jhkim (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jhkim) wrote,@ 2009-07-05 21:14:00 |
|
Reflections after my first week
Whew! So I'm at a break now after the first week of classes. My program is every weekday, four hours with 7-8th graders in Santa Clara in the morning (8AM-12PM) and then three hours of instructional classes at Stanford (2-5PM). The schedule is rather grueling -- especially doing homework after the end of classes -- but it's fascinating at the same time and I am learning a lot.
For the 4th of July, I invited my classmates over for a BBQ at my house -- cf. Liz's Flickr pics. We grilled veggies and chicken, had lots of watermelon, wine, and chips; toasted marshmallows; and then went to see the fireworks from a parking lot.
I like the STEP program a lot. I like the kids, and the coursework is good. I have to work some on my positive feedback. In my adult life, I've tended to be a little argumentative -- showing a subtler point, or pushing for my own view of the nuances of the situation. However, I think that kids benefit enormously from positive feedback, especially those who are struggling. I think there is good effort from most of them, and I need to work at sincerely expressing recognition of that -- without immediately launching into a daunting series of corrections and advice. My advice should be for the next thing for them to work on, I think, rather than for every flaw that I see.
Whew! So I'm at a break now after the first week of classes. My program is every weekday, four hours with 7-8th graders in Santa Clara in the morning (8AM-12PM) and then three hours of instructional classes at Stanford (2-5PM). The schedule is rather grueling -- especially doing homework after the end of classes -- but it's fascinating at the same time and I am learning a lot.
For the 4th of July, I invited my classmates over for a BBQ at my house -- cf. Liz's Flickr pics. We grilled veggies and chicken, had lots of watermelon, wine, and chips; toasted marshmallows; and then went to see the fireworks from a parking lot.
I like the STEP program a lot. I like the kids, and the coursework is good. I have to work some on my positive feedback. In my adult life, I've tended to be a little argumentative -- showing a subtler point, or pushing for my own view of the nuances of the situation. However, I think that kids benefit enormously from positive feedback, especially those who are struggling. I think there is good effort from most of them, and I need to work at sincerely expressing recognition of that -- without immediately launching into a daunting series of corrections and advice. My advice should be for the next thing for them to work on, I think, rather than for every flaw that I see.
