Conclusion

I know I had days where I was easily frustrated with the way things were run in Mr. Maudsley's classroom, but overall I'm thankful I had the experience. I definitely will take a few learned lessons with me into my future classroom. 

First off, I'll keep in mind to try to be patient with all of my students no matter what their situation is. Whether they are struggling or trying their hardest I need to remember that not everybody learns at the same pace and losing my cool is not the correct solution. I never explicitly lost my cool at Classic City but I definitely got worked up and frustrated with students that I wasn't even individually working with. I need to remember that they may have their own issues going on in their life and maybe school is the place where they take it all out. 

I have also learned that as a teacher, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. In other words, I initially judged Emma by the way she dressed and I shouldn't have. I thought that because she wore holey jeans, had orange hair, and multiple piercings that she would not be an easy student to work with. Little did I know, Emma is one of the most respectful and sweet young girls I have ever worked with. Her motivation will get her far in life and it didn't take long for her personality to shine through.

The last and probably most important lessons I learned was that I will not give up on students, whether they are A students or failing students. I witnessed several times where Mr. Maudsley would overlook those chatty students when they were the ones who needed the most help. Although it may be easier to have the problem students play on the computer and chat quietly with their neighbors because it means they won't interrupt your lesson, they are not getting anything in return from you. There were so many instances where I was just as fed up with their behavior as Mr. Maudley's, but I have to remember that these students have a future and without them succeeding in school, they don't have a great chance to fulfill it like I know they want to.

Mr. Maudley is probably one of, if not the, coolest teachers I've ever had the pleasure of working with before. He teaches these students hours upon hours a day, five days a week. I am so impressed by his ability to take each class with a blank slate and as a new start. There were times when I wanted to tell certain students to leave the classroom, but he always handled the situations calmly and in a cool manner. I absolutely loved watching Emma's relationship with him grow and just the love that Mr. Maudsley has for these students truly does inspire me to be the best teacher I can be.

Day 10

I'm not really sure how I feel about today being my last day at Classic City High School. Part of me is relieved because I got so worked up so many times over the students not putting in effort, but the other part of me is a little bummed I won't get to see Emma again before she graduates.
I was happy to see what Mr. Maudsley had planned for today because it gave me a chance to observe other students than just Emma. They were presenting their projects they had been working on the past few days of different invasive species. I was surprised to see how excited many of them were to present which is usually abnormal in other classrooms I've been in. They were asked to research an invasive species and had a checklist of important facts they should include within the Powerpoint and they all seemed to have done a great job. Another thing I noticed as they were presenting was that most of them knew the information and didn't read straight from the slide which is something that many students tend to do.
Watching the presentations was a great end to Classic City and it gave me a sense of hope for the struggling students. It showed me that as long as a student is actively engaged and interested in the topic, they will most likely be successful in that area of study. Although it is impossible for a teacher to cater to every single interest of all the students in his/her class, it's something to keep in mind and think about.
At the end of class, I thanked Emma for allowing me to work with her all semester and wished her luck with graduation and the end of the year finals and assignments she had.
To be honest, I'm not really worried about Emma or where she'll end up. She is motivated, respectful and has such a full heart that I know she will exceed at whatever she decides to do. I just hope she doesn't get burnt out before graduation or let other students' poor progress affect her of her own.

Day 9

Today was a little different than the usual Wednesday. The first half of the class I sat at the table with Emma and listened to Mr. Maudsley lecture. After that, he paired me with one of the struggling students and informed me that she would be working on her definitions. I was expecting to help explain some of the vocabulary words or even look them up on the internet with her to give her a few different ways the word is described. Mr. Maudsley had something different in mind though. He gave me two worksheets with the definition of an atom and ion at the top and numbered one through thirty below that. His instructions were to have her rewrite the definition thirty more times. I was a little shocked at this at first but apparently he's had them do this before because she didn't ask any questions and began writing right away. I wasn't really sure how he wanted me to help her because she was busy copying down the definition over and over again so I just sat there and watched her for the remainder of the class.

I didn't really feel as if I had a productive day and I'm not sure if this student did either. I've listened to multiple lectures from Mr. Maudsley and he always does a great job at explaining concepts so I wasn't sure why he was having her learn the definitions this way. Maybe he tried explaining these words to her before and she just didn't catch on? Whatever the reason, I personally didn't see this as being effective. He claimed it would be because at the end of writing the definition thirty times, she would have the definition ingrained in her head. I was thinking to myself that she can memorize anything he tells her to memorize but she still may not understand fully what she is writing down.  

This got me thinking about the way they run things at Classic City High School. Mr. Maudsley doesn't have the students use the computers unless they are working on an assignment for another class, but I've heard of other tutors who come and literally sit at a computer for the entire class period. Many of them complete practice tests and assignments to prepare themselves for the EOCT but get absolutely nothing out of it because they just put an answer down and receive credit for their work. I know Mr. Maudsley didn't do this but the assignment he had this student was a similar concept. I don't see what she got out of writing down a definition thirty times unless she understood the term, which I'm guessing she didn't based off of the fact that she was the only student working on it. Overall, I'm not trying to bash Mr. Maudsley because I think he's a fantastic teacher. I just don't agree with the assignment he had her complete today and thought it was a little pointless for me to be there today. 

Day 8

Today we did something different than we have ever done before and I really enjoyed it! Mr. Maudsley had the students who needed extra help work in pairs on a worksheet and the students who were doing well in the class so far work on a lab which was interesting to see considering I haven't done a lab like this since high school. I was a little bummed to find that the students weren't as interested or excited about the lab as Mr. Maudsley and me were, but it was still a lot more fun than sitting there and observing like I have done most of the previous classes.
We basically produced a stream of electricity using batteries, a lightbulb, a cord, and lemons. Mr. Maudsley had each of the participating students have a turn and see what they created. It was a bit humorous to see the students' reactions to the experiment because after each of them would take their turn and create electricity, they brushed it off as if it wasn't "that cool" because they didn't want to be the nerdy science geek who thinks science is interesting. I could tell from the way their eyes lit up that they were clearly somewhat fascinated by what they had just created but they didn't want to explicitly show it. On the other hand, Mr. Maudsley was so excited to show them the experiment and I think he was expecting more of a surprised reaction from the students, but he could see through them just like I could.
I've noticed Mr. Maudsley's relationship with Emma grow since my first day at Classic City and I think that is one of the main reasons I respect her so much. She simply respects her teacher for his job and makes a genuine effort to show him she appreciates what he does. After her turn during the lab she said in a nonchalant voice, "This was cool, Mr. Maudsley." For some reason, that just warmed my heart so much. Part of it was because many of the students don't respect him for what he does and ignore him, but the other part was because I realized how much of a genuine person Emma is. I would have never guessed there would be a girl with such a sweet heart in an alternative school, especially one like Classic City.

Day 7

I really enjoyed today, which is very good considering the day I had last week. I guess being in my bad mood last Wednesday, I completely forgot to even ask Emma and Taylor how they did on their test. They both got A's which was fantastic and I was very happy for them! Something that I have noticed is that they don't get overly happy when they receive a good grade. When I praised them both for getting A's, they responded in a way that said, "Thanks, but it's really not that big of a deal." I've heard them say things like, "I feel like a genius in this class," and, "This is such a joke." I started talking with them during the warm up and realized that they notice the poor motivation of their fellow students as well which affects them and their opinion on their own progress. They compare themselves to the other students and believe that just because they receive an A on an assignment or test doesn't necessarily mean they are smart themselves. They think that they are just smarter than the other students who they see not even trying. This made me a little sad because both of these girls are smart beyond belief and I give them so much credit for trying to graduate early. Yes, they may be in a class full of students who fail most of their assignments and don't try at all, but they need to see that their good grades and motivation count for something. I was very surprised with their reaction to their grades that I didn't even know how to respond without bashing the other students. I want them to know how much their effort means to me, as a tutor, and how it really shows their character. I wasn't expecting to come into this and learn to appreciate effort because I've always grown up trying in everything I do. I have to remember that some students aren't as fortunate as me to be surrounded with positive motivation.
For some reason, today brought me to another one of our book club books called The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. The author discusses in the introduction how the traditional family is collapsing and has been for the past few years and I think today has made me notice it drastically. In "the good ole days," the typical traditional family has been considered happy, successful, and consists of a married couple, but to me it has changed so much. I've overheard many students at Classic City talking about their "baby daddy" which is definitely not part of the traditional family. Emma and Taylor both have divorced parents which is also not considered an aspect of the traditional family. Not only in Classic City have I noticed these changes but in my everyday life with the people who surround me. So many people and their families that I know are drifting from the typical traditional family and I think it is affecting students now and their life goals. For example, some students at Classic City may have grown up with single parents and have been forced to work to help provide for their families. This could be one of the main reasons why they are not as motivated to finish school because they just want to get a job and be done with the whole ordeal. I think I need to stop being as harsh when I talk about the struggling students because I honestly don't know what they have been through or what their family life is like. It's just difficult to have sympathy sometimes for them when they continuously don't show any signs of caring or effort.

Day 6

I am beginning to see a routine with Mr. Maudsley's class and to be honest, I really don't see how it is effective for the students who don't seem motivated which is most of the African American students (not to sound racist, that's just how it seems). The class begins with Mr. Maudsley putting the warm up activity on the overhead projector which literally comes straight from their notes from the previous day. All they have to do is flip their notebooks a page or two back and they have the answer, which is what I've seen Emma and Taylor doing the past few weeks. Almost the entire rest of the class, with the exception of two other students, is either chatting, up walking around the classroom, or on the computer listening to music videos. This frustrates me so much because Classic City High School has a waiting list for students who actually want to attend the school and students are getting turned away left and right because there is simply no room for them in the classes. Then, I come as a tutor and see the majority of the class either not even present, or sitting down completely disengaged. I don't know why this works me up so much but in my opinion, these students just need to leave if they are not going to put in the effort. I can see Mr. Maudsley wants to help and is willing to put in the effort but he can only do so much.
Today, I noticed at least four students were absent compared to last week, which is fairly simple to notice considering the class size. I asked Emma where everyone was and she explained that "a lot of students got kicked out last week." This surprised me at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I kind of saw it coming for them. It was weird because I was almost relieved that they were gone. I know this may sound horrible because I am a future teacher and should want to help these unmotivated students but after a while, it's just draining. Mr. Maudsley told me at the end of the class, "To be honest, it's for the best. They were distracting and it was making my job difficult." This is exactly how I reacted to the situation but it felt comforting to know that he felt the same way as I did.
Overall, I didn't do much today but observe during his lecture. I talked a little with Emma and Taylor towards the end of the class but for some reason was very frustrated today. Hopefully next week will be better and I'll begin to see more progress with some other students.

Day 5

Today was a lot like the last few days I've spent here at Classic City High School, except I got to work a little more with Emma and Taylor which I liked. Mr. Maudsley handed the class a study guide for the test they will have tomorrow and asked me to help anyone who needed help. He doesn't ever really give me specific instructions, like who to work with, so I usually work with the two girls at my table because they are the only ones in the classroom who seem to actually care about school.
I originally went in today telling myself I would try working with another student- one who seemed completely helpless and someone who would provide a challenge for me but within the first five minutes of class, I realized why I have been putting that off. The majority of the students in this class are so disrespectful and unmotivated it frustrates me so much. They are constantly talking while he is talking and playing on their phones. They interrupt him while hes speaking to ask to use the restroom and some just leave without saying a word. I keep wondering why they are even here because it seems to me like they're wasting their time. Mr. Maudsley seems to have given up on most of them as well which is a little depressing but I guess I can see why. This brought me back to the second book we studied in this class, Racialized identities: Race and achievement among African American youth. The author dscusses the difference between a "ghetto" African American and one that contributes to society. I feel that the majority of the students here would be considered under the "ghetto" category just because of the general dynamics of Athens and the surrounding areas that these students may live in. Many of these students come back from their lunch break high, speak out in class, and sag their pants like crazy. This "ghetto" identity could very well be directly related to why these students are so unmotivated when it comes to school.
Anyways, today went very well. Emma and Taylor seemed very prepared for their test and I felt like I almost didn't even need to be there because they understood everything. I'm looking forward to next week to see how they did on it!