Inquiry Project Events

During the course of the semester, I volunteered by tutoring Italian II to a student. I was surprised how far behind he was for the course, since he had not even mastered basic skills in Italian I. It was impressive to see his progress during the time that I had helped him, which was almost once a week. Although he did not manage to get better than C+ on the tests each week, his teacher allowed anyone who did not to take the test over again the following week. We would work on what he missed on the previous test which would prepare him for the retake, and he generally got B+ on those tests. It was a good experience and it felt good to know that I was able to help.

For one of my community events I attended a high school football game. I have pictures, but I'm not computer literate enough to figure out how to put them up here! Perhaps they will make their way to the poster! It was interesting for me, because I had not gone to a football game since I was in high school about five or six years ago, and I was never one to be involved in my school community. The most interesting part about going to the game was that the bleachers were completely segregated. Not by race, but by age! The students were on one side and the parents sat on the other. I was informed by my younger sister that it was not appropriate for me to be sitting with the students!

The other community event I attended was a concert performed by the Newark Boys Choir on December 16,2007. The Newark Boys Chorus School is a private school in Newark, NJ. They have performed in numerous venues, and have even been on Good Morning America! They sang a diverse repertoire, including African folksongs, traditional classic music, and jazz. I would recommend everyone to go see them if they have a chance!

Lastly, my experience at Newark Arts High School was quite an interesting one. Originally, I had not gotten in touch with my cooperating teacher, Richardson. Stressing out because it was the last week of classes, another dance teacher had sent me an email saying he would be pleased to have me come and observe. I sent him an email saying when I was going to come, and if there were any problems to contact me. I was excited and looked forward to seeing a dance class in a public arts high school. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I was informed that it was a "B" day and that teacher was not there! The original teacher I was assigned to observe was there, but she acted like she had no idea who I was! It took a while for us to finally get into a class to observe, which was quite frustrating. I didn't get to see a dance class, because the dance teacher said it wasn't a good day for me to observe. My partner and I ended up with an English teacher, Mr. DeSousa, who was fantastic! Unfortunately, my inquiry topic question had to do with the arts, and I would've liked to have visited that classroom. It was definitely an experience though!