Volunteer Hour #5

My last session was on 4/13/13 and was on Stress Busters! With all the standardized testing that our kids have to deal with, stress has a sneaky way of compounding on a person until they feel overwhelmed. I see it with students at my university and I see it with the kids at the middle school. So I decided to give them some things they can remember, to handle situations that cause stress, and some tips to help them reduce it as well. My presentation started out with highlighting hobbies as a way to break from stress and improve mood. We went around the room hearing about different hobbies and most people felt that while they didn't have a "hobby" they definitely considered hanging with friends as a way to break stress. We covered nutrition facts, and exercise suggestions and ended with a reading assignment for the next meeting. The reading assignment is called "Brain Breaths" and it highlights how your brain needs oxygen, exercise and proper nutrition to function at its peak. We explored a 3d iPod app and looked at the different regions of the brains and how stress affects the different areas. They seem to really like that and I've decided to incorporate more interactive components to my lessons. Currently I am using PowerPoint slides, but I am working on using Prezi for a more visually enticing session.

Homework for this weekend was to read the article i provided and write in their journal three ways they are going to "feed their brains". I wish it was Halloween and I could bring them "brain" shaped candies next week :)


Latisha

Volunteer Hour #3 & 4

My third session was 4/6 and because we skipped the Easter Holiday, my session was two hours instead of one.

If you remember from my previous post, my presentation to the kids was on presentation skills. I was so excited to see if/how they applied thier "homework" to the weeks that had passed. At the beginning of the session, I had each student stand up, and read from thier journal about the introduction they had made. While there were a few who hadn't done an introduction, the majority of students did and had great things to say. I was suprised to see how many people used the introduction to talk to a boy/girl that they "like" as they were able to blame it on "An Assignment from Ms. McCray from our Health Explorers group". I laughed at the cleverness of them and for a minute remembered what it was like to be dealing with hormones and academics at that age lol.
I digress..
So after the journal readings, we are pumped and ready to move on to the next topic. For this session I decided to talk about Study Skills. My presentation covered good study habits, the need for exercise and nutrition to keep the brain happy and tips for taking breaks. I emphasized study groups and explained that being able to explain something to someone is the best way to know if you really understand a concept. Since we had extra time this session, I decided to do a group activity rather than give them homework. I split the students into groups of four for this activity. I asked the students to think of one thing that they are curently learning and teach it to the whole class. I allowed them to work on this for 15-20 minutes and then each group instructed the whole class on a concept. Some chose to give us a mini language lession and we learned how to say "Have a good day" in spanish (Ten un buen dia). While others "taught" us a math equation solution, and something from thier science class. All in all the participation was great and everyone seemed to be ok with the extended time of this session. Maybe the snacks helped...

Vounteer Hour #2

My second session was 3/23/13 and was on Presentation Skills. I chose this topic because of my interaction with the group in the first session. In the first session, I introduced myself and went around the room and asked everyone to introduce themselves. Most students spoke in a voice that was barely audible, made no eye contact, and rushed through the introductions so quickly I barely could keep up! I understand that these are just middle school students, but it occurred to me that being able to properly introduce yourself is a skill even an elementary student should possess. With that in mind I came up with a presentation called "Stand Up and Speak Out!" . During the presentation I Incorporated interactive exercises that required them to stand up and tell me one of their most favorite things to do, WHILE acting it out. I must say that I was introduced to quite a few dance moves, but boy where they ever engaged! Not one was shy or unsure of themselves and by the end of the session they had acquired new tips to speaking clearly and assertively. They learned about the important of posture when speaking, and of course the necessity of eye contact. I think it went really well, and I hope that they are more confident in themselves because of the session. At the end of the session I gave each student another assignment for their journal. I requested that they introduce themselves to one new person the following week and then write about the experience in their journal. I made it clear that the journal entry could be as simple as "I went into the school office and introduced my self to the front desk assistant. I told her my name, and her name is Ms./Mr. Blank". I explained that I was much more concerned with the completing the activity, than a long description about it.

Let's hope for the best!

Latisha

Voulnteer Experience Hour#1

I am completing my volunteer hours at a middle school that is involved with the STEM pipeline project that collaborates with UCF's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Every Saturday I participate in a three-hour workshop that incorporates sessions from second year medical students, currently practicing MDs, mentors and student support services (my role). In the sessions that I am responsible for, I highlight a skill/tool that I help currently enrolled university students with and attempt to foster new habits/skills within the students who attend my sessions. The goal is to foster habits that will encourage life long learning within the students and encourage them to strive for a science/math based career. Each session features a lesson, an example, a reading assignment and a journal entry assignment. I create a PowerPoint presentation for each session, but I do now know how to attach the file to the blog. Perhaps someone can give me a suggestion as to how to do that? In the meantime, I will attach the PowerPoint presentations in our group if anyone is interested.

My first session was 3/16 and was on Time Management. I chose this topic because many students struggle with time management when taking a test, accomplishing a tasks or even organizing a study schedule. I created a presentation entitled "Time Management Skills for Success"  that focused on developing these skills using a journal. Since this was my first session i made the presentation pretty short and straight forward so I could get a read on the kid's reactions. I'm not sure they were that interested, but they did participate when I asked questions and gave examples when I prompted them. At the end of the session I gave each student a journal and asked them to write a schedule for the upcoming week that included time to study and relax. We will go over the journals next session.

Latisha

Carl D Perkins Act reauthorization

Did anyone know that the Perkins Act, which is responsible for funding CTE in this country was reauthorized in 2012? The Perkins Act which was initially created ini 1984 is scheduled to provide for funding for CTE in America through 2016, with re-authorizations happening every 5-6 years. The new authorizations call for:

(1) Alignment. Effective alignment between high-quality CTE programs and labor market needs to equip students with 21st-century skills and prepare them for in-demand occupations in high-growth industry sectors;

(2) Collaboration. Strong collaborations among secondary and postsecondary institutions, employers, and industry partners to improve the quality of CTE programs;

(3) Accountability. Meaningful accountability for improving academic outcomes and building technical and employability skills in CTE programs for all students, based upon common definitions and clear metrics for performance; and

(4) Innovation. Increased emphasis on innovation supported by systemic reform of state policies and practices to support CTE implementation of effective practices at the local level.

President Obama is in support of the program and called for the states to use the funding (1.3 billion) to further improve the CTE programs. I wonder how much of the money allocations go to CTE programs that serve urban students?

Latisha

Will electronic textbooks cause urban students to be at a disadvantage?

Recently I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the trend of electronic textbooks in k-12. It's big business as more and more school districts are contemplating switching over to only electronic textbooks in an effort to improve curriculum delivery. Even with the possibility of  a large cost of providing students with the electronic readers, school districts are promoting the concept of having instantly updated textbooks, complete with on-line learning resourcs vs. the antiquated print books that are currently used. So would this put children in financially strugging districts at a disadvantage when thier school could not afford this? What if the parents are responsible for providing the electronic readers. Even in a district that could afford them, you put at risk the level of education of the children whose families could not afford it.

I can honestly say that this is an innevitable reality. I work at a campus where our library is 92% electronic, and they have a goal to make it 100% electronic within the next year. Granted, we do provide every admitted student with an iPad so they can have access to thier texts, so there isnt a student who has to deal with not having one. But what do you think about this initiative? Will it cause our students in urban areas to suffer in an area (education) they cannot afford to?

Latisha

Let's just dumb it down for them...

Recently I was asked to design a presentation on Testing Strategies for middle school students. It was explained to me that it needed to cover just the basics, but to give some strategies to help with multiple choice, true or false and test anxiety. The power point presentation ended up being about 12 slides and ended with a brief assignment for them to complete. Upon completing the assignment and reviewing it with the resource coordinator for this middle school, I was told to "dumb down" the presentation. She felt that the presentation was too advanced and that more animations needed to be included to keep the kids attention. I stressed to her that while i don't want to make this presentation intimidating, I certainly didn't want to make it childish and easy to disregard. She advised me that "these types of kids" won't respond to the directive that I was giving about being effective in test taking strategies, and unless I wanted to be completely ignored, should really consider adding characters of some sort.
Is this how we should address our children's learning capacity? That unless we mimic a cartoon or animation, students are unable to comprehend material? I know we need to design lesson plans that are engaging, but is it really necessary to "dumb down" the material to keep their interest?

Sometimes I'm not "Black" enough...

Recently I was reminded the destructive "color lines" that exist within the African American community....even the really smart ones. I was in group setting with graduate students. This group was composed of different ethnicity, me being one of three African Americans. I was moderating a study session and as the session wound down, the tutors and tutees began to get off topic. At one point I heard a student say "I can't believe you didn't know that, ALL Black people know that". Well, that statement definitely perked my attention and I looked up. Noticing that I was now paying attention, one of the students said "Ms. McCray, do you know the musician that came up with X song?" Now, i should state the disclaimer that I really don't listen to top 40/Billboard/radio etc. I'm much more of a NPR/Ipod person. I should also say that I am the WORST in remembering names, and that includes names of musician even if I can see their face as clear as day in my head.
So, being that I did not know this song, i said "No, i don't know who that song is written by", to which a collective "Awwwww Man!!!!" was heard by the others in the group who apparently felt I should know this...I'm black. Then without missing a beat, one of the student said "Well, she doesn't count, she's not Black enough". Ok honestly, this is not the first time I've heard sentiments like this in my direction, but I have to say that I was shocked to have it said to me as an adult.

Like the reading, we are all aware of the power structures that exist within schools and as a high school student I was much happier being considered "smart" vs "cool", because obviously you cant be both. Unfortunately, like the reading, in my school "being smart" was akin to "acting white". I'm not sure where that started, or why that is still prevalent in some schools, but I know it was something I faced in high school, and obviously as an adult, I'm still not "black enough".

Truth be told, I'm happier being smart anyway :)
We must work to teach that race/intelligence/determination/humanity are all independent of each other and one is not apropos to the other.

P.S.
The song in question was written by Stephen Marley and apparently I should've known that because don't all Black people know each other?? (kidding)

Starting Out

I'd like to use my first post to share an example of potential cultural conflicts that I noticed with a student who visited my office. She is in her third year of medical school and is starting to have difficulties with time management, which is affecting her studies and ability to do well in her internship. When reviewing her mentor critiques recently, there were comments that gave an impression that this student was withdrawn, somewhat uncooperative and overall unenthused. This was not my experience with this student at all, and so in our conference, I spoke with her about my concern of the most recent comments. Looking just as surprised, she explained to me the events that this mentor was addressing and I found that her cultural habits, were really the culprit of the incorrect perception of this student. This student is Haitian, has a lot of responsibility to her family whom is still in Haiti. Instead of getting financial assistance from her family, she sends a portion of her loan monies home to support them. This means she needs to supplement that loss income and tutors to make money. Often times she is exhausted when she goes in for her internship and admits to being less talkative. She also mentioned that her mentor is a white male whom she feels intimidated and threatened by, a result of having many negative interactions with white males in Haiti. Her cultural assumptions about him, are having an effect on her interactions with him, and although she understand he is her mentor, she is distrustful of him as well.

What I took away from this situation is the often subconscious ways cultural conflicts impact perceptions. Neither the student nor the mentor realize that their perceptions are based on things that can culturally be explained because both are under false impressions of the other's rigid personality. In our meeting I encouraged the student to speak with her mentor about the difficulties she is having due to family obligations and how supporting them is more than just an option, it is a duty. I also advised her that it is ok to trust her mentor, and that she just opened up about her situation, there would be a greater sense of understanding and trust. I could still tell she was hesitant about speaking with her mentor, but she left my office promising that she would. I am eagerly awaiting our next appointment to see if she does indeed try to lessen the impact of her cultural conflict.