June 5th- The Day of Chaos

On this day, I ask myself- ‘why do we conduct school, when the agenda is to learn nothing’ and ‘how can you have kids learn a song, 4 days before their graduation day?’

First off, I was thrown into utter chaos in the cafeteria, when I wasn’t too sure what was taking place. Joy looked over at me from on the stage, shrugging her shoulders and signifying that this orchestration was not working. Even now, I have no clue what was going on, other than several hundred students running around as if they were all striving to reach a goal that was unattainable.

I happend to notice Miss. Karki and Mr. E in the corner of the room, seemingly conducting the only relevant discussion in the room. I proceeded to go over to them, and find out what was going on. It seemed as though the 7th graders would be watching a film, and that the 8th graders were to practice a song for their graduation. I was given the option to either go into the music room to listen to the children speak, or to pop popcorn at 9:30 in the morning for the 7th graders. Unfortunately, since I had a headache from the cafeteria, I felt as if the 7th graders would create a much calmer environment. I was extremely mistaken. During my stay with the 7th graders who were being supervised by (the short teacher with the goatee, who seems as though a brisk breeze would push him over), there was a confrontation that escalated to the whole class having to divide the combatants up, two kids that were playfully thrown to the ground, and all the while the teacher just stood there. I was completely flabergasted, and I took no action because it is not my place to do so. The teacher is responsible for their classroom, and the law protects them in these circumstances.

Anyway, I went down to see the 8th graders performing a Celine Dion song that they didn’t know the words to. Many of the children were preoccupied with laughing off the task at hand, and it was completely disorganized. But, I saw that the music teacher had a strong influence over the children and was actually getting their attention. I also realized that Mr.E was just as submissive as Miss. Karki from the standpoint that they both have not gained the children’s respect. It seems as though the kids do not listen, and I feel that it is a reason of race and age. I say this because, when an older, black man came into the room, the room was silent.

I have to say that this was a waste of a day for the children, and for the tax payers of this state. A movie that was about a gang related dance group, and a song that no one really chose to participate in, are a waste. Additionally, since the kids don’t really appreciate the time the teachers are giving to do something for them, it makes it even more wasteful. Today was the culmination of my time at King, although I am prepared to go back on Monday. I have volunteered my time for much more than 25 hours, but that information wasn’t provided in the sheet that I was given from the front office. So, in order to get full credit for my volunteer work, I will go back to King on Monday. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the kids, and I feel that I need to do so. I have never been more upset with the behavior of the children, than I was today. It is my intention to leave with the positive feeling I have had for the duration of the term. I really hope that that is the case.

My posts are lost- 5-22

Well, I had spent a lot of time looking and writing my postings for this term. I have spent a lot of time with these kids, and I am so grateful that I signed up for this class. However, somehow I posted my submissions into an area that is not accessible from this post blog. I’ve tried to convert the postings, and I had seen them, but to no avail. It really stinks, because I was really hoping that you’d be able to read about my experiences at King.

Since those posts are lost for the time being, I will try to sum up my last days at King by revisiting the past.

For one, I don’t know whether or not I can use the kid’s names. From my perspective, I’d feel the kids wouldn’t want that, so I will not mention the kids by their names.

I want you to know that I will miss everyone in the class. Everyone! Karki is a person that would be exceptional in another school, but she doesn’t really relate to the kids in the class. I’m sure she will move on, after this year, and will leave King behind her. I also believe that she’ll be a lot happier somewhere else, as she doesn’t seem to fit in at King. The kids love her, but not for her strenghs, and rather her weaknesses. I’m sure she could have asserted herself some more, and really developed a leadership roll in the class. Instead, she has let the kids run her over, and much of the class time is wasted. 

What these kids want is an authority figure, in order to set them straight. Of course they’d rather mess around, and concern themselves with anything that doesn’t involve school, but they are going to be lost in high school. I’m sure that a lot of them will drop out, because they weren’t pushed to succeed in middle school. Because of that aspect, they will feel as though they won’t be able to keep up with the other kids. At King, the eighth graders are being taught curriculum for 6th graders, and that is not acceptable. I have noticed that the kids below the 8th graders, are more assertive and really try to do well in school. 

I will try to post about three or four more times, because I really feel that I relate to these kids. I’m now beginning to really be comfortable with them, and surely believe that I’ve influenced some of them. I hope that will continue for the next week and a half.

Sorry for the lack of postings Zapoura- I really wish I could find them, and publish them. If I do find a way to do it, I will.

May 15

This week was a blast. I had so much fun with the kids; and although I thought I really made progress with them last week, this week was far better. 

For the 3rd straight week, a student I’ve been working with has aced his spelling test. The student really has a hard time getting along with the others, but he’s a really sweet kid. Unfortunately he doesn’t stick up for himself, and acts more immature than the others. As he begins to learn about himself, I feel he’ll be able to hurdle this time in his life.

But, the most influential part of this week was the student-teacher basketball game. One 8th grader had been giving me a hard time all week. He threatened to beat us, and it was my understanding that we’d let the students win. But, for some odd reason, the teachers played their hardest and we ended up winning. So many kids were dissapointed, and many that I had taken in my group accused the teachers of cheating. It was so sad, and I felt so bad for the kids.

It was a fun game, and I had a great time (except for the winning). I let the kids shoot over me, and I acted as if I were guarding them hard. I encouraged them, and had a good time doing some trick passes and shooting the ball from deep. I thought that the other teachers would play as I did, but that was not the case. 

But, I got some respect for having some basketball skills, although b-ball was not my sport in school. I also developed a closer relationship with some of the kids, and really enjoyed myself out there. It was a time that I won’t forget.

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