Wednesday, April 25th (4-7)
All staff and students have pseudonyms.
3:55pm
Mrs. Brighten and I are the only people in the classroom. She asks me about my classes and major. She says, "If you're going to teach, it's like planning a party every day and then doing it all over again." I suppose that's a pretty accurate picture that I've seen so far in the year that I've done service learning in an elementary school, two middle schools, and now a night school. I ask her if Foothills is free or if the students' families have to pay. She says that it is free just like a public school, unless a student has to retake a class. She tells me that she's loved working here even though it is a very different environment for a teacher accustomed to a classroom setting.
4pm
3:55pm
Mrs. Brighten and I are the only people in the classroom. She asks me about my classes and major. She says, "If you're going to teach, it's like planning a party every day and then doing it all over again." I suppose that's a pretty accurate picture that I've seen so far in the year that I've done service learning in an elementary school, two middle schools, and now a night school. I ask her if Foothills is free or if the students' families have to pay. She says that it is free just like a public school, unless a student has to retake a class. She tells me that she's loved working here even though it is a very different environment for a teacher accustomed to a classroom setting.
4pm
There are 6 students in the classroom; some more come in. There is a focus on writing tonight, as there are about 3 students that need help with their essays. Dr. Meyer and Ms. Mills are also here now, working on their normal computers. Kevin, Deanna, Anna, Phil, and Frank are here along with the other students. About two pairs of students are talking silently together.
Frank asks for help with a quiz; Dr. Meyer pulls up a chair beside him and helps. Ms. Mills and Mrs. Brighten talk about helping the 3 students with their essays and who should help who. Phil is working on an essay about "The Gift of the Magi." Two more students come in, making 11 students total.
While Dr. Meyer continues working with Frank, Mrs. Brighten prepares to make copies to help Phil with his essay. She has decided to work with him.
4:30pm
Phil leaves with Mrs. Brighten to go downstairs to the writing area. A student comes in and shakes hands with three other male students before he sits down at a computer. Ms. Mills walks around the room. There are 11 students in the room now; some are on their phones but most are working on their computers. Dr. Meyer is done helping Frank; she gives him a new notebook to take notes in. The cover of the notebook is pink, which he does not want to use because of this reason. She leaves the room to go get him another one. She brings back a notebook with a black cover; he likes this one. Ms. Mills tells a student, Will, to put up his phone. Dr. Meyer walks over to a male student with dreads. She hands him a hair tie, to his surprise. She says that she remembered from the last time he was here that he wanted a hair tie. He says thank you and puts his hair up. Will, friends with the student who now has the hair tie, sees that he's here and reaches over to give him a handshake.
A student asks me if I know how to sign into the program; I tell her that I don't but I ask Ms. Mills to help her. She does.
Ms. Mills reminds a student that he is not allowed to have his phone out. He cusses her under his breath. Ms. Mills and Dr. Meyer then talk about a student's paper on Macbeth; they talk about how creative it is. After a few minutes, the student, Allie, comes in. I've met her before. The teachers start talking about Jay, the student that keeps talking and who just cussed at Ms. Mills. They wonder if they should ask him to leave since he isn't really doing work and the room is almost at its maximum capacity: 15 students.
5pm
As another student comes in, the teachers are still wondering about the number of students in the room. They say that it is okay since someone is about to leave with Allie to go downstairs to work on her paper with her. Ms. Mills asks me if I am willing to do this; I happily say yes. Ms. Mills prints her paper as it is for me to look over and then asks me to come to her computer to add my Gmail so that the Google doc with her paper can be shared with me. They give me a Chromebook to use downstairs. As we do this, Dr. Meyer tries to get the students to stop talking.
Jay talks back to her as she tells them to stop talking and to get to work. Dr. Meyer raises her voice, as she says that she meant what she said in response to something Jay said that I wasn't paying attention to. Ms. Posey, the administrator that had come in before while I was here, comes in and talks about the phone policy again.
5:30pm
As we wait for Ms. Mills to get everything set up, I ask Allie how she likes Foothills.
"I'm a senior. But I like it here because it's small. I've been here for 2 years. Before that I failed the 9th grade at my high school."
We walk downstairs to the writing room. Phil and Mrs. Brighten are still working on his paper. The room is bare with only two round tables and a computer in the corner. After about 15 minutes, we are done with the minimal editing that needed to be done.
We go back to the English classroom and tell Ms. Mills. A student in front of me, Will, laughs and looks around at me and his friends. He says, "I made a 100 by accident. I'm fye."
Ms. Mills says that she will look over her essay; she does and says that it's great. She tells Allie that she can submit it on Gradpoint now. Ms. Mills asks me if I could help her with her other paper about teen dropouts. I tell her yes. She says she will print off the instructions for that assignment for me. As we wait, Allie says that she can't wait to graduate. I ask her if she knows what she's doing after she graduates. She says that she wants to "embalm dead bodies." She says she knows that's weird. I tell her that I used to know someone that wanted to do that. Allie tells me that she wants to do it, but the school she wants to go to is in Florida and that she doesn't have a car. I tell her that she should try to do it anyway.
While we wait, I help a student with a question about possessive commas.
6pm
There is a 10-minute break; most of the students leave the room. Only 5 students remain working in the classroom. Ms. Mills helps a student with an essay on Shakespearean sonnets. Allie decides that she will try to work on her teen dropout paper at home; her mom is on her way to come get her. I tell Ms. Mills when she leaves; she says that it would be beneficial for the teachers if she would write some of it so that there can be something to work with.
Frank leaves for the day; there are 8 students now working in the room. One computer is still logged on with the student's things still in front. I think it is Jay's.
Dr. Meyer comes back in the room after she left for the break. A student asks for her help on her quiz. She sits down beside her. Ms. Mills is still working with the student I find out is named Tristian. A student comes in; she had been working in another room but was having technical problems. Ms. Mills says she will help her after she is done helping Tristian.
6:30pm
Dr. Meyer is still helping the student with her quiz. Ms. Mills goes over to the student needing help with technical issues. Ms. Mills goes to her desktop computer to see if she can fix the issue from her teacher view. She does. She suggests to the student that she work in the English room if she is working on English.
Ms. Mills thanks me for helping with Allie today since they were very busy. I tell her it's no problem. There are 5 students in the classroom working silently.
At 7pm, I say goodbye to the teachers I've worked with all semester.
Reflection:
I like that I got to see the reasoning behind one of the students for attending Foothills. It obviously helped her tremendously as she's come here for 2 years. She was looking forward to graduating, and I'm glad I got to see this before I left. I think she also enjoys the one-on-one time available to her here.
I'm also glad that I asked Mrs. Brighten about the funding of Foothills. From one of the books from my book club, Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System, I should have known that this program was free, as she talks about the different kinds of schools such as charter, private, and public, in her book. Although online, Foothills is a charter school. From what I have gathered all semester, there are numerous schools with the Foothills program available for students.
I think that I ended the semester on a great note, by helping with an essay. This semester I've been in a Teaching Writing course, so this was the perfect opportunity to use what I've learned from there.
While Dr. Meyer continues working with Frank, Mrs. Brighten prepares to make copies to help Phil with his essay. She has decided to work with him.
4:30pm
Phil leaves with Mrs. Brighten to go downstairs to the writing area. A student comes in and shakes hands with three other male students before he sits down at a computer. Ms. Mills walks around the room. There are 11 students in the room now; some are on their phones but most are working on their computers. Dr. Meyer is done helping Frank; she gives him a new notebook to take notes in. The cover of the notebook is pink, which he does not want to use because of this reason. She leaves the room to go get him another one. She brings back a notebook with a black cover; he likes this one. Ms. Mills tells a student, Will, to put up his phone. Dr. Meyer walks over to a male student with dreads. She hands him a hair tie, to his surprise. She says that she remembered from the last time he was here that he wanted a hair tie. He says thank you and puts his hair up. Will, friends with the student who now has the hair tie, sees that he's here and reaches over to give him a handshake.
A student asks me if I know how to sign into the program; I tell her that I don't but I ask Ms. Mills to help her. She does.
Ms. Mills reminds a student that he is not allowed to have his phone out. He cusses her under his breath. Ms. Mills and Dr. Meyer then talk about a student's paper on Macbeth; they talk about how creative it is. After a few minutes, the student, Allie, comes in. I've met her before. The teachers start talking about Jay, the student that keeps talking and who just cussed at Ms. Mills. They wonder if they should ask him to leave since he isn't really doing work and the room is almost at its maximum capacity: 15 students.
5pm
As another student comes in, the teachers are still wondering about the number of students in the room. They say that it is okay since someone is about to leave with Allie to go downstairs to work on her paper with her. Ms. Mills asks me if I am willing to do this; I happily say yes. Ms. Mills prints her paper as it is for me to look over and then asks me to come to her computer to add my Gmail so that the Google doc with her paper can be shared with me. They give me a Chromebook to use downstairs. As we do this, Dr. Meyer tries to get the students to stop talking.
Jay talks back to her as she tells them to stop talking and to get to work. Dr. Meyer raises her voice, as she says that she meant what she said in response to something Jay said that I wasn't paying attention to. Ms. Posey, the administrator that had come in before while I was here, comes in and talks about the phone policy again.
5:30pm
As we wait for Ms. Mills to get everything set up, I ask Allie how she likes Foothills.
"I'm a senior. But I like it here because it's small. I've been here for 2 years. Before that I failed the 9th grade at my high school."
We walk downstairs to the writing room. Phil and Mrs. Brighten are still working on his paper. The room is bare with only two round tables and a computer in the corner. After about 15 minutes, we are done with the minimal editing that needed to be done.
We go back to the English classroom and tell Ms. Mills. A student in front of me, Will, laughs and looks around at me and his friends. He says, "I made a 100 by accident. I'm fye."
Ms. Mills says that she will look over her essay; she does and says that it's great. She tells Allie that she can submit it on Gradpoint now. Ms. Mills asks me if I could help her with her other paper about teen dropouts. I tell her yes. She says she will print off the instructions for that assignment for me. As we wait, Allie says that she can't wait to graduate. I ask her if she knows what she's doing after she graduates. She says that she wants to "embalm dead bodies." She says she knows that's weird. I tell her that I used to know someone that wanted to do that. Allie tells me that she wants to do it, but the school she wants to go to is in Florida and that she doesn't have a car. I tell her that she should try to do it anyway.
While we wait, I help a student with a question about possessive commas.
6pm
There is a 10-minute break; most of the students leave the room. Only 5 students remain working in the classroom. Ms. Mills helps a student with an essay on Shakespearean sonnets. Allie decides that she will try to work on her teen dropout paper at home; her mom is on her way to come get her. I tell Ms. Mills when she leaves; she says that it would be beneficial for the teachers if she would write some of it so that there can be something to work with.
Frank leaves for the day; there are 8 students now working in the room. One computer is still logged on with the student's things still in front. I think it is Jay's.
Dr. Meyer comes back in the room after she left for the break. A student asks for her help on her quiz. She sits down beside her. Ms. Mills is still working with the student I find out is named Tristian. A student comes in; she had been working in another room but was having technical problems. Ms. Mills says she will help her after she is done helping Tristian.
6:30pm
Dr. Meyer is still helping the student with her quiz. Ms. Mills goes over to the student needing help with technical issues. Ms. Mills goes to her desktop computer to see if she can fix the issue from her teacher view. She does. She suggests to the student that she work in the English room if she is working on English.
Ms. Mills thanks me for helping with Allie today since they were very busy. I tell her it's no problem. There are 5 students in the classroom working silently.
At 7pm, I say goodbye to the teachers I've worked with all semester.
Reflection:
I like that I got to see the reasoning behind one of the students for attending Foothills. It obviously helped her tremendously as she's come here for 2 years. She was looking forward to graduating, and I'm glad I got to see this before I left. I think she also enjoys the one-on-one time available to her here.
I'm also glad that I asked Mrs. Brighten about the funding of Foothills. From one of the books from my book club, Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System, I should have known that this program was free, as she talks about the different kinds of schools such as charter, private, and public, in her book. Although online, Foothills is a charter school. From what I have gathered all semester, there are numerous schools with the Foothills program available for students.
I think that I ended the semester on a great note, by helping with an essay. This semester I've been in a Teaching Writing course, so this was the perfect opportunity to use what I've learned from there.
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