Wheels on the bus go round and round

Jessica

I was fortunate enough to visit KIPP Elementary Academy during my winter break from College and I was in awe just to see how intelligent and mature the little KIPPsters were. Chris Johnson - another KIPP alumnus - and I talked to a first grade class about college-life, and we were able to share with them the benefits of living both on-campus and off-campus. The kids were very intrigued and enthusiastic during the discussion; they were very respectful and well behaved. The KIPPsters asked insightful questions and I was just so amazed to see how they understood the importance of doing well in school so that they can go to college and one day become successful. They knew and believed that they can do anything that they set there little minds to do, this inspired and encouraged me as a future teacher to work hard and do my best so that I can be useful for generations coming up after me. After Chris and I finished talking to the KIPPsters, they were instructed to go back to their desks and complete a class work assignment. On the worksheet they had to explain two reasons about why they were excited about going to college and draw two pictures to go along with their paragraphs. I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING! These babies can write a full sentence about why they want to go to college this was unbelievable! When I was six years old I do not think the word College was even in my vocabulary and for these children to be able to be aware of just how important college is and sit down and write about it was just a beautiful sight to see. I had a good time working with the little KIPPsters and I am still pursuing a degree in Secondary Education but I am considering visiting the little KIPPsters every so often and hopefully when they become high school students I will have the pleasure of teaching them and make it possible for them to see the day when they go off to college a day in which they earnestly make preparation for today!

Workshops

Jessica

Since I last blogged, I have added another weekly event to my schedule! The Russell Conwell Center hosts student workshops every day.  I try to attend at least one a week so that I can mingle and become familiar with other Temple faces besides the ones in my classes.

So my first workshop was the "In it to win it" workshop. I had the best time because it was CANDY GALORE! I had so much fun eating candy and playing games with new people. Another workshop that I attended that was suggested by my counselor was the Resident Assistant workshop.  The workshop is for those who are interested in becoming an RA or a campus leader to get training on how to work and lead others successfully. I am not necessarily interested in becoming an RA but I learned a lot of life nuggets that I can definitely apply when I become a teacher, like how to support a situation where your student is having problems at home or with other adults. I also learned some resume and interview tips for the future.

The most recent workshop that I went to was Cram Jam!  By far this was the most enjoyable workshop for me! Cram Jam was a big study party. It lasted three days - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. We were spilt up into groups based on which subjects we were weakest in.  We had a tutor who was most likely a sophomore, and we went over review packets and ate pizza and drank soda. In my group, we laughed and giggled the entire time! (We were productive in between jokes).

 I enjoyed Cram Jam because I learned different methods and easier strategies to solve math problems that I originally counted as out of my league. I would not even try some of them, but once a classmate broke the problem down, I was able to solve others like it. I also offered the few math skills that I had to my peers to help them with their work.

My Weekly Schedule

Jessica

School has been in session for a little over than a month, and I am getting used to my schedule. On Mondays I make it to my 8:00 AM. English Class in Gladfelter Hall by the skin of my teeth. I am not a big fan of Monday mornings at all. Next semester I am going to definitely schedule my classes later on Mondays. 

Then I go to tutoring for math from 10:00 am. to 11:00 am. at the Russell Conwell Center. I love going to the RCC building to do my work because I get to see all of my classmates and friends from the summer program. We all meet there to hang out, get extra help when needed and, most of all, utilize the free printing privileges given to us for completing the summer program. The RCC building is never quiet. There is always laughing and talking between students and staff or a debate about which organization is better.  Nevertheless, the Russell Conwell Center is a productive place because when it is time to get down to business, the games stop and we complete our work then immediately go back to joking and playing tricks on one another. It is truly a fun environment to be in! 

My next class does not begin until 2:00 PM so I hang out until about 1:30pm. Then I walk over to Ritter Hall for my Education class called Tweens and Teens.  In my Tweens and Teens class we talk about teenagers and development for fifty minutes. This class is very much focused on the media and its effect on teens and their identity so we are required to watch teen shows from today as well as the 90s and compare the times.  We have watched shows ranging from Dawson’s Creek, My-So-Called-Life, and Degrassi to today’s shows like Teen Mom and The Secret Life of an American Teenager. We discuss and often time get into heated debates about the portrayal of teens in the media. After fifty minutes of arguing about what shows influence teens and their behavior, I go home and try to get myself ready to get up before dawn again so that I can make it to work on time the next morning.

 On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do not have class until 2:00 PM so I decided to complete my Work Study hours on those days.  Fortunately, KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy hired me so I work for four hours 8:00am. until 12:00pm.  Now that the kids are familiar with m, when I get to the school, they speak and wave at me as I come in.  At the high school, I work with Ms. Freeman and a small group of students on reading skills and the students are so respectful and receptive.  I enjoy and appreciate working with them because even though we are pretty much the same age, they treat me like a teacher. After I leave KIPP,  I go directly to school.

 My first class on Tuesdays and Thursdays is Dramatic Imagination and it begins at 2pm in Tuttleman.   Every class session I sit next to a girl named Christina, and we have become friendly with each other so we talk and laugh throughout the class when it is appropriate ( especially at our professor because he is so comical). We sit in the very front row so whenever he makes jokes he interacts with us.  

Since Christina and I get along so well, we decided to do our class project together with four other class members. The project requires us to create our own theater company and advertise a season worth of productions for that theater company.  After my Dramatic Imagination class, I go to Math Class from 3pm to 5pm.  Normally on a Thursday night, I will go see the theater production assigned for the week by my teacher.  Once everyone sees the production in the amount of time that the instructor gives us, we take a quiz and have a class discussion about the play.

On Wednesdays I go back to English class.  I barely make it and then I have class again at 2pm. I love my Friday schedule because I only have one class and that starts at 2pm. So I go to Study Hall at 1pm and bi-weekly I have to see my Academic Counselor.  After class on Fridays, which ends at 2:50 PM, I go home and prepare to complete the same cycle again the next week.

Routines

Kentrell

Almost 2 full months of college has past. It seems like I've been here for about a year already. But in this two month time period, I developed a lot of routines.

One of my favorite routines is hitting the snooze button about 5 times before I actually get up for class because an extra 20 minutes of sleep always good. =)
Another thing that has become normal to me is being in my dorm and studying. I’m constantly reading one of my books for class or writing a 2,3, or 4 page paper for English. I check my grades online also, not all of them are good though, but it’s nothing a little hard work won't change.

After my classes are over, I go eat with some friends and we go to the gym and play ball or go to the fields for some flag football games. We play about 4 or 5 games of basketball sometimes and we meet new people every time we play.

These games are really intense even though they are just for fun. They start off as 3 on 3 half court games, but these are just like warm ups. When more people come, we play 5 on 5 full court.

The 5 on 5 games are very competitive and tiring.  Winning requires non stop running up and down the court, playing hard defense and good offense. Sometimes I'll make a shot as the defender runs up to try and block it, but my shot is soooo good, it goes in..nothin’ but net! 

Everyone - even the opposing team - compliments me on the shot. It feels good when everyone is having a good time in a competitive situation. The games get intense, but everyone is a good sport even if they lose. At the end of every game, everyone shakes hands until next time.

College is a lot of fun and requires a lot of hard work as well. Developing routines is a good way to manage your time so you can stay focused and have fun.

Sleepy Monday

Brittany

This weekend I had a little extra time on my hands, and wasn’t worried so much about the books and studying, so I spent the whole weekend out with my friends! “Woot woot!”

I would go home, grab clothes and leave out again for another place.  But, in that midst of all that, I was throwing clothes, shoes, belts, and accessories all over the place trying to find things and rush out of the house to go party some more!! So, I finally came home Sunday to rest my body from the busy weekend and noticed that my room was a wreck! Ugh! I had a lot of cleaning to do and it was 10:00 pm at night AND I had class in the morning at 9 am!!

So I called my boyfriend and talked to him for a little while and realized it was now 11:30pm and I still had not cleaned my room, got my books and notes together, and I hadn’t picked out what I was wearing. I slowly stopped talking to my boyfriend, put the phone on speaker, sat the phone on the bed and quickly started cleaning my room. Shoes were flying in the boxes, clothes were flying in the hamper, and books were getting thrown into my book bag!

This took about an hour and a half because I was going back and forth with talking to my boyfriend and  cleaning my room.   And now it’s 1:30 am in the morning and I have bags under my eyes as I struggle to pick an outfit out for school.  I quickly threw something together and got in bed! Finally!! I set my alarm, and totally forgot my boyfriend was on the phone  ( oh well =p ).

“ Beep beep beep!!”, my alarm was ringing ridiculously in my ear, so I put it on snooze like 5 times. When I finally woke up it was 8:30am, which meant I was going to be late!  I was so tired and had to listen to my teacher’s lecture in front of the class without falling asleep. Never again will I spend all weekend out with my friends and not be prepared for school because it can make your mornings very irritable and crazy!

Text Books

Brittany
Well, my first time for something in college was buying text books! Yes, buying books is the worst part because you have to use your own money! These books cost me over 300 dollars!! And then the worst part about getting the books is that you have to wait in a line that's miles long because everyone is rushing to get their books because it's the beginning of the semester. 

Please make sure you save your money too or else you are going to have to save up while classes are going on, so therefore that means you are missing assignments! This is where I learned that those wonderful seven jeans could have waited... and those beautiful shoes with the really cool platform could have waited :(

I was so used to getting my books for free in high school, and just signing off a piece of paper to return it at the end of the year.. Well, I sure did get my wake up call, and it woke me up good! College will charge you for every ounce of your education, but I realized that it will be all worth it in the end! So I had to tell H&M, Forever21, The Shoe Factory and all the other places I shopped at that I will only be seeing them maybe once every two months, instead of once every week :)

Roommate-less

Kentrell

My first day on campus was bittersweet. It was really the start of me living on my own and I knew no one up here. I was happy and scared at the same time....and yes I cried a little. So to get my mind off things, I unpacked while I waited for my roommate so he could be the first person I met...and I waited...and I waited. . he never showed up. 

So I started my first year of college with no roommate.

The weekend goes by (no partying for me) and my first day of classes is here. Political Theory was my first official class and my professor had no problem with jumping right in to the lesson. She talked on and on about John Locke and his views on government. Of course, I was listening while taking notes at the same time because she wasn’t writing a lot on the board. I felt prepared though because I was taught college was going to be exactly like this in middle school.

The first person I met was a girl named Tone (Tony) who is in my political theory class. She’s a sophomore and is one of the nicest people I've met. From gaining that one friend, I gained more confidence to meet and talk to new people. Now I walk around campus shaking hands with familiar faces and say 'wassup' to anyone I walk past. My first year is going good so far. . . I just can’t wait for the first time I get to go home!!!!