Action Blog Post #4

1.) I returned to Hillcrest Middle School as part of my action project to assist in a classroom again. This time, in addition to spending the entire day helping Mrs. Carston’s class, I also visited other teachers throughout the school to help them. I spent the morning interacting with the students in Mrs. Carton’s class and assisting them with their French homework. Then, I went to the Home Ec. classroom to support the students with sewing. I also attended a gym class after that and organized a basketball match. I also assisted in putting paper on the bulletin board and responded to questions from students regarding their math tests. 

2.) I consider my ability to connect with the students to be a success. This is because I’ve noticed that since the last time, the kids are more comfortable around me, frequently ask me questions, and attempt to make me laugh with jokes. Another success was correctly placing the paper on the bulletin board. I had six boards that needed to be completed. However, with a few students’ assistance, we were able to complete them in less than 30 minutes and tidy up the floor of staples and pins before students began to transition to their next class. Another achievement was advising students with their math tests. For example, I was able to walk around and guide them through the questions they didn’t understand without giving the answer away.

3.) One challenge I had was that I had a sore throat all day, which made it difficult for me to speak. By taking Tylenol and staying hydrated, I was able to get through this. Doing that made me feel better and soothed my voice. Another difficulty I faced was getting the students’ attention when I was organizing the basketball game because they were preoccupied with their own conversations and I couldn’t speak loudly enough to be heard by everyone. In order to get everyone’s attention, I overcame this by asking one of the students to yell for me. This strategy was successful because the students gathered around me to ask for directions. Another obstacle occurred during lunchtime when we were outside in the snow and someone started a snowball fight, and I was hit several times. I dealt with this by warning the students to be cautious and that they might get in trouble because occasionally snowballs can contain tiny rocks that can hurt someone. This worked because most of them stopped and convinced their friends to stop as well before any teachers came.

4.) Next I’ll be returning to that school again to support and guide the students because the teachers all appreciated my assistance. This time I will be going before December break to help with Christmas activities. The activities are an escape room that the teacher made and decorating activities. I will also try to help out in a gym class again because I enjoy staying active.