Fifth Week as Teacher Cadets!

This is a photo of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the first need being physiological

Monday, September 17, 2012

Today, we continued watching the inspirational movie called Gridiron Gang that focused on self- esteem and Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.  As we watched we begin to see more and more of the levels coming into play.  By this point in the movie we had seen that because Willie Weathers did not reach the second level of the pyramid (that is feeling safe and secure) it could have been a motive that led him to be apart of a gang.  He killed his abusive step father and when his mother chose to comfort the wounded husband instead of Willie, he felt unloved and unwanted, thus leading him to crave that attention else where.  As we continue watching through the rest of the week we discover more of these issues shining through in the characters.

We continued watching Gridiron Gang today!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

This morning, the seniors decided to have a black out for our senior class picture!  While we had to miss the first thirty minutes of class, when we returned we continued to watch Gridiron Gang.  As we all intently watched the movie, we all experienced crazy emotions as we saw Willie and Kelvin reach the very top level of self actualization.  We could clearly see that this level was reached when Kelvin made a huge block for Willie in one of the games and when Willie defended Kelvin when he was about to be shot by an enemy gang member.  As we all rubbed our goose bumps away, the bell rang, separating us from the last five minutes of the movie.  We all begged Mrs. Turner to write us passes for class so we could finish.  But saving the emotional ending for the next day just made it worth the anticipation!

Officer K came to talk to us about gangs!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

We all excitedly hurried to class today to watch the last five minutes of the movie!  The ending was worth the wait.  We watch the Mustangs win against the first team that they lost to and we also saw the team of new faces that Sean Porter recruited for the following year.  Before the credits we got to see most of the former players moved on and doing better things with their life (though we were all heartbroken that Bugs was killed in a drive by).  After the movie was over, Officer K came in to talk to us about gangs! He gave us all our very own booklets that were specifically made for the MHS teacher cadets!  We were all surprised when he told us that he is a former gang member.  We were all at the edge of our seats learning about the signs of gangs and how to spot a member.  That night we all went home to number our booklets for easier access tomorrow!

A group picture of the teacher cadets with Officer K!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Officer K was with us again today!  We all came in sharing our stories about how we suspected everyone and everything we saw were affiliated with gangs!  He showed us a powerpoint he had prepared for us which included gang signs, graffiti, clothing articles, and much more!  He taught us that three pieces of evidence are needed in order to categorize someone as a gang member.  Also, the definition of a gang member (as sited in the Webster dictionary) is a group of criminals or hoodlums who band together for mutual protection and profit.  Not only did we get to learn about gangs, but we also got an added bonus of learning about how we are STRONG, and INDEPENDENT women who do not need men!  We are all unique and do should not feel underestimated or not good enough.  It is our jobs as future teachers to learn early signs of gang activity or other problems and stop them.  We can essentially be the only thing a student has.

Frannie displaying her beautiful plate of prejudice project!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Today, Mrs. Turner had a very fun activity planned for us!  This whole week we learned how important it is not to judge others because we do not know where they have been or what they have been through.  So, she asked us all to get a paper plate and draw how we think most people perceive us at first sight.  Then, she asked us to write what people might stereotype us as before they get to know us.  Some of us wrote things such as "snobby," "overly confident," and "loud."  Some of these words do not actually describe who we are as people.  They hurt our feelings.  On the inside of the plate we wrote words that describe who we REALLY are.  Some of the things we could write were "insecure," "misunderstood," or "quiet."  As we laid out our plates, we got to see how other students think that people see them.  We might have been surprised by some things or even relate to some.  This project really opened our eyes and taught all of us that stereotypes are harsh and are not accurate representations of who we really are.  Get to know people before you judge!

"A Teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Adams