Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• For my first independent component I plan to help my mentor with tutoring some of his students after school. I cannot technically help during class since I am there by a site choice, but since my tutoring sessions would be after school I should be just fine.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• I am planning to add an extra 30 hours to my mentorship hours. And my mentor would be able to vouch for me for these hours.

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• My topic is figuring out what I think is the best way to teach/reinforce what a middle schooler learns. By tutoring I get to see what the students learn in class and help teach it in a different way if at first they did not understand it.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

• Soon

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

• My mentor is Mr. Roberto Alvarado and he works at Sparks Middle School in La Puente, Ca. He teaches seventh grade Math, Science, and Speech and Debate. He has been working as a teacher for about 12 years. He used to teach elementary but now teaches middle school seventh grade. 

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

• How has working as a teacher changed over time?
• Was becoming a teacher something you always knew you wanted to be, or did you figure it out in college?
• Where did you go to college, how did you choose it, and for how long did you attend?
• Looking back at your career is there anything you would change? How come?
• What has been the most rewarding experience you've had working as a teacher?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?

• What has worked well for me so far is research checks and my mentorship. The research checks help me with organizing my time for just senior project. As for my mentorship, it has been wonderful. I have been able to work one on one with the kids and my mentor is very welcoming and has me sit in his class so that I can see how he teaches. 

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

• What I am finding difficult this year is keeping my mentorship hours log updated and knowing what to do when I am sitting in my mentor's class during service learning. What I can do regarding my log, I can set time aside to work on it and update it whenever I can, or download the google sheets app onto my phone. As for the working during the service learning I can ask senior team and also ask my mentor. I can ask the senior team what they recommend me to do, whether it be take notes, work on other school work, or something else. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

• The most important thing I learned from my interview was how my teacher saw teaching as a career for others to take on. He wouldn't recommend it for just anyone, he sees it as a hard career for someone to take considering the pay vs. the amount of schooling required. For other interviews I would ask that the person I interview have a set time for me to do the interview. 

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

• I did get additional resources and contacts. My mentor gave me several books and authors that cover my topic. Regarding contacts he gave me two names of teachers that would be willing to let me interview them. Both of the resources and contacts are equally useful to me and I am using both of them. They're useful to me research wise and useful to me as other possible places I can use for mentorship hours.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

• My interviewee was my mentor Mr. Roberto Alvarado. He is qualified to help me because of the eight and plus years he has been teaching. 

House Advisory Prep 1

What I'm hoping to accomplish through my senior project topic is understanding what it is like being a middle school teacher. Through this project I'm hoping to see what to do or how to deal with students who need extra help or don't seem to understand the presented lesson. I chose this topic for my senior project because I see teaching as a career option for when I get out of college. 

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
• I plan on interviewing my current mentor, Mr. Alvarado, he is currently a teacher at Sparks Middle School. I plan on interviewing him because he has been teaching for about 12 years, and he was my seventh grade pre-algebra and science teacher. So he has experience with teaching middle schoolers. 
2. Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?
• What is one of the most memorable moments you have had while you have worked in this school? What about in other schools?
• Do you feel that you have made an impact on any students? How so?
• How has working as a teacher affected your life?
• How much would you recommend someone come into this field of work?
• Can you give me a general view of what is to be expected on a regular day in your classroom? 

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

• Kristen Prater
• (310) 821-0963 (not her number, it's the organization's # just ask for her and she will gladly speak to you.)
• Leaps n Boundz

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?

• She has received her masters degree in Child Psychology from The Sage Colleges and is now aiming for her doctorate. Mrs. Prater has also been with Leaps for about seven years. She works as the gymnastics coach and social skills facilitator.

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.

• What can be done to make a child's way of learning easier?
• What can be done to ensure that a child learns and retains what they learn in class?
• How can we make sure that a child gets the best experience learning when in the classrooms setting?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• The most important thing I gained from this experience is how important it is for a child to gain social skills. The children I worked with were between the ages of five and seven. Around this time in a child's life they are preparing to go to school for the first time. Some children become social butterflies and others have a bit of a harder time adjusting. This experience means a lot to me because when I was little I was this unbelievably shy little girl and would have appreciated this program. 

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did mentorship help you make your decision?  Please explain.

• My senior project topic is going to be on education in middle school. Mentorship has shown me how parent see education in elementary And education in high school is seen as very important because it is the last step of education before college. But education in middle school is sort of brushed to the side. So my senior project will be on education in middle school and getting it to be seen as just as important.  

Senior Project Hours