Chapter 10- Hannah Schreiber

Connector:

Yesenia tells Mr. Michie that she is afraid to graduate- p.174
I'm sure that all of us have felt this way at some point or another, fearing the end of another chapter in our lives. In 5th grade I was afraid to move on to 6th grade because I had heard that the teacher was really mean. In 6th grade I was afraid to "graduate" because I would be moving to a new school with only 2 of my classmates from elementary school. In 8th grade I was afraid to "graduate" because once again, I was moving to a new school where not all of my best friends were going. After Highschool, I was terrified to move to college. I bawled my eyes out for a week straight just before move-in weekend. As the end of my senior year of college drew nearer, I had the same terrified feeling. Who knew what was coming next. I didn't have a job lined up, I hadn't heard back from Naz if I had gotten into my program or not, and worst of all, I didn't know if I'd ever see my friends anymore since we live so far away. In the end, if we are strong enough, we make it through these minor bumps in the road and move on to bigger things and greater possibilities.

"What had mattered for Martn Ruiz, and for a half-dozen other quincy eighth graders, were two 40-minute-long multiple choice tests they'd taken back in April"p. 177
Honestly, this pissed me off. After all of his dedication and hard work, just to fail a stupid multiple choice test by one point seems just a bit stupid to me. I don't think that any standardized test does our students justice. The only real way to truly know their understanding is to have a conversation with them, or observe them completing a related task. There is always some oddly stated question, or tricky answers that throw the kids off. If standardized test scores were accurate then over a half of my class is below where I know they are.

"I plan to change the world A naive notion? Maybe. Chiched? Perhaps. But Gyasi's bold declaration none-the-less crystallizes whi I-- and I think most teachers-- chose our vocation in the first place, and, more importantly, why we keep on keeping on." p. 193 (its actually a part of the afterword to the 1st edition)
So very true. I became a teacher because I wanted to impact the lives of young learners. I wanted to spark a love for learning that carries them through the rest of their education (and possibly lives). Its a big expectation for myself, but my Grandmother has told me a story 100 times about a teacher she had when she was 6. She still remembers what she looked like, remembers how she treated her students, and claims to be able to still hear her voice. Thats what I want to be for my students. I want them to remember me in a good way when they're 84, and more importantly, I want them to remember the values that I've tried to instill in them.

Researcher:
 Mr. Michie describes what the mariachi band looks and sounds like, but I figured that a mere description couldn't possibly do the real performance justice, so I looked up some videos of mariachi bands:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C6dYn0mTgw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i70WwB_xRU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=329L-ZQfbWo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr1F_wAJi3c


Essence Extractor: Teachers need to celebrate those seemingly small milestones in their students journey. it is the small victories that give the student the motivation and the confidence to be successful.