The Grades Are In!

Today the students received their first nine weeks report card. Since I have been in college, I forgot all about getting report cards and the anxiety that they bring. Oh, the memories...

Per usual, the students came into class playing music, dancing, and just goofing off any way they could. Unfortunately, once those report cards were handed out, the mood instantly soured.

Out of the twenty and something students, only one received a completely A/B report card. What was even more surprising was that many of the students were caught off guard by their grades. They were not expecting them to be so low, and of course, they abruptly started to blame their teachers or the grading system. The poor grades could not possible be the result of low work ethic.

Although most were upset about the letters on their report cards, a few of the students were actually proud of the work. Even though a majority of the student's received at least one C, it was always an improvement from a D or an F. However, I do disagree with one student who was parading around about his D. It may be a step up from his previous F, but really?

One student was visibly upset about her grades, and I was so moved when one of her classmates came to her said to relieve her stress. Luckily for the students, it is only the first report card of the year; there is plenty of time to make up for bad grades. Hopefully they will all stay on top of their work. For many of them, college is just around the corner!

We the People

In my education class today, we had a discussion on the government's role in our nation's education. We particularly focused on the finances, or lack there of, that both the federal and state government's give to school systems.

Coming from a poorly financed school, I understand how frustrating it can be when there are not enough textbooks to go around. Just last year, my school ran out of paper. Yes you heard me right...PAPER. Unfortunately, the school did not have enough money in its budget to factor in the cost of extra paper so we were forced to make due. One consequence was that instead of the teachers printing out the notes, the students were required to copy all notes by hand. Big deal so we had write a little more, right? I'm not complaining that I had to use the precious energy to put pen to paper. Because the teacher had to wait for the students to finish copying down the notes, there was less class time to actually teach the lesson. Topics were barely explained or completely omitted. The little instruction left the students to fend for themselves.

During the lecture, one of my fellow classmates gave a presentation on how the government of North Carolina finances education. About 57% of the total amount of expenditures the state government gives out is used specific for education. This total dropped one percent last year, resulting in the mass layoffs of teachers and huge school budgets cuts. Only one percent caused all that chaos! This just shows that the government and school systems need to work better in spending the financing they receive wisely.

Happy Fall!

Sorry there has not been much spinning through the Teaching Fellow universe this week. Just another consequence of Fall Break I presume. I will be sure to update you soon with the hard-hitting news that I know you look forward to in these posts!

I hope everyone is enjoying the changing of the leaves...they are so beautiful this time of year! Screw studying. Go take a walk and enjoy it while it lasts. Pretty soon we will all be freezing on our way to class...

Happy Halloween...Almost!

This past Saturday I, along with many of my other fellow TFs, took a trip down to Scarowinds in Charlotte. In case you've never heard of it, Scarowinds is the halloween themed version of the amusement park Paramount's Carowinds.

I had lots of fun listening to music and meeting new people on the 3 hour bus ride. We were all so excited when we finally got there! Unfortunately, I did not realize that the creepy actors would follow you throughout the park...or that they would always decide to come after me. Did I have a target on my back or something? Maybe they were just Duke fans.

Despite the freezing cold, rain, and long lines, it was an amazing night. I was dissapointed that I did not get to ride Top Gun...oh sorry "Afterburner," but it was all worth it. I do not know about you, but funnel cakes and great people can fix all of my problems!

Quick piece of advice for all of my fellow asthmatics out there: there will be artificial fog machines there...and lots of them! Next time, I will remember to bring my inhaler...I am sure everything is a lot funner when you are not holding your breath the whole time.

HAPPY FALL BREAK TO ALL OF MY TAR HEELS!!!

"Remember the Ladies..."

Unfortunately today, I felt pretty unproductive at my tutoring session...

The high school had a delayed opening today, and I was a little thrown off because of it. Normally, I tutor in the seventh period AVID class. However, because of the schedule changes made to compensate for the delayed opening, classes only lasted for six periods.

To make matters worse, my host teacher was not in her classroom when she got there. Thankfully, the nice ladies in the office suggested that I look in the Media Center...and voila!

Once I found the class, the teacher told me that during sixth period she teaches an AP United States History class and asked if I could help a student with her project. Her project was on Abigail Adams, and sadly all I know about Mrs. Adams is that her husband's name was John and that she liked to write him A LOT of letters. Unfortunately, that was pretty much all my tutee knew about her as well.

So with a team effort and some help from my little friend called the Internet, we at least looked like we were getting something done. Here's to better luck next time...I hope!

Taste the Rainbow

In today's EDUC 121 class, we had a discussion about one of the most sensitive issues in education...race. As we all know, racism is still prominent in our nation's society, and our school's are certainly not void of it. A key point that we discussed was the misconception that minority students are not capable of learning to the same degree that their white counterparts are. Even though it has been biologically proven that this is completely fabricated and false, it blows my mind that people can still fall victim to this charade.

Being from a small, rural community, the vast majority of students in my school were white. In the four years I was a student there, however, I noticed an influx of minority students into the school. I welcomed the change. I was tired of seeing the same kinds of people walking down the halls, and I thought most people were on borad with me. Personally, I never witnessed any kind of racial discrimination in my time at the school. I chose to surround myself around the people who shared the same outlook as me. However, I'm not ignorant, and I know the racial slurs were out there.

I'm hoping that by the time I become a teacher, the issue will not be as huge a focus in school's as it is today. I know that it is going to take A LOT of time for people to learn and to WANT to accept those that are different than they are, but I have faith that our society will truly see all as equals. Discrimination will always be a battle, but I hope to see the day that it is won.

And Success!

This afternoon was my second time working with the AVID program, and I had an amazing time! I knew things were going to go good when I got on the right bus at the right time (thank you, thank you).

To start things off, I was able to help a student with his United States History homework. That was my absolute favorite class in high school, and I'm sure that it's safe to say I told him more than he cared to hear. "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"

During class, my host teacher told the students about the importance of applying for scholarships. They weren't too happy to hear that she would be requiring them to apply for ones in class, however. I can tell them first hand just how much it pays off to work hard on those applications!

Because my host speaker doesn't speak the language, I offered to help another student with his Spanish homework. In all honesty, he didn't really need my help. I soon realized that he just needs to be reassured that his answers are right. Hopefully, he will soon gain confidence in his performance as a student.

I was also excited that I had the opportunity to help the same student that I did last week with another essay. This time it was for an application for admittance to the National Honors Society. The idea of applying for NHS was, in itself, news to me. At my high school, admittance was solely based on GPA. Now that I think of it applications might have been nice...some of my fellow classmates certainly didn't do the work I did to get in!

All in all, I had such a fun day...and I cant' wait to do it again next week! I think I might have scared some of the students off from UNC, though. 300 kids in a morning Government lecture wouldn't sound appealing to too many people, would it? Oops...

Come and Get Your BBQ

NO EDUC 121 CLASS TODAY!!! Is it sad that I'm so happy? Don't worry, it's only because I had an extra 2 hours of free time...I swear!

Today, the First-Year UNC Teaching Fellows had their second cohort meeting of the year. The cohort just consists of every TF in your year, and our cohort has a meeting the first Tuesday of every month. During these meetings, we mostly just talk about important and upcoming dates.

However, today a junior TF visited our meeting to talk about a program he started that helps the children of Native American communities in the area. Through the program, TFs work to host workshops in which Native American students can come for tutoring or additional information in different subjects. Because I have a Native American heritage, I am really excited to help out such a great cause.

Another important issue on hand at the meeting was the annual Parents BBQ. Every year, the first-years host a BBQ for their parents to see what all we've been up to in Teaching Fellows so far. We all signed up for duties at the event, such as preparing and acting in a skit about our experiences thus far. I hope we get organized soon...the BBQ's only a month away! Better clean up for the 'rents!

Deja Vu

After waiting over an hour for the bus, I successfully made it to tutoring at Carrboro High today (I'll never understand the bus system)! I started the AVID program, and I have to say that I really love it. It was nice to have one on one time with another student, and the atmosphere was really laid back.

While at the school, I helped out a senior who was working on her college applications. I can remember being in that same position not even a year ago! So stressful! I enjoyed talking to her about her college goals and giving out some helpful advice while we worked on some of her essays together. Being the same age as her seemed to be to my advantage thankfully.

It was an amazing experience, and I am definitely looking forward to working with other students throughout the semester. Plus my host teacher is awesome! She offered to drive me to the grocery store if I needed it...who does that?