Mondays with Morris! * :) [3]

My "Monday with Morris" got rescheduled to a Friday this week. We only spoke briefly today, during the fire drill. We spoke about the topic of my research paper. He likes the idea of the influence that younger kids' friends have on them. On Friday, we'll look up more information on that and get a little more brainstorming done. This will give me a great start for my paper. :)

Whacky Wednesdays! * :) [FT3]

This Wednesday, February 23, 2011, I went on my third trip to the middle school. When I first got there, Jeff was called down by Ms. Ryan and ran some errands for her. After that, Mrs. Lee, who was Ms. Mosinsky when I was in her gym class, allowed me to sit in the gym and watch her class for the beginning of her last gym class of the day. I wanted to see the children interact with each other on a more “laid back” environment. I didn’t get the chance to actually see them participating in the activity because they were so talkative. I did see though that the students were very easily distracted by each other and once one started talking, the rest of them joined in. It became a bit annoying, but I remembered going through the same exact thing with my classmates. I almost wanted to apologize to the teachers for the many times that I joined in on these unnecessary conversations during times when the class could’ve been doing something more productive. The teachers were, and still are, very patient. My patience is definitely one thing that I will need to work on when working with children. Around 2:15, I made my way to the Middle School cafeteria with the second group of “Leading Ladies”. This group of girls, like the first group, was working on a skit for the fifth graders. Their theme was “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It took Group Two, as I like to call them, a little longer than the first group to get their ideas flowing. They got sidetracked more than once and their topics often led to other topics and started new conversations. They took the entire half an hour to reach a unanimous decision to just one idea. Ms. Ryan is going to try to have a teacher agree to letting me sit in one of their classes next Wednesday and observe. I’m looking forward to this visit and I’m very excited to see what happens next.

"Aha!" Moment [1]

My "Aha!" moment for the week actually happened while visiting with my sponsor. I got the chance to see two "socially uneducated" children interact with each other. The first child, Nathan, was having a melt-down from being picked on that day. He didn't really know how to control his temper, so him having the chance to leave the class was actually a good idea. Ms. Ryan then called another student, by the name of Jeffery, to the guidance office. I was told that Jeff, as the counselors called him, recently started working with Ms. Ryan on his interaction with his peers. When he first came into the office, Ms. Ryan followed my name by, "and what do you say when you meet new people?" He turned to me and said, as if rehearsed, "Hello. How are you?" I thought it was pretty interesting that a fifth grader had to be taught things like that. Ms. Ryan explained to me that Jeff was an only child and didn't have the chance to spend time with other children much. I realized that this may be a major factor in the behavior of children. Jeff then went out to spend a little time with Nathan. They played a game of Connect Four. Ms. Ryan and I sat close by to make sure everything went smoothly. I could tell that Ms. Ryan was doing a pretty amazing job working with the two of them because there wasn't a silent moment at all during the entire game. I liked to see that the two boys were working on their listening skills as well as "conversation starters".

Whacky Wednesdays! * :) [1]

As you can see, I've decided to name my Sponsor Visits/Field Trips as "Wacky Wednesdays". Yesterday afternoon, I left the school around 1 pm to have my first field trip to the Middle School. When I first got to Ms. Ryan's office, I thought that I would only be sitting in her office the whole time, watching her do paper work and check grades. Come to find out, the trip wasn't like that at all. A few students came down to the office to check their grades, a couple of whom gave numerous explanations and excuses for little to no homework done in certain classes. I believe that my first trip to the Middle School was a great success.

Mondays with Morris! * :) [1]

I've decided to label my mentor meetings as "Mondays with Morris" and number them that way. I had the priviledge of having my very first graded weeting with him yesterday. We discussed how to centralize my topic for not only my project, but my research paper as well. He didn't have much time, so we didn't get to pick one topic, but we didn't come up with a list of ideas that are all common, the influence that different factors have on children. I've decided that this will also be the topic of m entire project and also what I will keep in mind when working with the children at the middle school. I think my project is off to a pretty good start so far.

Introducing Me! * :)

Good evening, everyone! My name is Quashelle Paige and here I will give you a little "run down" of my senior project. First, I'd like to introduce my mother, Cat. Next in line is my mentor, Coach Sheldon Morris. He's a teacher here at Lindenwold High School and the coach of a field event in the Spring. Last, but certainly not least, is my sponsor, Ms. Megan Ryan. She's a guidance counselor at Lindenwold Middle School. For my senior project, I've chosen the topic of Child Psychology. I'd like to study the behavior of children and the many ways their relationships with others are effected by that behavior. We're also required to do a 5-6 page research paper, on which I will describe the influence of friends and parents on the behavior of younger children. I'm sure I will learn a lot from this project and I hope that I will have fun in the process. I wish to see most of you again in May when I have my finished product. Thank you! :)

I'm Sponsored! * :)

At the start of Senior Project, I imagined myself being able to spend the majority of my time in an actual office of a Child Psychologist. I found a potential sponsor and with the help of my mentor, made the call. Unfortunately, we didn’t get in touch with him. We left a message and a week later he called back. By that time, I already had another sponsor confirmed. Ms. Megan Ryan, a Guidance Counselor at Lindenwold Middle School, offered to be my sponsor. After giving it some thought, I realized that this opportunity would be better than spending time in an office. I decided that Ms. Ryan would have to be the best choice. My first meeting with Ms. Ryan went extremely well. I told her more about the Senior Project program and discussed with her details of the “Kick Off Event.” With her as my sponsor, I will be able to study different groups of children and how they interact with each other. This is one thing that I love thinking about. The behavior of children is one thing that I know a Middle School Guidance Counselor, like Ms. Ryan, will know a lot about. I thank her for approving and am looking forward to working with her over the next few months.