My Little Corner

We are closing in on the end of the year. (Can it be true?)  I think the Mentoring Program has been a mild success.  I know that I have a different relationship with my small group than I do with my larger group of students.  I know that I did not do everything the administration hoped we would all do–contact parents regularly, be advocates for our kids, etc.–but I also know I’m not alone.  I think the best use of the time has been the last 3 weeks.  The school-wide TAKS Review activities I think will be helpful in the coming week of testing.
I think the one thing that could have helped the most was a more concrete set of rules.  We needed more guidance than, “Go form a bond with this small group of kids.”  Also, there were no repercussions for not following through on the parent contacts and other expectations.

Personally, I don’t think I’m cut out for blogging.  I was never one to keep a diary in my youth, and this is similar to that in my mind.  I feel bad when I don’t have something to say and I also feel the need to reply to every comment, even when I have more pressing things to do.  But it was a fun experiment and maybe I can work a discussion board back into my classes in the future.

Many teachers are having a similar experience to mine.  Most that I have talked with seem to enjoy it, however, there are some who don’t necessarily enjoy it.  Consequently, there are many students who don’t see the value in it and are bored with it.  I anticipate that we will continue the program next year with some changes.  Something like this needs a chance to have the bugs worked out.  Personally, since I’m leaving for South Carolina, I won’t be able to see those changes through.

I did a very informal survey of various Mentoring classes and the Administration and found that folks are pretty indifferent about the whole Mentoring thing.  The students seem to enjoy the down time but dislike the early start.  Also, many of them seem not to miss the tutorials but do wish they could get help from the teacher they have for a particular subject.

As for attendance and discipline, things seem to be unchanged.

Personally, I enjoy my group.  We have a very casual approach to things and discuss what the kids want to talk about.  Some groups do the activities that are prescribed, but my guys prefer not to do them.  We do our own thing, like organizing holiday parties and ringing bells in Mirabeau Square on the day we get out for Christmas.

We are going to be experiencing a variety of changes at PHS this year, one of the biggest being our mentor program for students. I am curious to see how this will affect student performance in terms of grades, attendance, and discipline. I am also curious to see how the school community responds to the absence of a morning tutorial program.

I wrote this a month ago and forgot to post it, but it goes with what I wrote this morning.

As the year progresses, I want to see just how effective the Mentoring program is in terms of keeping kids out of trouble and keeping them passing.  I will choose 2 groups from each grade level to work with and monitor their progress.  I will need to talk with the counselors and principals to see about the grades and discipline, but I think the students will actually be honest about these things.

I also simply want the students’ opinions on the program in general.  I have already heard about varying degrees of involvement, so we shall see what everyone thinks.

Welcome to my little corner of the world. (It’s O.K.  They know me here.)  I hope we all find this fun and enlightening.