My Last Day!

On my last day of going to Classic City High, I ended working with Mr. Jones. The class assignment was to read a short story, write a paragraph answering a prompt, and then re-write the story from the other character's perspective. I worked with a girl who I had never seen in class before. Apparently she had been absent for awhile, because Mr. Jones asked where she had been, and she replied the hospital, though she did not say why.

We only were able to finish writing the prompt essay which focused on analyzing the characters' relationship. Even though I had the instructions for the assignment, I don't know exactly what the teacher wants, so it's hard to know exactly how to help the student, and I always worry I'm leading them in the wrong direction. First, I let her go through the story and highlight any evidence she thought was important. Then, I asked her to explain why and then she wrote the most important textual evidence. After, Mr. Jones said she did really well, which made me feel better. By now, class was almost over. Mr. Jones thanked me for my time and said I could always come back.

Classic City High challenged and changed how I view alternative schools. Before, I thought they were full of "bad" kids who got kicked out of "normal" school. However, there are many reasons why these kids are here. The main one I found was attendance. Many of these kids have to help support their family, so they work. This school gives them an education and a way to work. This school is also full of extremely smart students. When they focused on the assignment, most students finished quickly and with little help. The biggest challenge I think these teachers face are getting them to care and focus on school. Hopefully, moving on, I'll learn how to best reach these students.