her doctorial degree. I was immediately able to connect with Alex because my fiance is a psychology major. We discussed it and I talked to her about the possibility of being a psychologist with merely a masters degree which is the path that my fiance is considering. From this point we began the lessons. Alex did not like the E2020 program at all. She complained that they gave the same lessons over and over again and that the teacher was very annoying. All of her complaints were legitimate. Information is repeated and the teacher is extremely distracting because of the way in which he presents himself.
Alex asked me about my college experience and my hopes for the future. She is nervous about going to college because she has a short attention span and gets distracted very easily (her words, not mine). She gave me the example of the way in which she cleans. She doesn't clean or do dishes unless she just can't stand the mess and then she just can't stop cleaning until it's done. I told her that I am the same way and that if she can find the same drive that she gets for cleaning she won't stop until she's succeeded in college also. We're all a little reluctant and nervous about our future paths. I wonder if I'll be a good teacher or if teaching is right for me but at some point you have to move past the doubts and just work towards your goals until you have achieved them. I hope that I will be able to see Alex again. I made a real connection with her and I hope that my words have helped her in some way.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Mood: Frustrated
I felt more confident coming into the Classic City High School for the second time. John was here again which was wonderful. He was also more open with me during this session. Because I was feeling more confident, I became more involved with his activities. He tends to try to take the easy way out of assignments. Instead of trying to understand what the question is asking, he just guesses what the answer is. This makes it very difficult for me to not just give him the answer because as soon as I mention a specific answer he selects it and then asks me if it is correct. How can I respond to that? I respond by reading through each answer in relation to the question.
The test that John completed today was the longest that he had ever completed. It took even longer because I was rereading the answers in an attempt to not give him the answers to the questions. John got very frustrated and began to give up. Luckily the test ended shortly after he began to give up and we were able to move on to different lessons.
There were many mistakes and typos within the lessons. If what they're being taught is incorrect, what hope do they have of getting questions right. I think that these mistakes are also frustrating to the students. It also undermines the authority of the lessons.
At the end of the day Jon and I got through the frustration of the many lessons and assignments of the day. Hopefully our relationship will only grow from here.
The test that John completed today was the longest that he had ever completed. It took even longer because I was rereading the answers in an attempt to not give him the answers to the questions. John got very frustrated and began to give up. Luckily the test ended shortly after he began to give up and we were able to move on to different lessons.
There were many mistakes and typos within the lessons. If what they're being taught is incorrect, what hope do they have of getting questions right. I think that these mistakes are also frustrating to the students. It also undermines the authority of the lessons.
At the end of the day Jon and I got through the frustration of the many lessons and assignments of the day. Hopefully our relationship will only grow from here.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
First Impressions
Going to Classic City High School for the first time was very intimidating. Entering the school, I was already flustered and nervous because my bus had been late. I was greeted by Mimi Middendorf who took me on a quick tour along with my classmate Erin. The school is very welcoming and I felt much more at home. The student that I was assigned to work with is named John. I had been thinking for weeks of how I would connect to the student and here was my big moment. The computer program made it almost impossible for me to make a connection with John. He has to stare at the screen and put in his earphones. I felt that if I interrupted to ask about his future then I would be impeding his education.
For the first lesson, I merely watched as John listened to his lesson. I tried to read a little so that I would have some context to help with the quiz afterward. When I came to the quiz, however, John did not know any of the answers. He had not listened to the lesson much at all which was a little frustrating for me. I did not understand why he would have just ignored the lesson. I soon discovered why when I listened to the second lesson. The teaching video of the program addressed students as if they were much younger than they actually were. The lessons only gave one opinion about literary works and presented that opinion as fact. The lesson that I listened to dealt with both the voice and the purpose of the author. They used William Carlos Williams' "This is Just to Say" to show examples of the voice and purpose of the work. I had read this poem in my English 2340 class last semester and we had also discussed the author's voice and purpose so I thought that I would be very familiar with the views of the lesson. To my surprise the video began to present a voice and purpose of the poem completely opposite from those that I and many of my classmates had come up with. I have always believed that there are multiple ways of reading literary works so I was not surprised to find that they had a different opinion from mine. What I was surprised to find was that they were presenting their opinion as the only viable opinion. To them the voice and purpose of the poem were obvious and absolute. This lesson just took away the opportunity to instill the value of individual thought and reasoning skills that are so vital to life and schooling in particular. I now understood why John did not take the lessons seriously. These lessons treated him like a small child and gave him the supposedly definitive answers to all of the questions that were asked of him. Why should he try if he is going to be talked down to and if his opinions be dismissed in favor of the "obviously" correct ones.
After this dismal lesson I was able to help John with another testing activity. In this test I felt more confident in requiring him to really search for the correct answer because I was able to read the material that the questions were covering. It was very difficult to find the line between helping and just giving John the answer. I wondered if I was being to helpful but I was able to get John through the test with a nine out of ten score.
John had to leave early so I helped with a girl next. I wasn't able to give her much help because she had to leave shortly also but I was able to connect more than I had with John because she was very outgoing and talkative. She is from California and went to a performing arts high school there. Her school was not accredited though and she lost all of her credits when she came to Georgia. She was also co-captain of the team to raise money for relay for life. After the period I stayed after for a little while to help come up with fundraising ideas.
I really enjoyed working at Classic City High. I truly felt like I was making a difference which helps me to feel as if I have a purpose here at UGA. Coming from a small high school where academic success is not a common goal it is hard to come to a big school like UGA. I often feel like I'm lost in a sea of academia, void of all personality and importance. I feel as if I'm just floating through school to move onto the next path in my life. I hope that this experience at Classic City High will help me to expand my effect on those around me and that I will start to feel as if I matter again as an individual. I got a taste of that today and I can't wait until next Wednesday.
For the first lesson, I merely watched as John listened to his lesson. I tried to read a little so that I would have some context to help with the quiz afterward. When I came to the quiz, however, John did not know any of the answers. He had not listened to the lesson much at all which was a little frustrating for me. I did not understand why he would have just ignored the lesson. I soon discovered why when I listened to the second lesson. The teaching video of the program addressed students as if they were much younger than they actually were. The lessons only gave one opinion about literary works and presented that opinion as fact. The lesson that I listened to dealt with both the voice and the purpose of the author. They used William Carlos Williams' "This is Just to Say" to show examples of the voice and purpose of the work. I had read this poem in my English 2340 class last semester and we had also discussed the author's voice and purpose so I thought that I would be very familiar with the views of the lesson. To my surprise the video began to present a voice and purpose of the poem completely opposite from those that I and many of my classmates had come up with. I have always believed that there are multiple ways of reading literary works so I was not surprised to find that they had a different opinion from mine. What I was surprised to find was that they were presenting their opinion as the only viable opinion. To them the voice and purpose of the poem were obvious and absolute. This lesson just took away the opportunity to instill the value of individual thought and reasoning skills that are so vital to life and schooling in particular. I now understood why John did not take the lessons seriously. These lessons treated him like a small child and gave him the supposedly definitive answers to all of the questions that were asked of him. Why should he try if he is going to be talked down to and if his opinions be dismissed in favor of the "obviously" correct ones.
After this dismal lesson I was able to help John with another testing activity. In this test I felt more confident in requiring him to really search for the correct answer because I was able to read the material that the questions were covering. It was very difficult to find the line between helping and just giving John the answer. I wondered if I was being to helpful but I was able to get John through the test with a nine out of ten score.
John had to leave early so I helped with a girl next. I wasn't able to give her much help because she had to leave shortly also but I was able to connect more than I had with John because she was very outgoing and talkative. She is from California and went to a performing arts high school there. Her school was not accredited though and she lost all of her credits when she came to Georgia. She was also co-captain of the team to raise money for relay for life. After the period I stayed after for a little while to help come up with fundraising ideas.
I really enjoyed working at Classic City High. I truly felt like I was making a difference which helps me to feel as if I have a purpose here at UGA. Coming from a small high school where academic success is not a common goal it is hard to come to a big school like UGA. I often feel like I'm lost in a sea of academia, void of all personality and importance. I feel as if I'm just floating through school to move onto the next path in my life. I hope that this experience at Classic City High will help me to expand my effect on those around me and that I will start to feel as if I matter again as an individual. I got a taste of that today and I can't wait until next Wednesday.
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