School-to-Prison Pipeline & Leadership

My reaction to the “Locating the School-To-Prison Pipeline” article was that I do not like what they are doing to these minority students. I do agree that safety is important in the schools but what makes it reasonable to point out minority students as if they are the only ones causing problems within the school. Also, if these students are put in these juvenile detention centers they become behind in their schooling, even if they do decide to mature and change their behaviors. These students deserve the equal opportunity to make mistakes but they should have mentors to help them when they are running astray or misbehaving. Often times when students are stripped from the opportunity to be themselves in the home they tend to misbehave in school gain attention they are seeking, so they will blurt out comments in the classroom, not aware of their boundaries with adults, and even play fight during the school day. These are all a part of students growing and developing into adults. They will make mistakes but if they are put in these detention centers they at least need to have mentors with experience who can help them stay focused. The misbehaving that goes on during school are not “threats” but just need redirection of what is expected from the students. You never know what these students can be going through at home that may cause them to misbehave in school. School should be a home away from home that way teachers can help these students because being a teacher is not just an occupation but also a lifestyle, because they are leaders and mentors for these students when they are away from home.  

            As a STARS Leader I can address the educational inequalities that exist in the city of Chicago by encouraging my mentee to give his absolute best and full effort in assignments and developing ways to overcome this issue for example setting yourself apart from the wrong crowd and setting an example for others to follow. Family Matters will help me to develop my leadership skills through bonding with my mentee, being a listening ear at all times, and allowing me to practice expressing my abilities in mentoring. I can learn from my mentee and help better my role in his life. I will lead by example and frequently give my personal advice on situations when needed but sharing some of my past experiences and mistakes can help with advising. 

Mentoring 2/12/14

          Reflect on our first site visit to Family Matters:

My first site to visit Family Matters made me very excited to meet my mentee, Savion. I saw a few of the children and how active they were. I could not wait to meet Savion and I’m excited for all the fun we are going to have while getting to know each other and assisting him in his academics work. As of Monday we are off to a great start we did a fun ice breaker where I asked him to choose between two things which one he thought was better.

On Friday in our STARS Lead meeting my mentoring style was Cooperative. This mentoring style can be beneficial because I will seek to a joint vision of compromising ideas and methods with my mentee. I can contribute to larger group settings by looking for methods in solving problems, being a listening ear, giving everyone their own space but letting them know I am available if anyone needs to talk. But my main mission is to focus on cooperation with others.      

LUROP & Article

Week of 02-02-14 Blog:

   In regards to the LUROP presentation, I enjoyed the informational facts and ideas that were given. My interest was sparked when he presented a current student's, Christian, research opportunity with Dr. Grauer. Over the summer, I had the chance to meet and be instructed by Dr. Grauer in an combined class of anthropology and sex and gender psychology in which I had three weeks of learned material. I was also sparked because I met Christian when I signed up for tutoring with the CTAE service in Sullivan Center. In my future career of becoming a physician assistant, research can be valuable to me as a student now and for my future as I will be interacting and studying child development. By researching in the new future I can better understand and expand my knowledge about certain topics pertaining to child development and medicine.

   My initial reactions after reading this article, "After Being Denied A Snow Day, University of Illinois Students Respond With Racism And Sexism",  were what made students become so angry about the decision that was made. Personally, I was surprised when Loyola did not have a snow day when the weather was seen as dangerous, but after going to classes that day it was not as bad as I had originally thought. Maybe the University Chancellor wanted to see if the weather would change or get worse. There are students that would complain whether school was cancelled or not so exactly how do you address this issue. I do not think it was necessary to insult the University Chancellor just for a snow day, there are other instances that are far more important than being denied a snow day. If it was me I would be upset but there a limit of extent I would go and carry out my frustration.