Franci

5-7-09 me and my freshman

Through out this journey of being a mentor to a group of kids. I have had a close relationship with one students whose name is Franci. I have truly worked very hard with him as well as his other mentors who have helped him succeeded in his freshman year. At first he was not working at his potential but now I see a big change in him. Looking back at the 1st marking period, he really stepped up to the plate. All his teachers can see a big difference in him. He has even worked hard to get out of 9th period. In addition, he has a B in math which is the greatest news ever because he was struggling a lot in that class. I truly admire him and I am very proud of him.

9th period

5-7-09


In the program of freshman seminar if a student is falling two or more classes they automatically enroll in 9th period. 9th period is not a punishment but a class where students stay after school and both the teacher and senior mentor help the student get their work done. The whole goal behind this program is to help the student better her or his grades. At the beginning one of my students was struggling a lot with his grades so he got stuck in 9th period. I always encouraged him to work harder and complete all his work so he would be able to get out of 9th period. I know it took long but he accomplished his goal on getting out of 9th period. I am just so proud of his motivation and determination he had on getting out. Now he can finally get out of school at 2:19 pm instead of 3:20. I have talked to him and he thanked me for always been there for him. I remember the day he told me he was out of 9th period, I was jumping off the walls. I have seen him grow in so many levels that I am just amazed of the person he has become. My whole goal as a Senior Mentor was just to impact a student's life and I believe I have accomplish it.

teacher appreciation day

5-5-09

Through out this week schools around the country are celebrating teacher appreciation day but May fifth is actually the official teacher appreciation day. I really appreciate all the hard hours they put in their students. I love all the posters around the school describing teachers as mentors that love,inspire and teach their students. Lindenwold should plan a breakfast for all the wonderful teachers and honor them there. I often always see students that don't make a big deal about it,when they should. What if you worked very hard and no one never thanked you? Deeply, I now for a fact that you would feel bad and not appreciated. Moving along, every student should thank a teacher this week for their hard work. As students we should cherish teachers every day like diamonds.

Cinco de mayo

5-5-09
Today is Cinco De Mayo, and school four will be coming to Lindenwold high school to watch a performance and learn at the same time. After, watching their performance a was a bit disappointed. As a Mexican American I did not see my culture been portray well. No offence to no one but it seen more like black history month mixed with Caribbean music. In addition, when the person started dancing it was nothing like Mexicans dancing. The children in my opinion got a bad prospective on our culture. Overall, the children did have a lot of fun and enjoyed the performance. They deserved it after working very hard in their NJ ASK test.

"Los catrines"

Today I am going to meet with David Suro, he is the owner of "Los Catrines". Los Catrines is a Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia. Earlier in the year my mentor had planned to take Cindi, Malanie and I to the restaurant. Meanwhile, this is a good opportunity because my project is to write a book on successful immigrant people. Mr. Suro qualifies perfectly for my book because he came from Mexico to the USA as an immigrant and by working very hard he now owns his business. Also, he even created his own tequila called "azul" which in English means "blue".

Moving Along,Tequilas got its' start back in 1986 while located at 1511 Locust Street. Owner David Suro, a native of Guadalajara, grew up near agave fields in the state of Jalisco.
He went to school with the children of agave farmers and tequila producers. David met his wife, Annette, while working as a waiter in Cancun. He followed her home to Philadelphia and got a job at the only Mexican restaurant in town (El Metate). A year later, he bought out the owner and renamed it Tequilas. That is just a little taste on his biography and how he made it happen.

Through my book I want people to believe that your dreams can become true and Mr. Suro's biography is going to make it happen.I am truly just one step ahead on what is going to motivate many and hopefully published.

http://tequilasphilly.com/

My Anecdote

Growing up was very difficult probably because my parents were not able to help me through my school work. At the same time, I felt bad for them because they did not have the opportunity to get an education, and they could not help me in my school work. Everywhere we went I had to be a translator for them; instead of them helping me, I was helping them.Furthermore, everywhere I went to help my parents, I saw many other Hispanics that lacked education and their children suffered from it.I always wanted to better myself at everything I did. Realizing that I was the key to my own success (and others), I mounted a burden that included helping others who did not have an opportunity to receive an education. I wanted to be the opportunity of education that anyone could take advantage of. For this reason, I decided to become a Spanish teacher. In addition, I picked Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Montanez to help mentor me through this journey. This two ladies are absolutely the best spanish teachers Lindenwold district has.

Sra. montanez visit

4/30/09

Yesterday, I went to visit Sra. Montanez at school four. I arrived to her classroom but the children where on their break outside. Mean while, we sat together and I helped her cut paper dolls. She told me her plans for class which was to show them a video clip on "Cinco de Mayo". She showed them this clip to introduce them to Mexican culture. This clip really explained what "Cinco the Mayo" was all about. At the end one thing that was really funny was when the children started singing "cielito lindo". It's a very popular Mexican song,they had a lot of fun singing this song.After, the clip was done they colored their dolls and went over on what they had learned. Next, week they will be coming to Lindenwold High School to celebrate "Cinco de Mayo".