Spring Semester, 2010

Stereotypical school post -- what's going on this semester?

1) Class Schedule: Here is my AWESOME class schedule for the semester:

EDUC 348: Integrated Methods: Math/Science - MW 10:00 - 11:40

EDUC 349: Integrated Methods: LA/SS - MW 1:00 - 2:40

EDUC 359: Intro to English Language Learning - MW 3:00 - 4:15

HONR 387H: Junior Honors Seminar - God knows when...

EFND 516: Advanced Educational Psychology - R 4:30 - 7:00

2) I'm going to be working on a project to develop a behavioral intervention system modeled after Response to Intervention (RTI). It should be cool.

3) I'm going to begin work on my Senior Honors thesis... yay! I will be developing a unit where I merge mathematics and physical education.

4) It's my first semester as a quasi-graduate student. :D

You're just a fool if you think you can change the world.

The above quote is from the song Change by Carrie Underwood. Many of you may ask, fishy89, why do you need to use a Carrie Underwood quote? Well, plain and simple, that quote defines my service trip to Harrisburg which came to a conclusion on Friday night. My fellow classmates and I were tasked with going to the Nativity School in Harrisburg to teach their students and to assist their teachers with presenting material in a fashion conducive to learning. (I love when I try to use big words!)

The Nativity School (http://www.nativityharrisburg.org/) is a non-denominational, faith based middle school for students who come from poverty. Part of its mission is to help break these boys from the poverty cycle that has developed in urban Harrisburg. Many students were from horrible backgrounds and really do prove that your environment will affect you, no matter how "good" or "bad" your parents may be. For instance, one of my students, an eighth grader named Tony, has a parole office because his brother is one of the chief drug dealers in the city.

While my eighth graders are kept in a fantastic environment at Nativity, the question becomes what happens after? There are good options for the students if they apply themselves - the school preaches student accountability. One option is the Milton Hershey school, a boarding school and escape from poverty to say the least (http://www.mhs-pa.org/). Please check out that website. Please buy Hershey chocolate products because profits from the company go to the school. It will really help a lot of people out.

Monotony, Children, and the State Capital

I'm honestly surprised that I haven't gotten around to posting anything since the new year started. I guess that's because life has been rather monotonous: wake up, go to work, teach calculus, hang out, go home, go to sleep. Throw in the usual matters of daily hygiene, and you have my life for the last three weeks. But, with school right around the corner, things will be getting a little interesting.

Let's start with last night... I was going to Turkey Hill, and a 12 or 13 year old child threatened to fight me. I think his exact words were, "Yo fatass, throw down!" So, I did exactly what any person should do in that situation and shook my head. I went on to discover that he does this routinely: hangs out in Turkey Hill and messes with people who walk in. Nobody wants to put a stop to it though. I mean, hey, it's funny and all because he's about the size of half of my leg, but he may end up getting into legitimate trouble when someone actually accepts his invitation to fight. And, being a child, one with his future in front of him, ya know that wouldn't be cool! Nothing I can do, though.

That reminds me... Next week I will be travelling down to Harrisburg to teach inner city middle school boys. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity and I am damned sure that I'll have a post or two to sum it up as it goes. I'm quite nervous, though. The kids and their teachers are counting on us to come in and get the job done. I hope that I am capable enough to not let them down.