A Day At Mentorship

I spent my whole afternoon observing different speech pathologist sessions. I saw children with all types of disorders ranging from feeding disorders to Autistic children who have trouble with their attention span. A specific patient that broke my heart was child that was afraid of food because of past experiences choking that keeps him traumatized. It made me really sad to see him and see that the patient was unable to sit on his own or even eat. I know there is always going to be people that are worse off than yourself but this experience made me open my eyes and realize that the problems that arise in my life is nothing compared to what the child is going through. When I saw the patient, I thought I was going to burst into tears and I don't know if it is just because I am sensitive but it was a moment. I saw how Ellie tried to get the patient to play with food to show that it was not going to hurt him and that it was good for his nutrition. Seeing this session made me realize the importance of a speech pathologist in a child's life when they cannot perform basic needs.

First week of Mentorship

I finally started volunteering! This week was my first week and it was great! I went twice for two hours, so a total of four hours. I worked in a session that groups about 10 kids together and show them different things about what to say when they are around different people. My first day was Tuesday and unfortunately it was the last day for that eight week session but it was a great experience even though I was a little lost at first. Luckily, I was not the only volunteer that was on her first day, so we found our way together. On Thursday, the session was still going on until about two more weeks. The session included a lesson on how and what children can say to join in on a conversation or a game they want to play. Every child received a chance to ask if they could join a game and a conversation. It was a great experience for me and there is much more to come!

Blog 9: EQ

Content

Essential Question
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.
An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Takes a stance (Allows you to argue some point, cannot be a recitation of facts or a list )
• Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ
2.  Review the following EQs and
Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria.
Tell why it does or why it doesn't

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
This question meets some rules but not all. To start it has a framework for studies that can be made. It is well written and takes a position. The only thing I think would make it better is if the question would specify on a method of healthy weight loss.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
I think the wording is a little off. But other than that it is not a list or facts, it takes a stance and has different aspects that can be researched. Instead of "what is most important to securing...." it could say "what is the most important factor in securing..."

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
I think it should be more specific, like is it a hairstyle for a quincenera, wedding, or a casual look. It would be a little hard to argue because it depends on the customers tastes and one customers taste will not be the same as another so taking a stance and arguing a point would be difficult because it really depends on the customer you have. I provides a framework of studies and does allow for in depth research.
 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
This EQ follows the rule of 3, it has a framework of study it focuses on what anesthesiologist do to treat patients with chronic pain. The question was easy to understand and know what they wanted to research. The question doesn't include any list or facts.

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.
What is the best way for a speech pathologist help a child with Autism communicate?

Feeling Frustrated :(.

So it turns out that I could not start volunteering right after I assisted the orientation. There was a whole additional process I did not know about until it was mentioned at the orientation. I have to take two TB shots since there is a high population of infected individuals in Southern California. I took my first shot Tuesday and have to wait two weeks before I can take my second one. I was really disappointment because I did not inform myself before hand. I thought the process was going to be a lot quicker. The second interview is due Friday and I still have not had the opportunity to arrange a time to meet with my mentor. I talked to the volunteer coordinator and asked her if it was possible for me to interview the person I will be working with (mentor) and she told me she was going to talk to her and arrange a time for me. Until today she has not called me, so I will call tomorrow to see what the situation is. I really hope the speech pathologist is willing to let me interview her. I am feeling really scared and frustrated because it has been really hard for me to find a mentor.

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

Content:

1.  What is your working EQ?

What is the best way for a speech pathologist to treat a child with a speech impediment?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.

EQ: What is the best way for a speech pathologist to treat a child with a speech impediment?

• A speech pathologist can demonstrate to the child how to produce sounds correctly in words or a word they are trying to say. 
• Also, the speech pathologist can teach the child to recognize what sounds are correct and which are incorrect. 

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

The most important source that helped me come up with my answers was a "Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonological Processes" from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association .

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

I will be volunteering at a rehabilitation center that has a children's department and an emphasis on speech pathology. Since my working EQ is how a speech pathologist treats a child with speech impediments, volunteering here will allow me to get a better experience of what it is like.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
For my 30 hours I plan to work with a speech pathologist at the rehabilitation center I found. My 30 hours will consist of volunteer work, including constant shadowing and observing to get a real sense of how it is best to help children with speech impediments.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
To show evidence that I have completed my 30 hours of work I will document my experience by taking pictures and proving in depth explanations about what I do. I also plan to bring in my transcripts to provide proof of my completed hours.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
Since I am going to be observing a speech pathologist it is going to allow me to analyze different methods used to treat a child and to see which is most effective. It can also help me understand the difference between different speech impediments and visually see what they are.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your mentor ship log and call it the independent component 1 log.

Finally, Found a Mentorship Opportunity!

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a mentor at an elementary due to privacy concerns with students. For a few days I had no idea where I was going to go to find a mentor, I was going crazy asking teachers and classmates, and luckily Xena knew of a rehabilitation center nearby that helped children with learning and speech disabilities and let me know I might be able to find someone there. I looked into it and got in. Thanks Xena!!! I took my application and they let me know that I have to assist the next orientation before I could start volunteering, so now I am just waiting for Oct. 7 to come around and I am ready. The volunteering coordinator unfortunately let me know that the learning and language department was full but that she could place me in a department that has a speech and language therapists, so I decided to focus my topic on the speech side of special education. I am really excited to start my mentorship because it is going to be a whole new environment and experience for me.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

Content:
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

I am still trying to find a mentor to volunteer with. I have already taken my application to Casa Colina and am now waiting for them to call me so I can assist the orientation. They told me the orientation was going to be the first or second week of October and after that I can start my mentor ship hours. If I am unable to start at the Rehabilitaion Center before the Interview is due I will interview Carolyn Parker,  the special education teacher I interviewed for my first interview. She works at Arroyo Elementary in Pomona.

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

• How long have you currently worked in this position?
• What college course do you feel really helped you and prepared you for your position today?
• What educational background did you receive for this job? Additional certifications?
• Tell me about a case where a child improved immensely. How did that affect you? 
• When a child continues to struggle some help you have provided, what do you do?
• What motivates you and the organization to help children with learning disabilities?
• Can you tell me about your responsibilities in the work place and how you handle them?
• What has been the most difficult thing you have had to deal with in your job?

Questions will go through a approval process with your house teacher.  The house teacher is responsible to tell you if they are approved or not.  If they are not approved, you will need to resubmit.  Once approved, you are then approved to go to your mentor and complete the interview.  The interview is due 10/25 by 8AM to turnitin.com.

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ

Content:
So far, you have: completed your summer mentorship, started doing some research, maybe completed the interview and hopefully found a mentor.
Using what you have done so far, answer the following 5 questions (be specific and use examples)

The Pentagon:
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
I learned what special education and learning disabilities really are, because before I really did not know why children would be considered as special ed students. I am also able to communicate with others when trying to find a mentor because it required me to talk to alot of people and explain to them what I needed to do and ask if they could help me do it, for those who know me know that it is really hard for me sometimes but I had to get it done.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?
A book titled "Special Educational Needs in Early Years Care and Education" by Linda Littleboy, Micheal Reed and Jill Thompson was a great book that I was lucky enough to find. It starts of simple and explains what special education is, next gives a brief overview on past laws or acts that were passed that affected the educational perspective of children with disabilities, and explicitly explains how to monitor a child's development and how to asses and record a child's progress.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
In this senior project I have been able to find research that has led me to look for more research. I have currently not come to a dead end where I do not know what else to research or where to find research. I have also been taking really thorough Cornell Notes that I hope will help me later on when writing my paper.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?
My summer mentorship was the only thing that did not work for me because I did it on Health and Safety and since I switched my topic I did not have knowledge about my topic before school started. I think that if I would have done my summer mentorship with something related to my topic I would have had a better background overview. Also finding a mentor for Special Education was harder than I expected because there are so many more rules and laws districts put in.

(5) Finding Value:
 What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
What is the best way for a child with learning disabilities to learn?

 What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.
Unfortunately, I still have not found a mentor but today I called Casa Colina's Human Resource Department and asked about volunteering at their learning and language program and they told me all I needed to do was to take my application and assist an orientation, so I am hoping I can find my mentor there.

So, I Switched My Topic to Special Education

So after thinking through it, I decided to switch my topic from Health and Safety to Special Education. I am really excited about doing my project because we just started looking for research and it is going pretty good for me. I have been able to find valuable research that has allowed me to learn more about my topic and open up my knowledge to more specific details regarding special education. I am glad I changed my topic in time before the deadline because I really felt I was not going to be able to pull off a project about Health and Safety. I decided to switch my project because I was always interested in the educational viewpoint of children with disabilities because they sometimes go through a lot more difficulties in their educational process and most of us don't really realize it. While doing research these past few weeks I found out some interesting things about special education, I found out that there is a really long evaluation from parents to teachers to a IDEA representative in order to be identified as a special ed student. A special ed student also costs a school nearly twice or three times as much money to educate than a pupil that is in general education. This Link gave a very good over view of what special education is, and how it works.

Blog 4: Interview Preperation

Content:

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
I plan to interview Ms. Parker because she is a special education teacher that works at Arroyo Elementary in Pomona.

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.

• What part of special education do you find most interesting?
• What are some disabilities that you have worked with?
• What are some teaching strategies you find most effective with the children dealing with disabilities?
• I understand a curriculum can be modified or accommodated depending on the needs of a child, can you tell me about a time when you have had to do that and was it effective?
• What are some ways you expand your knowledge about special education?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

Content (Directions): Answer the following 2 questions.

1.  List your topic here: Special Education

2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

• iPoly Citizen:I plan to be involved in our senior events like be part of senior committees like prom and powder puff.
• Effective Learner: I plan to be able to earn at least P's in all of my core classes and be able to stand out in my senior project and model assembly. I also need to go more into depth when learning a subject so I can be able to really comprehend.
• Effective User of Technology: I hope I can learn new ways to incorporate technology into my senior Project to make it more interesting for the audience. I also plan to use these skills when researching for my research component.
• Effective Communicator:  I plan to become a more effective communicator through the model assembly project and through my senior project because I will be required to give a 2 hour presentation on my own. I hope I can also take those skills and apply them to my core classes.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

Literal:
1. (Know) Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties
Mentorship Log

2. Contact Name & Number
Marie Sickles
(909)859-7206

3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? List them.
How often do preventative injuries occur?
What is the average number of injuries per day?
What can be done to make people aware of safety hazards around them?

Interpretive
4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

This experience showed me that injuries can occur any where and when we least expect them. I gained the ability to be more precautious when working because when doing my mentor ship I came across many situations where people were injured because they were rushing and they were situations that could have been prevented.

Applied
5. How did what you did help you chose a topic? Please explain.

I shadowed with a safety officer that was in charge of fixing anything that could become a safety hazard for workers in a facility. My topic is Workplace Health and Safety and this mentor ship helped me choose it because I got the chance to realize how dangerous our work environment is and how easily we put ourselves in potential danger.

Blog 1: 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Literal: 
1.  (Know) What presentations did you see?  Name the topic and the person's first name.

• Salvador- Soccer Player
• Jacob- Teaching History
• JD Pabon- Pastry Art
• Kendall- Coping With Cancer
• Rachel- Teaching Chemistry
• Ana- Event Planning
• Reann- Wildlife Conservation
• Jada- Autism
• Raul- Remote Control Car Racing
• Joseph- Integrate Native Species
• Andrea- Painting
• Roxana- Daycare Centers
• Jaime- Navy: Basic Training
• Leslie- Zombie Culture

2.  (Need to know) What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  

How many independent components are there?
How many service learning hours are done at the end of the year?
What happens if the presenter does not make time?
What are teachers looking for when grading the senior presentations?
How many activities are required?

Interpretive:

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

The essential question is the most important part of the presentation because it is what guides their whole presentation and is the purpose of their mentorship and answers. I also think the product is very important because it is what is accomplished at the end of all the hard work that is put into the project.

Applied:

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

I am considering doing a topic in Environmental Health and Safety, I am still thinking about whether I want to focus on Workers Safety or Health and Safety Training. I am considering these topics because I want to go into the environmental field of study.