Medomak Middle School Program Analysis

Starting anything new is full of fears, difficult times, and a huge amount of stress. That's exactly the way I would describe the beginning of the program I started at the Medomak Middle School. Papers were signed and resigned, meeting had to be scheduled and held, and an abundance of e-mails were exchanged. Everyone could tell the beginning of my junior year in Medomak Valley High School was loaded with stress. Although this program starts out sounding like a train wreck it blossomed into a beautiful and strong program. When my peers ask me how they can join the mentoring program in classes at the middle school I always tell them two things. Number one, its going to be the hardest thing you do this year. Then number two, don't give up ever. The students make it beyond difficult to teach them but when you and the teacher receive scores at the end of

I see these students in the hallways now as high school students and the bond created in the classroom last year was not broken. Tim was one of the worse students in the class, and somedays that was putting it lightly. The teachers struggled to get him to listen and participate. However, the combination of him and I worked. I had enough spunk to match his stubbornness. Over the year the relationship formed from just the formal mentor and student to a peer relationship. Tim began the year refusing to ask for help and only accept help when he was forced to get a paper done. Through out the year the attitude of the students began to transform from a refusing help to asking and pursuing a higher level of understanding. I slowly began to learn students respond to competition and Tim and I would race and bet who would finish first. Finally at the end of the year I realized my impact on these students and my relationship by the statement made by the 8th grade Tim " You missed our one year anniversary". As the look of shock covered my face the boys burst into a fit of