2nd time at Classic City High School:

Experience: I felt less out of place than the first time I mentored. I felt more like a teacher and less like an observer. The beginning of class was focused on the teacher explaining the rules for the essay they would be writing. She gave everyone a helpful worksheet packet to help them form ideas for their essay, which is a narrative myth. One student who was not there last week, looked very confused for most of the class. The teacher then assigned me to help this student. The worksheet packet was to help them produce characters, a plot, a conflict, and a title. The student I was assisting was just lost because she couldn't find a starting spot. I told her she didn't have to start on the first page, so we turned to the second page of the worksheet packet and she easily came up with interesting ideas. Her myth was about a sea king, his daughter, and an evil crab. She had an endless amount of creative ideas but had issues expressing them or finding the words to use. I asked lots of questions to try and prompt her to express her ideas.Luckily, every time I asked a question, she had a good answer. She used lots of adjectives, past knowledge, and creativity. At the end of class, everyone was to work on their "ender", a crossword of content vocabulary they would have a test on in 2 days. At that point, my student was tired and had lost interest. Instead of working on the crossword, she played on her phone. I didn't feel like I had the authority to tell her to not play on her phone, and the teacher didn't bother telling her to stop playing on her phone either. The students were allowed to take the crossword home with them, so hopefully they al finish it and study the vocabulary. Im excited to continue helping students with their writing next week.

Goals for next week:  I hope the students find their voice and are unafraid to be creative and express their opinions.