The Day Before the Day Before the Holidays Start!

Yesterday the sophomores did make-up work. Several of them were missing the Code of Ethics assignment and the Little Rock Nine assignment.

All students need to do a better job at taking notes in at least 3 classes a day.

Today the juniors worked on the following questions about the Achievement Gap in Tacoma:

1. TEACHER QUALITY
Write about a time when you feel you learned more because of your teacher.

Write about a time when you feel you didn’t learn as much as you could have because of your teacher.


2. CULTURAL COMPETENCY
Write about a time when a teacher or staff member at school did or said something racist either purposefully or out of ignorance.

OR

Write about a time when you could relate to what was being taught because it included your culture or something that is unique about you. Did it help you learn the material better because you could relate to it?

The Seniors continued their work on the Palmer Scholarship which is due on Monday!

Conclave and Palmer Scholarship

The kids are working hard. It's impressive to see this, especially since the last day of school before the holidays is Friday.

The Juniors had a binder check and Conclave. They are stressed about their grades and missing work they need to turn in, but excited about the holidays. One interesting revelation: I told them that in college there is no such thing as late work. It's either on time or an F! Two of the kids said they wish their teachers had a no late work policy, and that they would get their work in on time if their teachers made them.

The Seniors worked on their essays for the Palmer Scholarship. The Foss Scholarship form is due tomorrow, so we discussed that. I also told them about the Workforce Central Youth in Demand program.

Conclave and Recycled Journals

The Freshmen had binder checks today. Grant and Shanice were the only kids who showed up. I think the SAMI kids aren't coming because they are already on Winter Break. I did tell them we had class this week.

Anyway, we did Conclave. We talked about grades, Homecoming and Wrestling.

The freshmen also wrote some answers to some questions to help them relate what we are reading about the Tacoma Achievement Gap to their own lives. They answered the following questions:

TEACHER QUALITY
Write about a time when you feel you learned more because of your teacher.

Write about a time when you feel you didn’t learn as much as you could have because of your teacher.


2. CULTURAL COMPETENCY
Write about a time when a teacher or staff member at school did or said something racist either purposefully or out of ignorance.

OR

Write about a time when you could relate to what was being taught because it included your culture or something that is unique about you. Did it help you learn the material better because you could relate to it?

The sophomores didn't get to the questions above. We just did Conclave. They are a tough crowd. I am really having to be firm with them in their constant yacking. Last time we had Conclave I had to cut class short because they were being so mean to each other. Today they were mean again! Instead of stopping class I just told them why what they had said was so mean. The kids have to learn empathy and they have to learn how to behave in a college classroom.

Achievement Gap and Palmer Scholarship

Seniors spent the entire period working on their Palmer Scholarship. They also have the Foss Scholarship which is due next week. Their Achiever counselor said they have to turn in all of their college applications before Winter Break. They need to get busy!

Juniors continued their look at the Tacoma Achievement Gap Report. They started to get mad today. I think hearing the findings of the report made them realize that that it really is true. It's all stuff they have experienced or seen but I think seeing it in writing verifies that these things are truly happening across the board and that they are unacceptable.

We also had a conversation about their peers telling them they aren't "black enough," or they need to "act more black."

Looking at the Tacoma Achievement Gap Report

The Freshmen and Sophomores took notes on the Tacoma African American Achievement Gap. We discussed how and why the Black community doesn't trust the school district and also the disproportionate number of discipline reports for black students in the district. We also practiced our breathing and Jamie graded the sophomores' binders.

Table Manners, The Achievement Gap, and the Palmer Scholarship

The Juniors and Seniors continued their breathing exercises today. We are doing a very basic breathing exercise where we sit up straight, feet on the floor, close our eyes and breathe deeply through the nose. The only thing we have to think about is our breathing. It's amazing how relaxing a few minutes of this is!

Both classes were assessed on their table manners. The only real glitch was they didn't know where to put their napkin after they were finished with the meal and leaving the table (tucked loosely under the plate). The students said they used their newly-learned manners at the Hilltop Scholars Formal Dinner last Saturday night. Yay!

The Juniors began looking at the Tacoma District's Achievement Gap Report. They are taking notes on this.

The Seniors continued their work on the Palmer Scholarship which is due on 12/21.

Checking Notes and Assessing Table Manners

Here are the sophomores plates after they finished their meal. Check out the knife and fork right next to each other, blade towards the center of the plate, handles at 5:00! Wow!

Today was the first day that we checked notes for Freshmen. They did okay, not great.

With the freshmen and the sophomores we assessed the students' table manners, asking the following questions:

What do you do with your napkin?
Where do you put your napkin if you leave the table during the meal?
Where do you put your napkin after the meal?
Once the meal is served, when is it okay to begin eating?
Which spoon do you use for soup?
How do you eat the soup?
Which fork do you use for salad?
Which fork do you use for the main course?
How do you cut meat and then eat the meat?
How do you eat peas?
Where is the utensil you will use for dessert?
Where do you put your utensils to show you are finished eating?

Do you know the answers to these questions?

The freshmen also began looking at the report on the Achievement Gap in Tacoma. We will be studying that document over the next couple of weeks.

Did you know that in 1969 only 13% of the Tacoma student population were kids of color? Today 51% are kids of color! Also, in 1970, Tacoma School District was the first district in the country to voluntarily desegregate without a court order.

Table Manners for All!

Yvonne doesn't like peas, and she really doesn't like chasing them around on her plate! Phu Tai should get his elbows off the table.


Today was a blast teaching table manners and etiquette to the Juniors and Seniors. I felt like a kid hosting a tea party as I brought in my silverware (not real silver!) and china. We used apple juice for soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for meat. The students learned about proper napkin use, which utensils to use for which course, how to hold their fork, how to eat soup and how to chase peas around on your plate with your fork. It was a great chance for them to ask questions about what is and isn't polite in a safe environment.

They also practiced receiving a compliment in front of other students with the perfect response of "thank you." I told each student what I admired about him/her. Their reactions were very sweet and there were even some teary eyes. Awwww.