Sorry, I forgot to tell everyone that I tutor 6th grade. Here are some facts about my school too! Unfortunately during the 2008-2009 school year only 59% of 6th grade was proficient in math and 63% was proficient in reading. I really wish these were higher percentages. Some children have trouble with standardized tests but I don't think this many would do so bad. Many of the children I tutored are very bright but lack confidence in themselves. One boy even continuously calls himself stupid! 74% of the children at the school receive free or reduced lunches, so family income must be low in many households. Half of the children are Hispanic and the other 50% is split between white, African American, and Asian. I observed that this is true, most of the children in my classes are Hispanic. There are no ethnic barriers between the children. They all get along ethnicities or cultures that are not the same as theirs. Most won't tease someone because of their race. I believe that this a lesson that more adults need to learn. I did see one child call a girl a "white bitch" in the hallway though but that was the only time race came up. The open minds of these children will bring a lot to the future. They are a generation that will govern one day. They are a melting pot and are tolerant of differences, a combination that will resolve all of our problems that stem from misunderstandings of cultures. We need more people like these children!

There are absolutely no child receiving English as a second language courses or bilingual education. Now that I think of it, each student I talked to had no problem with English, could comprehend it, and could write it too. These are 6th graders too, if they did need ESL courses, they would be the first to receive it. In the SALT surveys, the school was under average compared to similar schools within the city. What kind of scared me was that there was a higher percentage of children at this school compared to averaged percentage of children in the district who tried tobacco, drugs, or alcohol (less that 20%). These are middle schoolers!! I know when I went to middle school, there was pressure but a lot of kids lie on the surveys so I wonder what is the margin of error. These things were surprising but I'm glad I found them out!

My FNED class thought it would be ok if I put this story up. At first I was concerned to tell it but it is truly a problem that needs to be addressed. My first day of tutoring I met then class. There were many children, each very interesting. I noticed a boy in the front of the room who had a device that he seemed to be typing on. I didn't really understand it but my teacher explained to me that he is very hard of hearing and he is blind. He uses the device along with Braille to do his classwork. I went up to him and asked if he had any questions. He said no but his aid next to him said yes. I asked her what was up. She pointed to a paragraph in the text book and said, "I don't understand this." She needed me to explain something in a 6th grade textbook! I of course explained it to her and did not say anything but it made me really upset. She is suppose to be experienced in education and competent to read and understand any text book she is given. She is suppose to be teaching this handicapped boy but she doesn't even understand it herself! I had confronted my teacher about this after they left first period. He had told me that they had put her with the boy only because they were both Asian but they didn't even speak the same Asian language! Then he showed me some of the boy's work. It didn't make sense at all. He was writing sentences that didn't make sense and his answers came from past tests that had nothing to do with the subject. I know he can do so much more, his potential is outstanding! It is true that he has a handicap but he tries to do things on his own. I think he would do better with a different aid. She is a very nice lady but she is not suited to be this boy's aid. He would do much better with someone who can comprehend the things they are learning. I cannot change this of course but I will try to help this little boy as much as I can because he really needs it. This is his education we are talking about! Its essential!!

The last time I went to the class my teacher had not come in. I herd later that he had to go to a conference and I just didn't know. We had a substitute teacher. She invited my to come in and help the class anyway. However, there was three student teachers in the room too! They had the children separated into three different groups and each student teacher got his own group. I didn't know that this class was going to have student teachers too! I felt like there were too many people helping. I still tried to walk around and talk to the kids but their attention was focused on their student teacher. I asked them to tell me interesting things about what they were studying and they were very enthusiastic. I was proud of them being so interested in school because I know that it doesn't happen often. We were learning Greek gods and each group had 3 gods to focus on. They took notes and cut out pictures. It was very hands-on learning. My teacher prides himself on the use of hands on learning and the kids really seem to enjoy it. The kids were actually paying attention too! It was because they were in small groups. I think that the groups really helped them learn. After the bell rang I talked to the student teachers. They all are from the same college as me. They didn't mind that I helped in their groups. I though each teacher was very good with their group. They stayed focused and were very professional. They were very surprised at how well behaved that class was. Of course you always get a trouble maker of two but overall, these kids are wonderful. I actually had visited another class with my teacher. There was only about 10 kids in the room but you could hear them half way across the school. They were terrible!! The teacher just let them behave like that! After that experience I was even prouder of my class! I can't wait to go back!!