Donald Senior Project

Hours Mon: 6 Tues: 6 Wed: 3 Thur: 4 Fri: 6 Total for entire project: 45 Week two of senior project was filled with a lot of laughs and work. This week was the week of the play, so, I had to balance school work with time at the meeting house. A few kids on the baseball team were in the musical, Shrek, so it was all very fun. In the classroom, this week was mostly finishing up with final projects and wrapping up previous work. I became more comfortable with the kids I didn't know prior to being a TA and was able to help more people because of that. Below are a few end of term comments by students that I think are perfect to note.  "I honestly had many "eureka" moments this year, ( I had to look up this word FYI ) anyways, when it comes to satisfaction of discovering something, there were many, but when it came to this class in particular, I found myself having these moments in the reading of " Salt Water Buddha ". these moments were mostly found when I was re...

 Friday was another day in the books as it started with two blocks of culture and conflict. Then post lunch was intro to lit and athletes and lit. this was a full day of classes but was also kind of low key. Lots of students seemed burnt out from a stress filled week, so much of the class time was time to work or review. The last few weeks on campus are always a fun time to look back on the year and enjoy the people around you!

 Thursday was another busy day in the life of teaching! The day started off with the freshman where they had just finished 57 Bus and we going over old quizzes to prepare for their final test. Some of the kids were still confused that the test would be made up of the old quizzes which was a little frustrating but at the end they were all settled down. This class is still my favorite because of the camaraderie in the class and the banter that is always going on. The day then ended with Athletes and Lit Todays Hours: 4 

Wednesday started with a free block which was a nice change of pace to have a sleep in. Second block was culture and conflict where the banned book op-ed was due. Madi presented her writing to give the rest of the class an example and other were able to edit after this. After C&C we had athletes where we began our infographics. After the entire day I had my last ever baseball game which we won and I somehow hit a home run in. Also senior bricks are in which was cool but also kinda sad.  

 Monday was a very busy day with all 4 blocks being filled with classes. The day started with athletes and lit, then went to a double block culture and conflict, and ended with the freshman. This day was filled with putting the final touches on presentations and saw many students proud of their work. Athletes and lit were editing their infographics, culture and conflict was preparing for their presentation for innovation night, and intro was getting ready for their Capstone art show. One highlight of the day was when the freshman began setting up their art work and people walking by and Heidi were so impressed with it. 

Today was a more relaxed day of classes as we started of with intro to lit. The class had the task to print and laminate their infographics to give to the bookstore. Although surprisingly nobody has the ability to print, we got them printed, cut out and laminated. The second block was the other athletes block which had the treat of going to warner to drop the infographics off and stops at Dunks. I spent the time in between finishing up my table in woodworking. At the end of the day, Cassidy, Ellie, Mel, and I went out to dinner which was an absolute blast. What a way to cap off senior project! Today Total Hours: 6

Tuesday started with first block culture and conflict, as we met in the dining hall to kick start our mornings. The class is small enough so that we fit at one table, which is ideal for conversation. A warm cup of coffee and a little breakfast slowly transitioned into a discussion of each of the banned books they had been reading. Everybody shared their own opinion of their book, whether they thought it should be banned, and whether or not they think it should be taught at Proctor. It seemed as though most of these books were banned for explicit vocabulary and graphic scenes, that most teenagers are already exposed to. We got into the discussion of whether or not banning these books is justified in the sense that it allows parents to filter what their kids see. We started grappling with the fact that social media and phones expose the same stuff. After this class another C&C Block followed, and Athletes and Lit was after that, where I presented my college essay and the final projec...

      Hours Mon: 3 hours Tues: 3 hours Wed: 3 hours Thur: 4 hours Fri: 4 hours Sat: 3 hours Week Total: 20 hours Over the course of the week, there have already been many memorable moments that I would love to reflect on within this platform. The first memorable moment I would like to reflect on was the very first meeting I had the Monday morning that started senior project. Mel and I met in the dining hall and quickly started analyzing final projects, looking for any possible way to better them and make them more "end of year friendly". Mel's willingness to adapt her projects and hear my perspective and then to implement it into her curriculum was fascinating. This reminded me that teaching at Proctor is different from most in the sense that teachers don't roll out the same assignments and class plans year after year, boring themselves and students to death. The flexibility allowed by administrators allows teachers to continue to better their teaching and keep it fre...

The early Monday morning started off with a cup of coffee and Intro to Literature. The most enjoyable of my blocks at the moment. In an activity to make a piece of art work that represents a crucial human right, which their essays are on, Brooke shared insight into her own life that kick started the rest of the class. She talked about how on the lake she spends summers on, an eight year old girl was killed in a boat accident as a result of drunk driving. This tragedy shocked the community and in an effort put an end to drunk boating, pictures remembering the girl were posted around the lake. This reminded me and everybody else in the class that everything is much more meaningful with a personal story behind it. Brooke coming forward and sharing her thoughts with the class inspired everyone, and I thought changed the tone of the class for the remainder of the block. Even after class, Issac stayed after to put in extra work on his project. This class was a prime example of collaboration ...

 Saturday was a short but efficient day as Mel was scheduled to have two classes. I attended first block culture and conflict where everybody shared the beginning thoughts of their personal book and we dove deeper into the college essay. After this block I aided Mel and Lindsey while they both had classes by taking Anders to Saturday morning baseball while both. Alicia and I were able to relieve Lindsey and Mel of this duty with time to spare before my own game. At 12:30 the baseball team left for Brewster for our last regular season game. Although we lost and the heat was brutal, it was another reminder of how good of a group we have and how it was worth it for us to stay on campus for senior project. Todays total hours was 3. Looking forward to continuing this journey on Monday!

 Friday was a groggy morning as I woke up in the big city following last night's game. Aidan Botti and I reconnected with Jack and Mitch to head back to campus, stopping to get some breakfast before our departure. We got back to campus at 10:30 so I picked up where I left off attending intro to lit. In the class, we took a field trip to Dunks so I headed to the classroom to make sure nobody went to the classroom instead. In the bus, the students were given art supplies to create a figure that represents their papers. Cade won the contest, winning a dozen donuts, which everybody shared. I was inspired by their group mentality and willingness to share. 

 Thursday was another amazing day of senior project. I started off the day attending intro to literature, then went to athletes and lit after lunch which was the final class of the day. With only two classes on the day this was a more chill day where I was able to do other activities. I went to woodworking second block to continue my table, and after the last block I went to the library to work on the infographic I'm using as an example for the banned book project. After the day I was pumped to attend the Bruins game with a few buddies pictured below. This was game 6 of the series so the garden was bumping with energy and excitement. The game ended with a 5-2 Bruins win and we were able to enjoy the big city which was a nice change of scenery from Andover.  ROLL B'S

  Day 3 was another filled day with 2 classes, helping pack the tennis bus, final project planning, and a baseball game of my own. Mitchell and I decided the night before we were going to get up early and hit breakfast to be mentally ready for the day. Above is a photo I took of our success (rare for Rulon residents to be spotted at breakfast). I then went to my second culture and conflict class of the week where we clarified final details of the banned book project and talked about the college essay. In order to give juniors some inspiration I read my college essay aloud to the class. I then went to athletes and literature where we finished our Saltwater Buddha presentations. After these classes I aided Mel in packing up the tennis bus before its departure to KUA where the girls looked to bring home the championship. After winning our own baseball game I was pleased to find out the tennis team also won, making them lakes region champions. My overall hours for today were 4 

 Day 2 On day two, Mel and I agreed that I would attend both first block culture and conflict and athletes in lit later in the day. First block was definitely the highlight of the day as returning to Culture and Conflict to discuss a final assignment and overall conversation was refreshing. I enjoyed hearing short stories about prior events in the year that I had heard in the class. As an entire group of only eight people we discussed how assignments exemplify understanding, debriefed moth and poetry nights, and started a plan on the "Banned Books" final. In athletes and lit, we finished up presentations on the book Saltwater Buddha and at the very end introduced the final project. In between these classes I had some free time that I took to spend time in the woodshop to finish my coffee table. I went to Baseball practice feeling as though I had relieved Mel of some of her duties along with improved a few classes. 

Day 1 For my first day of senior project my first task was to meet with Mel at 9:00am in the dining hall. There, we quickly discussed the schedule for classes I was planning to attend and started to tackle some details for final projects. Both Culture and Conflict and Athletes and Literature are planning to end their year by doing a "Banned Book" read where the each individual picks a novel, that will be bought from a local book store, that is publicly banned. Mel and I began to ponder whether or not a final essay or simple infographic paired with a speaking part would be more beneficial. Between the meeting in the morning, Athletes and Lit, and Intro to Lit, I accumulated 3 total hours. Overall it was a productive first day that got me on a set path and makes me feel hopeful about my next couple weeks.