Date of Meeting:    2/27/18

 

I spent the session getting acquainted with NC and where he is at with his school and general interests. He shared that he enjoys playing on the football and basketball team, and that he is a Russell Westbrook fan. He has also been recently given a conditional lunch suspension for shouting a derogatory word in a classroom. For this, his teacher has assigned him a video project to explain his wrongdoings. While he was initially hesitant to even do the project, we were able to type out a script for his video. He says his strengths are in geometry and Spanish, and his subjects of most needed assistance are English and world history. To be honest, English is not my subject either.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    3/6/18

 

Our meeting started with following up on NC’s video assignment from the teacher last week, which he said was resolved with the help of the script we wrote. This week, he decided to spend the time to work on some talking points for an upcoming class debate on why Martin Luther King, Jr. is the most important figure in African American history. We did some research on the internet, between some original speech footage on YouTube and Wikipedia articles, and were able to come up with some talking points. I helped him find some direction in forming arguments, and had him type and read back his sentences. At one point, NC’s girlfriend had FaceTime call him on his phone, but he told her that he would call her back and put his phone away promptly afterwards. He appeared more enthusiastic on this assignment than his last one, and there was hardly any difficulty in staying engaged with the work. I’m slowly getting to know him more, and feel comfortable with the pace of our progress. Please let me know if there is any academic area that needs particular focus during my time with this student.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    3/13/18

 

NC and I started our period working on a grammar practice assigned by his English teacher, but after a few minutes he grew uninterested and so we moved onto preparing notes for his history class. This week, the task was to take notes defending his opinion on why MLK is the most influential leader in black history. In doing so, we watched videos that featured the rival leader Malcolm X in order to strategize the conversation and to provide responses to our opponent’s arguments. NC seemed more interested in this topic than his other assignment, and we progressed through the notes with an encouraging level of engagement and participation. I’d like to get a better idea of where NC is academically so that I can best suit his and the teaching staff’s needs.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    3/20/18

 

This week we worked on writing a paragraph that describes NC’s opinion on whether cooperative businesses are beneficial for the local community or not. We began by discussing the definition and using examples to convey their relationship to the community.  He also shared with me his current grades, and that he is failing his PE and Spanish classes due to rowdiness in the classroom or lack of resources. If there is any way a teacher in any of those courses would consider giving him a make-up assignment to boost his grade, I would be better equipped to encourage him to improve these areas.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    4/10/18

 

NC and I had finished his only assignment within the first 15 minutes of our session. He reported that he had no other assignments to work on, and so we went back into his English classroom. The English teacher showed me his grades, and it appeared that there was very little improvement in his history class, the course that we’ve spent most of our time working together on. NC and I walked into the history teacher’s room to discuss options on improving his grade, and it we all agreed to complete some make-up assignments during our next session.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    4/17/18

 

Today I met NC in the history teacher’s room and we began with a list of make-up assignments to work on. We then proceeded with the assignments and NC demonstrated a stronger diligence to completing his work. We had finished the majority of the listed assignments and discussed his responsibilities in completing the rest. The history teacher was very helpful in providing the work and guiding us on answering the questions. NC was very motivated and well-mannered throughout our time together.

 

 

Date of Meeting:    4/24/18

 

NC was not present for our session today. After spending much time asking different faculty and staff, I found myself hanging around the halls for a few minutes before leaving for the day. This was the first time NC had ditched our period, and I hope this does not become a regular pattern.

 

 

Date of Meeting 5/1/18

 

When I arrived, I was told from a fellow mentor that NC was not in his previous class.  When I went to the attendance office, it was found that he was absent for the day.  I hope the issue of ensuring mentee attendance for the mentor can be resolved such that this problem does not persist.