Service Blog #5

The week before this blog my service project was cancelled due to a mass that had been scheduled during our class time, and I was disappointed as a result. In the previous blog I had noted that I had started to make advances in student relations. I had gotten to know some of the students in my class, and they started to know me. In essence we were just getting comfortable being in the same class room together, then we had a week off and some of that relation vanished. It seems to me that I am once again starting from scratch to get to know the students, and the students to try to remember who I was. The students seem to have forgotten much of the details that we have taught them so far. It will be interesting to see how the class progresses from here, and to see if we can overcome 

Service Blog #4

Before service this week, as we did in the prior week, my group met to gather a lesson plan to teach the students in my project the next day. Like last week, the plan was extremely successful. What impacted me more than the lesson this week though the demeanor of the children. As part of our lesson we spilt the students into four groups, with different tasks. This was the first week we had done this and it amazed me how different the students were without their teacher directly above them. Each of us took a group and work with them, as a result I learned a lot of about the students on a personal level, something that I would have never gotten to do in the big classroom environment. I hope that my group enjoyed the group time as much as I and the students did. 

Service Blog #3

Before my service project this week, I organized the rest of my group so we could sit down and talk about our lesson for the next week. In the week prior we had very little organization, and I believed it showed. I wanted to be prepared for this week and surprisingly so did the rest of my group. We met the day prior to the service day and talked about the chapter that we were to be teaching the next day. We had a very good discussion and led to a greater understanding of the material as a whole. The difference that preparedness made was extraordinary. The students became more involved in the material from the lone fact that we were. Another thing that I observed was a change in the teacher’s demeanor. She is now past the stage of trying to impress “outsiders,” and is showing her actual classroom demeanor, which involves yelling at the kids often.   

Blog 6

The chapter in the book pertains to school culture. The assignment for class was to bring in a prop that symbolized my school culture. The prop that I brought is a sign that says, "Those Who Stay Will be Champions."  The slogan originated from The University of Michigan and was brought to Perry High School by a former football coach who played at Michigan, Bob Ritley. While the slogan first only applied to the sports fields, the idea soon spread to the rest of the school. What the slogan meant to the school, at least from my perspective is simple. That if you continue to work hard and do the right things to accomplish your goal, then something good will happen to you. It does not necessarily mean that you will achieve all your goals but if your keep working to the best of your honest ability than you will succeed, one way or another. I think that was a great thing to tell students. They might not be doing the best in all their classes or athletic fields, or in the broad sense of every day life, but if they continue to work hard they will be rewarded.

Service Blog #2

This week of my service was much more useful both for myself and for the students of my class. We arrived on time this week and had the full hour and a half to instruct the students of the class. The full hour and a half was something that I thought was a good thing, and it was, well not completely. We had about a full hour of valuable class time and about 30 minutes of dead time. This is the first time that I have taught this lesson, while my fellow JCU mates have taught the book for at least a year, so I don't place all the blame on myself. I think we understand as a group have a lot to work on. I'm looking forward to next week.