Chestatee Academy

While being a student at Chestatee Academy, I never realized how much work is done by the teachers there. After participating in the Honors Mentorship Program, I realized how hard it is to be a teacher and that my mentor is the hardest working teacher at the school. Not only does she teach and grade six classes, but she also is partly in charge of the school's National Honor Society. My mentor helps organize everything the Honor Society does and also keeps track of what every member owes for their trip to Washington D.C. I have input a lot of the dues for the trip into a computer for her, and it is a long and hard job. As if that is not enough, she also is in charge of a "PUSH" class. The class meets two times a week or about half an hour and consists of seventh grade students who are continually failing classes. Mrs. Brooksher helps these students with any of their work, and she also encourages them to become better students. She has had to have a lot of patience with that class, but she has turned it into a success. Mentoring Mrs. Brooksher has taught me that being a teacher has a lot more to do than just teaching to a class.
Teachers, such as Mrs. Brooksher, are what make Chestatee Academy a great community member. The school improves the "Chestatee community" by challenging exceeding students and by not giving up on struggling students. The school also tries to improve the community of Hall County through service activities. These activities include volunteering at the Humane Society, fundraising for Relay for Life, and becoming "Secret Santa's" to children in the community. Just yesterday, the Honor Society carolled at a nursing home to lighten up the spirits of the people there. Chestatee Academy is much more than just a middle school, but is a great community member as well.

My Essential Question

Examine how beginning teachers develop into great teachers, and explain why many beginning teachers can struggle when controlling a classroom for the first time.

Why did you select this as your essential question?

• This essential question is directly connected with my future and the purpose of my mentorship. My mentorship is meant for me to learn the basics of being a teacher for the first time and to see what can go wrong. My hopes for my future is that I will become a mathematics teacher. When I become one, I do not want a to be a mediocre teacher that bores students and make them dread my class. I want to become the best teacher I possibly can. By researching this essential question, I can learn what skills I need to work on and develop when becoming a teacher before ever entering college.

What excites you most about finding the answer to this essential question?

• Finding the answer to this essential question will benefit my future. I hope to be considered a very great teacher at a very young age, and this essential question will help me reach my goal. The answer will teach me about common struggles of new teachers, and knowing these struggles will help me avoid common mistakes. I will also learn tricks and tips that make some teachers very good at their jobs. I am excited that this essential question will develop me into a better teacher.

Do you feel that this question accurately reflects a desire/need that you have to find out more about this topic?

• This question shows my desire to become the best teacher I can possibly be. It shows my want to become a great teacher, and it shows that I want to limit my beginning struggles when I become a teacher. I want to work on and develop my teaching skills as soon as possible so that I can be prepared during my first few years of teaching. Learning what to work on and what to avoid will hopefully make me stand out as a student in college and as a potential employee.

My Mentorship So Far

I have loved my mentorship so far. I have been given the opportunity to do things through my mentorship that I never would have thought I would get to do. I have been able to study how my mentor teaches and the different techniques she uses. Sometimes, she allows me to grade quizzes, and she will let me my own decisions about how to grade them. Another thing I have gotten to do is answers students' questions when they are working on worksheets. The students ask me for help everyday and are confident that I can teach them correctly. There was also one day when I was allowed to sit in a meeting with all of the 7th grade math teachers, and they planned out how they would improve CRCT scores.
The best thing I have been allowed to do is help the students develop their critical thinking skills. This was a request from the high school math teachers that middle school students need to develop this area more before reaching high school. My teacher gave me the responsibility of doing this for her advanced math classes. I came up with the idea of brain teasers because it was something that my math teachers throughout my entire education, including my mentor, have done to make me fall in love with math. Every week I find a brain teaser for the class to do, and every Friday I let them race for candy to see who can figure it out first. After a certain amount of time, I teach the class how to solve it. I am in charge of the class for the entire time of the brain teaser, and there have been times where I am in charge of the class for the entire period because my mentor is not there. I have been given a lot of freedom in my mentorship, and the kids seem to really enjoy the Friday brain teasers.
I of the best compliments I have received from my mentor is that she told me that I am more comfortable in front of a class than most of the student teachers she has had. I can only say that I have developed this skill by learning from all of the great (and not so great) math teachers I have had throughout my entire education. Specifically, I have closely studied my two math teachers for this year. Both of them are probably two of the best math teachers in all of Hall County, and both of them teach differently. One of them explains the subject as if it were a very intelligent mathematical discussion, while the other one explains very thoroughly. Although their teaching styles are very different, what makes them so successful is that they connect with their students by entertaining them with stories and jokes. I have tried to mix both of their teaching styles together to create my own. So far, it has been successful, and my mentor seems to like it. I hope that through the upcoming semester, I will be able to become a more natural and more comfortable teacher.

Searching for Colleges

These are colleges that colleges that I have never considered before that apply to different possible situations when looking for the right college for me.

Southern Polytechnic State University

• Southern Poly is a college close to home that would be a good college for me to transfer from after two years.
• It would be fairly cheap.
• I could get used to college life at this college.
• Accepts AP credits.
• However, if I would want to stay for longer than two years, a Bachelor's degree is only offered in my interested major.
• I will definitely apply to this school. It is a small in-state school close to home, which would be perfect for me for the beginning of my college career. It also focuses on mathematics and sciences which will allow me to receive a good education in my major while finishing my core classes.

University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Out-of-state tuition is about $20,000.
• Great Mathematics and Education program.
• Can earn a Masters in Mathematics and a Doctoral in Education.
• Is not very far from home.
• Qualify for the Blazer Elite Scholarship which is $15,000 annually.
• I can earn other scholarships that will value a few thousands of dollars.
• Total cost would be about $15,00 to $18,000.

University of North Georgia

• A half-hour drive from home.
• Zell Miller Scholarship would pay for my entire tuition.
• Total cost would only be a few thousand dollars.
• Can receive an Associates in Mathematics and a Masters in Education.
• This UNG would be the cheapest option with the best education for me. It is very close to home, in-state fees keep the cost low, and the Zell Miller will cover most of what I have to pay. This is a great college to go to for becoming a teacher.

University of Georgia Tech

• One of the best in-state colleges.
• Can earn a Masters and Doctoral in Mathematics.
• Close to home (A few hours drive).
• Zell Miller will pay for the $10,000 tution fee.
• With other scholarships, I would only be attending for a few thousand dollars.
• A great college to spend for +4 years.
• This is a college that I am very confident that I could be accepted to. It would be a great college to go to for majoring in Mathematics, and in-state fees and scholarships would make it very cheap to attend. I would also be able to go back and forth from home.

Learning Revolution

If I had unlimited time and resources, I would study exactly what I am doing in Honors Mentorship, which is mathematical education. It is something that I have believed I would be passionate about, and after learning from my mentor for a month, I have found that I am more passionate about it than I thought I would be. If I had to study something specific about mathematical education, it would teaching students how to perform critical problem solving through challenges such as brain teasers. This has been a passion of mine since I was in kindergarten, and I even did a school project on brain teasers two years ago. Every Friday I give a brain teaser to the seventh grade math class that I mentor in, and I am in the charge of the class during that time. I enjoy challenging the students and watching them have fun with being challenged. If I could teach a class about anything I wanted to, it would be on critical problem solving.
Between Attitude and Aptitude, Attitude, and more specifically Passion, has more influence on how well a student performs in our current education system. The way our education system is set up, most students have to enjoy what they are learning to do well in a class. However, our education system is standardized and not everyone is passionate about the same thing. I have seen students who are very bright but get bad grades because they do not care about what they are learning about and find it boring. On the other hand, I have seen students that usually have very low grades in most of their classes but have a high grade in one of their classes. This is not necessarily because they are smarter in that subject, but because they have more passion about it.
Our current education system may work for some, but it is not the best way to educate children. Not everyone is great at all academic subjects, yet that is almost the only way to be accepted into a great college. Students should not be placed in schools based on where they live, as how they currently are, but rather by how they enjoy learning. The beginning of schooling could be where children learn basic knowledge, such as addition and reading, but students should then be enrolled into specialized schools where the focus is on a specific skill or subject while also learning other academic knowledge. This would create a more trained workforce which would make our society more advanced.
Through participating in the Honors Mentorship Program for two months, I have found areas that I need to work on involved with my field of study. I have found that I could improve on my procrastination skills. Through teaching, I have also found that I need to work on being comfortable while talking in front of a group of people, and I need to work on explaining what I am teaching in such a way that it is not confusing. I enjoy being a part of the Honors Mentorship Program, and I plan to work on these weak areas throughout the year.

College Interests

For this week's assignment, I took a survey on collegeboard.com about the type of college I want to attend. It asked questions such as whether I would prefer a 4-year or 2-year school, or a private or public school. Next, I had to find 3 colleges that I would apply to from the list and look at their degree program. Then I had to make my own criteria for the type of college I wish to attend. Finally I had to find scholarships that I could apply to. The purpose of this assignment is to start the college search process.

List of Colleges and Doctoral Degree Programs

• Washington University in St. Louis (Saint Louis, MO): www.wustl.edu
• Northwestern University (Evanston, IL): www.northwestern.edu
• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA): www.upenn.edu

My Criteria for a Quality Program

• Doctoral Program offered
• Emphasis on Mathematics and Sciences
• Small classes where student and teachers get to know each other
• Offers students many different opportunities to follow what they are passionate about
• Many scholarships offered
• Low acceptance rate
• Accepts AP scores
• Beautiful, safe, and well-kept campus

Universities that Follow My Criteria

• The 3 colleges that I listed above
• Most Top Schools in the Nation
• MIT
• Georgia Tech

Additional Entrance Requirements for Mathematics

• Previous study in mathematics
• Taken high-level mathematics courses (such as Calculus)
• Supervised student teaching experience
• Licensure in the state that you planning on teaching in

My Criteria for a Quality Ranking and Educational Program

• Medium to large size
• Should be in location that is not too rural or too cities
• Should offer athletic opportunities and other extracurricular activities to students
• Student body should represent different cultures from around the world
• Most funding should go to research projects

Ranking for Program

• Washington University in St. Louis: 14th Overall Best University in the Nation, Top 10% in Best                                                               Universities in the World
• Northwestern University: 12th Overall Best University in the Nation, 12th in Research Universities
• University of Pennsylvania: 7th Overall Best University in the Nation, 7th in Research Universities

Associations Related to Field of Study

• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
• American Mathematical Society
• Mathematical Association of America

Potential Scholarships

• Coca-Cola Scholars Program
• Tommy Aaron/ Charlie Aaron Foundation Scholarship
• Gail Ingram Scholarship
• Northeast Georgia School Superintendent's Scholarship

My Sentence

My sentence: "My name is Austin, and I inspired ideas and educated great minds."

What Is a Mentorship?

The following link is a blog by Tim Elmore: http://growingleaders.com/blog/

Tim Elmore blogs about how unprepared college students are for the workforce. After a friend of his gave six college students a twelve-week interview, the friend admitted that he wanted to dismiss them after a month. Elmore then gives suggestions about how a student should handle a mentorship/internship. He advises that an internship should be treated as a twelve-week interview. An intern is constantly being observed, and because an internship can lead to great career opportunities, it should be treated like an actual job. He also writes that the qualities that make an intern stand out are a great work ethic, a great attitude, responsibility, and a hunger to learn.

Unlike a normal internship, my mentorship is a year-long interview. This mentorship is something that will make me stand out when applying to colleges, and it will also give me a chance to create references when applying for jobs. If I want to stand out to my mentor, I need to show all the qualities that Tim Elmore wrote about in his blog. I have begun this by telling my mentor that I would do anything for her that she wants me to do. We have also set up a weekly lesson that I give to the math class where I give them a brain teaser to work on and then we go over it. Since this is a year-long experience, I need to grow and enhance my qualities every week to continue to stand out. To do this, I have to ask questions and get myself involved in the class opposed to waiting for her to give me work to do.

Debt

Debt is a huge and easy problem to get into when you begin making money, while getting out of debt is an even bigger problem to deal with. The following quote by Dave Ramsey describes how to get out of debt in a simple way:

"We do not break the bad habit of debt through earning more money, but rather we break any habit by replacing it with a better one."

Debt is created through habits of poor money management. The best habit to replace spending more money than is needed is to create a budget. A budget is a strict guide on what a person's income should be used on, whether its on groceries, on gas, on an emergency fund, or on savings. A budget is only an effective way for getting out of debt if a person follows their budget as close as possible.
I worry about getting into debt when I get older. I have seen family members go through bankruptcy and it is something I want nothing to do with. Because of that, money will be important factor when I determine my life's path. Teacher do not make much money, but they make enough to survive and enjoy life. Although I would want to make enough money in my future career to live comfortably and luxuriously, I would rather live off of minimum wage and wake up every morning to a job that I love to do.

Ethics

Ethics are what individually define us as humans. Ethics are what a person believes in, and it is what makes each person different from another.
Morality and ethics are different things. Morality is the realization of good and bad, and a large part of someone's ethics is based off of it. Ethics is what someone believes to be right versus wrong in different situations, whether morally good or not. A person continually learns about their ethics, and they are characterized by what a person is exposed to throughout their life. They can be created in school, through religion, in the workplace, and from the culture someone is exposed to. A person's ethics should stay the same throughout most of their life, but they should also be able to change and evolve. What makes a person more ethical is if they stick to what they believe is right to do, no matter the situation, and experience a change in heart when they find a wrong in their beliefs and learn from their mistakes. People cannot follow different codes of ethics at one time. In doing so would be be unethical, for a person would not stick to what they see as ethical and would only act in they way that they think others would see as right.
One ethical dilemma that I believe that I would face as a math teacher is teaching while a student does not understand what is being taught. It is wrong for a teacher to move on with a unit without everyone in the class understanding what was just taught. This may be a problem because some students, no matter their intelligence level, are bad at math and take more time to learn something. Teachers cannot completely slow down the pace at which they are teaching for a few students and fit everything that is needed to be taught into a year. What makes someone a great teacher is either preventing this situation from happening often or allowing as many individual tutoring opportunities as possible for students who do not understand. I plan on being known as a great teacher, and I will solve this ethical dilemma first by learning how to teach from great teachers, then by being very descriptive in my teaching, and finally by giving as many opportunities to help my students as I possibly can.

"Perfectly Polished" Meeting #1

Last Friday morning (August 16th), all of the Honors Mentorship students attended a "Perfectly Polished" lesson taught by Debra Lassiter. She taught us the importance of first impressions. The things that she taught us are important for when we begin our mentorships and when we begin working in the future.
Over the entire lesson, the subject that stood out to me the most was appropriate conversation skills. We learned how to properly begin a conversation with introductions. When we were practicing introductions, I was able to have good posture, have good eye contact, smile, and shake another person's hand correctly. However, I was not able say the words we were taught to use without stumbling or making "sounds" (words like"um"). I found out that speaking is something that I have trouble with and really need to work on.
A very helpful and interesting tip that we were taught was what to do when you cannot find something to talk about with someone else. She told us that we should learn how to talk about a topic for each letter of the alphabet. For example, a conversation starter with the letter F could be football. A few topics could be something you know little about, and you can learn about them throughout a conversation. I have not created my topic list, but I do plan on creating this useful tool sometime soon.
The most important aspect of a conversation that I learned was what to do with your hands while you are talking. I have always wondered what to do with my hands while I talk and that it was okay to hold your hands in front of your body. It turns out I was wrong. The correct thing to do with your hands during a conversation is to keep them by your side. It is okay to use your hands while you talk but not most of the time. Not being able to use my hands a lot may conflict with what I learn during my mentorship. I have been taught by very good teachers who teach with their hands, and I would agree that it is one of the best ways to engage students and help them learn. The teachers that taught like that always seemed like the best teachers. I will have to learn to be able to be good at using my hands when teaching while also being good at not using my hands during conversations.
The "Perfectly Polished" lesson taught me a lot about great communication skills. It showed me that I have a lot of work to do when it comes to professional conversations. The meeting was very helpful, and I am interested to see what the next one will be like.

My Mission Statement and My Goals for This Year

My Mission Statement: To become a success by being the best that I can be in everything I do each and every day, and to expand the knowledge of others around me.

The dream job that I wish to have in the future is one as a mathematics professor. This year I will be mentoring with my seventh grade math teacher. Through this experience I hope to find out if I would really enjoy and love what I want to do when I get older. I will find out if I am a natural at teaching, if it is something I need to work on, or if it is something I am not cut out to do. By being involved in the Honors Mentorship Program, I hope to gain useful career experience at an early age, and it should make me stand out as an applicant when I apply to colleges and internships.
I have to get very actively involved right away if I want to get the most out of this program. I need to treat this opportunity as an actual job as if I am a student teacher. My mentor has told me that she trusts me with her class, and I just have to listen to her and observe her if I want to learn how to be a successful and effective teacher. If I do all these things, then I should receive the type of experience that I am hoping for.

First Impressions

First impressions are a key to starting off a job or internship successfully. Both the "Getting to Know Your Mentor" worksheet and the "Making Positive First Impressions" podcast stress the importance of appearance, attitude, willingness to learn, and determination. Dressing professionally tells your mentor that you are taking your opportunity seriously and that you are treating it as an actual job. However, your professional attire should not draw attention to yourself, be distracting, or be inappropriate. Having a positive and friendly attitude reflects a good character. A positive attitude should be shown by looking your mentor in the eyes and saying hello to him/her with a smile every day and by being very respectful to them and their coworkers. The most important way to make a great first impression is to show how much you want to learn from your mentor. You should prove to your mentor as early as possible that they are someone that you look up to and that you share a similar passion with them.
By this point, my mentor has already been confirmed. Luckily, I have known my mentor for a few years now, and we are far past first impressions. She already knows how hard working and passionate I am about what she does. Although we are done with her impressions, it does not mean that I should stop acting like I did when we first met. I continue to show a positive attitude, and I show that I am always willing to learn something new from her. Continuing the way you act towards your mentor goes a long way and should make a greater mentoring experience.