Dr.MLK Jr. & Student Led Conferences

Parents learn about "stinking thinking" during conferences.

A great example of a script from a wonderful mentor!

This past week was a busy one as we hosted our second semester Parent Conferences! We had almost fifty families visit our YESS classroom over the course of two nights and it was truly an honor to connect with parents, siblings, and guardians. I have seen so much growth in our YESS scholars this year and it is always a wonderful experience to hear the same things from our families. "You are so awesome Ms. Garnett, her attitude is totally different now!" and, "I don't know what you did, Ms. Garnett, but he is working so much harder now and we got great reviews from all of his teachers this time!" are just a few examples of the pride that was expressed to me. Our mentors and mentees are truly making gains this year, and it is usually around this time in the year that other teachers, coaches, and family members begin to note the changes in attitude and work ethic. I am so proud of our YESS scholars!

Conferences are a great time to check in with each and every scholar. Over the course of two days I meet one-on-one with each mentee and mentor to go over our conferences script (see example) and to take a look in Empower to better understand their learning targets and progress in all other classes. We also take a look at attendance to see if there are any issues with unexcused tardies or unexcused absences. This helps bring awareness to these issues so that we may take steps to change, if necessary.

Mentors learn about Chavez in the tech lab during Mentor Monday.

Since the mentors and I have been discussing leadership during our time on Mondays we took some time this week to include the mentees in our discussions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contemporaries in the Civil Rights movement. We watched, "I Have a Dream," and discussed the relevance to today's political climate. We took at look at the Ram Super Bowl commercial ad that was aired on the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's, "Drum Instinct Major," speech to better understand appropriation and how it effects our culture. First, we viewed the ad--which seemed harmless, just a few shots inspiring patriotic acts with Dr. King's speech over top--but we when looked more closely at the nature of the speech, it became clear how Dr. King's words had been stolen and misused. In fact, in the original speech, Dr. King warns:

"Now the presence of this instinct explains why we are so often taken by advertisers. You know, those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion. And they have a way of saying things to you that kind of gets you into buying. In order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey. In order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car. (Make it plain) In order to be lovely to love you must wear this kind of lipstick or this kind of perfume. And you know, before you know it, you're just buying that stuff. (Yes) That's the way the advertisers do it."

7th hour watches, "I Have a Dream."

Thomas and Sergio partner up to take Cornell notes on Chavez during Tutoring Tuesday.

Our scholars were shocked to hear Dr. King warning about advertisements and could not believe that his speech had been appropriated to, as Dr. King's friend Dr. Harry Edward's said, "peddle trucks." It really got them all thinking about the ways they interpret messages and to question the truth of the message itself.

Next week will continue our discussions on healthy relationships by looking at negative beliefs we often unknowingly hold on to and how they in turn affect our personal beliefs.