Summer School's Impact On Students

In this country, we offer students many chances to fulfill their requirements of responsibility. One of these second chances is summer school. As a student, I did not know what it felt to be in summer school or, in other words, summer school did not exist in my vocabulary. However, as a teacher, summer school is a word I hear every day. It is an idea our students rely too much on.

My first time teaching summer school was last summer. It was an interesting opportunity for me to go through because I was able to choose my subject, and also make a last impact on students who we know can do better than what they have achieved. 

As of February, 2016, every student I taught during summer school is either afraid of me teaching it again or have thank me for being their summer school math teacher. I am not offended by this because I know my expectations are never low, nor I took it as a "free money" summer. I was interested in the students' knowledge. 

Last week, one of these students came to me, in front of my Assistant Principal and said: "I'm sorry Ms. C. but when I was in summer school, I was not afraid you. I was afraid of Ms. G. (referring to me) because she made it clear that I would not be passing my grade if I was late or did not do my homework, but instead, I learned what I did not learn during the school year...Thank you Ms. G.". Her statement made me feel powerful. I have shown to them that it is important to work hard for good outcomes and that they should not wait until summer school to keep up their grades. 

This is just one of the many statements different students have made to me about their summer school experience. With this said, I am not sure if I would do it again but it was definitely an experience to remember. 

I love this profession regardless. Period!

- Ms. A

The Power of Traveling

This quote defines me completely. I am sure it also defines many people who have traveled to different parts of the world and have met amazing people. This summer was one of the many summer I have enjoyed traveling, but this time it was to my country of origin, Ecuador. I have never felt more empowered to go back and meet with the people I grew up, not only my family, but my middle school friends.

As always, I like to keep in touch with everyone and I have to say, THANK YOU Facebook for allowing me to communicate with them again!

This trip did not just allow me to communicate with them, it also allowed me fall in love with the beauty and nature of the country itself. As young adults, we were able to share things we remembered from middle school, talked about the ones that got married, the ones that also left the country and those who are still around! The best part of this trip was that we created NEW memories and these memories have strengthen our friendship! Thank you Verito, Indi and Pal for making it amazing and unforgettable.