Geometry Class up date

Improving in leaps and bounds, my geometry students are doing so much better. I could not be more proud to the work they have accomplished. They are really starting to understand the concepts we have been going over. It is really amazing to see their face light up when they get the right answer. There is this one student I have that I thought was going to give me a hard time throughout the semester. After failing his first test, his mother franticly called me explaining to me that her son has had trouble in math for years and needs to pass this semester in order to graduate. Pleading with me, she asked how she could help and what we could do to get him to understand. We decided to set up a few times to meet and we printed out every online resource we could find. It seemed as though he would never get it. Then one day in class I asked a question and being a wise guy, he made some joking remark that he thought was the wrong answer, but it turned out to be the right answer to the question. When I told him he was right, it was like watching a deer stare into the head light. He was speechless for the first time and did not know what to do. Since then, his test scores have risen from failing terribly to passing with a strong B. I could hardly believe myself. It was amazing and for the first time, I actually felt like someone was actually learning something in my classroom. It was so cool!
This week, we changed things up a bit. The books we have are really quite terrible. They take a full page to explain something so simple and hardly give enough information on the important thing. The last pages in our work book were all about sketching and graphing. So instead of sitting inside and drawing on the white board, we went outside and everyone took a piece to chalk and we sketched different shapes in the parking lot. Although they are high school students, they managed to get chalk all over themselves. We had a really good time! I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to teach this class. They have been wonderful.

Over the semester, I have had the privilege of taking a service learning class. My class has required me to do twenty hours of service at a place called Pomona Valley Workshop also known as PVW. PVW provides a safe working environment for adults with developmental disabilities. Next Monday will be my last day of service, and I can truly say I will miss all of the people I met very much. They have shown me so much over the past few months. I have to realize that we, the able bodied are really the ones with the handicap. We are able to do so many things, yet we hold our self back and do not do them. We take for granted everything we have. For example, I was talking to one the disabled gentlemen at the workshop and was telling me about how fascinated he was with this difficult high level mathematics called Algebra. For a man who is only able to count to one hundred, Algebra was a huge deal. In his world, Algebra is something so complex and intricate, yet for us, it something that the average high school student can do. We could care less about it, but to him it was far beyond anything he could ever grasp. It made me see just how lucky I am. I am blessed with a mind and a body that is capable for doing many great things that surpass Algebra if I only try. Seeing these amazing people has inspired me to try harder and do better in the areas I need to improve upon. I really enjoyed getting to know the individuals at PVW and hope to continue my friendship with them.