During the Quiet Weeks

Sometimes there are weeks where I don’t think I learn a lot or as much as I did the week before. Sometimes those are the weeks where it’s slow, or I don’t remember anything in particular that stands out to me during class. Even so, I’ve tried to look a bit deeper into my experiences in the achievement centre. I’ve learned to really appreciate the minutiae of moments when nobody is really doing anything. For example, when everyone is working on classwork silently and no one really needs help, I take in the fact that everyone understands what they’re doing or attempting a new challenge independently.

Aside from that, I’ve talked with Mrs. Fernando and really understood the difference between the levels of courses. Being in academic ever since the start of my high school career, I never bothered to understand the different aspects of locally developed, college, and academic. It’s embarrassing to admit I never properly looked into them. I’ve noticed that the workload in the courses are different. Locally developed courses are more practical, real life scenarios whereas academic is more theory and the ideas of how the formulas work.

A challenge I had today was dealing with students who didn’t have the motivation to learn or do their work. Students that complained about the amount of work they had, though it wasn’t really that much to accomplish. They didn’t understand why they have to learn math. They deemed what they were learning in class as useless to them. Personally, it hurt to hear. I’m a fairly studious student, I always had the motivation to do well in my classes because I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew that what was waiting after high school was bigger than any assignment or essay I would ever do. A real job, making money to support the people I loved; I always had motivations. And it hurt to hear that these students didn’t understand why it was so important to be in school. I handled this situation by being patient with these students. I know it isn’t my job to convince them why it’s important, though I did try to have them understand why. I can teach them and help them as their mentor, but I know that I can’t change the mindset that’s already there and set in stone. I hope that eventually they’ll figure it all out and maybe I’ll even be there when it happens. But I can’t get frustrated over a way of thinking or an opinion I can't control or change.

One aspect of this week that surprised me was the amount of pride I had when a student that I helped fairly regularly completely aced a question on his test flawlessly without me helping him at all. Watching him succeed made me really happy because I was there from square one. I wonder if teachers feel that way too when a student suddenly click with what they're learning. My students and I are fairly close now. I’ve gotten to know them and the people they are, as well as the way they learn. I genuinely see everyone in the achievement centre as students who I can have conversations with. I also feel that they’ve gotten to be a lot more comfortable with talking to me or calling me when they need help. I worry about coming across as too informal when I teach them or help them with a lesson. Though, I know they don’t expect of me and that they want me to be my authentic self, which I am very glad I can be in the achievement centre.

As for my relationships with my mentorship teachers, they’ve honestly been nothing short of amazing. I feel that I find myself repeating that every week, but as I spend more and more time in the achievement centre, the more I can’t help but genuinely appreciate the teachers I work with every day. They are so quick to help me or if I’m struggling with something in my other classes, they do the best to help me personally. I know that they care a lot about their jobs simply by watching them help students around the room. They’re passionate. Just the other day, Mrs. Fernando helped me with my math proofs that I was having trouble with. She didn’t have to, but she did. She also reminded me and have me a heads up about the upcoming mentorship assignment because she also knows that I want to do well in my class. Simply, both Mr. Morris and Mrs. Fernando are the best mentorship teachers.

Although there are weeks where the room is quiet, or not much has happened, I still find moments to appreciate and learn from. Down below are the meme and motivational quote of the week.