Good afternoon to all of you!
First and foremost, I want to start off by thanking all of you who have reached out to the class here at WLA. Your support, positive energy, and kinds words have been helpful for all of us as the year is now in full effect. From reading these blogs that I write, to sending emails or commenting on the work that has happened in here the past month, to simply stopping by the class to say hi. All of it, no matter, how big or small it might be, is always appreciated.
The entire month of September, the MLT and I met and discussed possible candidates that we might want to bring in for an interview. We ultimately decided that Senior Fernando Torres, should be the one to take over the responsibilities of the class. Fernando was interviewed by my other Mentor Leaders Fantasia, Naisett, Viviana and Joe, and I simply observed as they asked him questions over who he is as a student, as an athlete, but more importantly, how he is as a leader. Fernando is what you would call a "Silent Leader." What I mean by that is he is someone who does all the right things without being told to do them. His sense of right and wrong is fully active at all times. He leads both in the front but also in the back. He knows what to say to those who seek direction and to those who need someone to set the example. Not only that, but Fernando comes in ready and motivated to conquer the day, an energy that he gives off to others who strive to hear from him. After high school, Fernando plans to go to the military and study health to be a nurse/doctor.
Simply put, Fernando has people behind him, looking at what he does at all times, and because of this, he is aware that he can be the one to set the class in the right direction of productive discussions and hard work. It is because of this that we believe he is the right person for the job.
In other words, he is a true Cowboy. I look forward to working with him and developing him into being who he really is: a leader.
The entire month of September was dedicated to building the community in this class. We went through several lessons this month, however for the purposes of this blog I want to direct the attention towards our Speed Matching lesson. Everything we have done in class has ultimately led to this moment, where we look towards someone wiser than us for guidance for the right reasons. The challenge, however, was to make sure that our students understand firstly that asking for help is not a weakness. Rather, it is a skill one has to develop. In other words, our students need to want to help each other out without expecting anything in return.
Usually, the upperclassmen (11th or 12th Graders) are chosen to be mentors, with the occasional 9th or 10th grader sometimes showing enough merit to be a responsible mentor. Not all upperclassmen will be mentors. They must show they are worthy enough to be a leader in this class.
The 9th and 10th graders or in this particular situation, middle schoolers are mentees.
Interviews: Our students run through the lesson called "Speed Matching." What that looks like is they ask each other a series of questions from the list below:
I gave our students 5 minutes to interview each other and then rotate to someone else. At the very end, I asked them to put down 3 people that they would be very happy to work with.
This where my Mentor Leaders came into the picture and problem solved. They all took the lists, took the recommendations, sat down with our students, debriefed with myself and came up with their own list of pairs to have some agency and a vote in the matter. This is one of the skills I want my MLT to have: to be able to assess, evaluate, reflect and decide on matters that are important.
Not only does this support our mission to build community, but it also gives my MLT a say in the matter. In other words, they have a responsibility and a duty to the class.
Once they are paired up, they then officially interview one another, and make a presentation on each other. Below is Joe and several other our mentees/mentors.
First and foremost, I want to start off by thanking all of you who have reached out to the class here at WLA. Your support, positive energy, and kinds words have been helpful for all of us as the year is now in full effect. From reading these blogs that I write, to sending emails or commenting on the work that has happened in here the past month, to simply stopping by the class to say hi. All of it, no matter, how big or small it might be, is always appreciated.
1. Introducing our 5th and final Mentor Leader: Fernando Torres
The entire month of September, the MLT and I met and discussed possible candidates that we might want to bring in for an interview. We ultimately decided that Senior Fernando Torres, should be the one to take over the responsibilities of the class. Fernando was interviewed by my other Mentor Leaders Fantasia, Naisett, Viviana and Joe, and I simply observed as they asked him questions over who he is as a student, as an athlete, but more importantly, how he is as a leader. Fernando is what you would call a "Silent Leader." What I mean by that is he is someone who does all the right things without being told to do them. His sense of right and wrong is fully active at all times. He leads both in the front but also in the back. He knows what to say to those who seek direction and to those who need someone to set the example. Not only that, but Fernando comes in ready and motivated to conquer the day, an energy that he gives off to others who strive to hear from him. After high school, Fernando plans to go to the military and study health to be a nurse/doctor.
Simply put, Fernando has people behind him, looking at what he does at all times, and because of this, he is aware that he can be the one to set the class in the right direction of productive discussions and hard work. It is because of this that we believe he is the right person for the job.
In other words, he is a true Cowboy. I look forward to working with him and developing him into being who he really is: a leader.
2. 1 student who has excelled in building Community.
I want to write about this student who has come in to the class and jumped right into the mixture. Geovany Lopez, a 7th grader here at West. Geo has stepped up tremendously in class by not only turning work in on time and turning in quality work, but also has encouraged his class of very quiet middle schoolers to buy into the class and buy into the what we are doing by building community in the class. Below, you will see a piece of writing that Geo submitted for our daily journals.3. Mentors/Mentees being paired up.
What is worse? Asking for help or judging someone for asking for help?
One of the biggest deterrents of participating in asking for help is fear of judgement from others to ask questions. I asked my class what is worse: asking for help or judging someone for asking for help?Clearly, judging others for asking for help is not a wise choice.
This room is inclusive to all students and ideas. At no point will our students be under the impression that asking questions or asking for help is a bad thing. That is why we have this class: so we can help one another in every aspect of eachother's lives.The entire month of September was dedicated to building the community in this class. We went through several lessons this month, however for the purposes of this blog I want to direct the attention towards our Speed Matching lesson. Everything we have done in class has ultimately led to this moment, where we look towards someone wiser than us for guidance for the right reasons. The challenge, however, was to make sure that our students understand firstly that asking for help is not a weakness. Rather, it is a skill one has to develop. In other words, our students need to want to help each other out without expecting anything in return.
What the process looks like:
1. Being chosen to be a Mentor/Mentee:Usually, the upperclassmen (11th or 12th Graders) are chosen to be mentors, with the occasional 9th or 10th grader sometimes showing enough merit to be a responsible mentor. Not all upperclassmen will be mentors. They must show they are worthy enough to be a leader in this class.
The 9th and 10th graders or in this particular situation, middle schoolers are mentees.
Interviews: Our students run through the lesson called "Speed Matching." What that looks like is they ask each other a series of questions from the list below:
I gave our students 5 minutes to interview each other and then rotate to someone else. At the very end, I asked them to put down 3 people that they would be very happy to work with.
This where my Mentor Leaders came into the picture and problem solved. They all took the lists, took the recommendations, sat down with our students, debriefed with myself and came up with their own list of pairs to have some agency and a vote in the matter. This is one of the skills I want my MLT to have: to be able to assess, evaluate, reflect and decide on matters that are important.
Not only does this support our mission to build community, but it also gives my MLT a say in the matter. In other words, they have a responsibility and a duty to the class.
Once they are paired up, they then officially interview one another, and make a presentation on each other. Below is Joe and several other our mentees/mentors.
Now that the first part of the semester is over, we can dive into everything else we have planned for our youth.
Unit II of our curriculum is Healthy Relationships.
Below is a list of items we will be reviewing the remaining part of the semester:
Come check in next month to see what we are doing here in room 324 here at West Leadership Academy.
As always, happy reading, y'all.
Cowboys, Out.
Peace
"It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in
your heart."
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