A Day With Kevin

I worked with Kevin this Friday! He is always so nice when we work together. I feel really lucky because some of my fellow classmates seem to encounter students who don't want to interact with their mentors, but the students I have been fortunate enough to work with are always so nice and welcoming. Even when they are having a bad day, they are willing to open up to me and explain what is going on to make them feel poorly.

 This week Kevin was working on USATest Prep. I was REALLY impressed with how many of the questions Kevin was able to get right without even having to discuss them with me. He is so smart! Some of those questions are tough, and there is A LOT to read for one test on USA Test Prep, but he just kept working and really got a lot accomplished. I was really proud to see him working so hard to get his work done.

So far I feel like USA Test Prep is that best online program that the students at Classic City work with. The questions are challenging, but not impossible, and it requires them to actually read through the questions in order to find the answers. This type of online practice questions are very similar to questions that I remember seeing on my standardized tests when I was in school. I think there really is a benefit to the Classic City kids working with this program. The one downside is that one test is very time consuming (again a good preparation for standardized tests, but frustrating to work with everyday).  I'm not sure if there are shorter practice type tests on the program or if they are always 50 question practice tests like the ones I have seen Kevin working on.

Surprise Surprise This Friday

So I showed up to mentor this week and when I walked into the front office to sign in, I was told that it was Parent Conference day and the students were about to be released for the day. So sadly, I did not get to mentor this past Friday.

Another New Student!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this, the crazy that is Midterms has forced this blog to sit--finished--but unpublished!

I worked with another student this week, we can call him, Sam. Sam was really behind on some assignments but REALLY did not want to work on them. After finding him paper, lending him a pen, and helping him understand what he needed to be doing, he got to work. It was hard for him to not put his headphones in and keep focused. We finally did get a lot accomplished, but he flat out told me that when I left he was going to stop working, which made me a little sad, but I was glad we were able to get stuff done.

I would really like to work with Sam again. He was really nice and seemed to enjoy talking to me about  his family and he and his father's fishing trips. I really enjoy when the kids at Classic City talk to me about their lives. Sometimes I can't help with their academics as much as I'd like to, but when they open up to me about things that are bothering them, I can at least be there for them and try to give advice.