Monday, October 02, 2006

RE: Coaching and Promise and Potential Meeting

I was really pleased with the way my coaching went this morning. When I arrived, both my students were busy at work, A was organizing a few things, and C was putting together his homework for current events. I was very happy to find out that A had all his homework done for class that day, and the teacher invited him to walk around and see if anyone else needed help with any of the assignments they were working on. A was very excited that all his work was done and he was eager to show me everything that he had completed. He was very proud that he came to school organized and ready for the day. When I asked C about whether his homework (besides current events) was finished, he said yes. So I got out his planner and asked him specifically about each class, and we found that he did not have everything completed. I can not decide if he just did not remember that he had homework to finish in these classes, or if he did not want to complete these assignments. It seems to me that it is a combination of forgetfulness and forced forgetfulness...

Mid-term grade reports were sent home this past weekend, so one of my first questions for each of the boys was what their grades looked like for each of their classes. C replied that he did not look at the grade report, but when his grandfather looked at it he said C was doing "fair." I intednd to look into exactly what 'fair' means. A's grades are not looking very good, but I think with a little motivation he will come through just fine this semester. He seems to be having trouble with history and science, but he is very receptive to suggestions about how to do his work more effectively and how to be more organized. He seems enthusiastic about working with me to improve his study habits and his grades overall. C seems to just be trying to get by, but I will try to assess his motivations more clearly when I get more background about his family situation, and what he knows about his grades. I instructed both boys to go around to their teachers and ask the following questions: What am I missing? Can I make it up? Is there any extra credit?

The promise and potential Family night was a success in my opinion, however I was disappointed that there were only two coaches there including myself. I had hoped that more IWU students would be able to come and meet the parents/guardians of these children. So many of the parents were enthusiastic about the program and seemed to have a strong desire to get more involved in what their child is and is not accomplishing in school. I think for the next meeting it would be beneficial to make it just parents, coaches, and teachers, because at times the students were distracting to each other and the parents/teachers, and I think the parents may have been holding back some because they did not want to embarass their kids.

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