Last 2 Trips

Since I last wrote I have visited the PLC twice. Each time I worked with a different student. The first of these two visits I worked with a guy named Clarke.
I had never worked with Clarke before, but I had noticed him in the classroom because he is a vocal student. He generally talks once he comes into the room, but gets quickly to work. While I was working with him, I noticed that he would do his work online the way I probably would have if I had been a student at the PLC. He would read the questions at the end of the stories to find out what he was supposed to be looking for in the story. By doing this, he sometimes prevented himself from having to read the whole story. I used to use this strategy while I was taking tests in high school such as the EOCT or the SAT. Clarke had developed a system that worked for him while he was doing his work online. If there was questions he did not know he would simply search for the answer on the internet. I think that that is one of the negative factors about this alternative school. Sometimes I think that the students do not truly have to learn any of the information. I also think that it must be hard to sit at a computer for classes and almost basically teach yourself. I personally would be bored out of my mind if I had to do that, but I know that many of these students like this program versus the traditional high school.
I also find that many of the students there are there to catch up with their work. For example, Clarke should be graduating this year, but he is behind in some of his classes. I attempted to ask him a little about what schools he had went to when he was in the traditional high school, and he told me basically all of the ones in his county. His mom works for the school system and when he would get into trouble she would make sure that he got moved to a different school where he could continue his education. Unfortunately, Clarke missed a good bit of school because of time he spent in rehab for drug abuse. This is something that I never would imagine a person younger than me having to experience. I see it on the television everyday where celebrities are in and out of rehab, but I have never personally known someone who struggled with something like that. Clarke said that he now has his priorities in order though and is planning to graduate. He also is a frontman to a jam band he has with a few of his friends. I think that it is very interesting to learn about each of these students hobbies and some of their stories.
I have never realized how different people's outlooks on school in general can be. I loved every minute of my middle and high school years. I didn't think it could get any better than that until I came to college. It just blows my mind to think that some people have no plans to go to college at all. Spending time at this school has really helped to open my eyes up to the different types of students that are out there.
The most recent time when I went to I worked with Adrian again. She is still behind in her English program a pretty good bit. She is taking two other classes, History and Government, both on the eleventh grade level, but her English class is 9th grade. She told me that she failed her 9th grade class at her traditional high school, but that the counselors messed up her schedule so she was able to take her 10th grade literature. Adrian is 17 and has a one year old child. She said that she is at the PLC to catch up on her classes and that she does not want to have to graduate from there. She wants to go back to her old high school for her last semester. Adrian said that she just doesn't like being at the PLC and that it's boring to her. She also said that if she went back to her regular high school she would probably fall behind so that's why she is going to wait until her last semester to go back.
Adrian has her program on E-2020 set so that if she passes the pre-tests then she does not have to sit through the lectures or do the homework to hopefully help her catch up. When the pre-tests ask her questions about stories she has not read yet because she has not gotten to them, she will find the story on the internet and read it. She also answers the questions similar to the way that I answer questions that I am not sure about. I would like to think that I am a good test taker and I generally make the grades to prove it. When I do not know the answer to questions I eliminate the ones I know are not right and then choose the best one and that is the same strategy that Adrian would use when I was working with her. I enjoyed working with her because she would ask me questions when she was not sure about something instead of just trying to look up the information on the internet. She seemed like she really was wanting to learn.
I really enjoy the time that I get to spend with the students at the PLC because I think it is important for me to get out of my comfort zone and experience other classroom settings. I think that I am not only helping these students accomplish the work that they work on, but also helping myself become a better teacher. These kids are almost my age, but we are so different. I think that is one of the things that I enjoy the most about the idea of teaching. I cannot stand monotony and with a classroom full of children with all kinds of backgrounds and personal experiences I don't think that I will ever encounter that. The challenges will be the best part of the job though, I believe. Trying to figure out how to capture the attention of 30 students that are so diverse will be a challenge, and I would like to think that I will be able to overcome this challenge to help make a difference in the children's education.