Ashley MayleSemester 2

2009Volunteer

“Sometimes you put walls not to keep people out, but to see who

cares enough to break them down.”-Unknown-

The past three years I’ve been attending the alternative high school where I’ve learned how to be responsible. The dictionary defines responsible as “answerable or accountable, as for something within one’s power, control or management.” I think that being answerable or accountable is a big part of maturity. It means no one is responsible for my actions but me. I am accountable for my own decisions. It is within my control to manage my own choices. My choices determine my future.

My future is important to me. I plan to graduate and land a job that will allow me to manage a place of my own and live independently. It will take responsibility for me to achieve this goal. I can’t live independently without a decent wage and an education. I will have to manage my money and how I spend it responsibly and make choices to prioritize what I need, rather then what I want. Realizing what I need to do and putting them into action is my definition of responsibility.

Attending the alternative high school has taught me how to be more responsibility. People can define the word responsibility in many different ways. No one is responsible for my actions except me; I can’t blame others for my choices. My choices will affect my future. I want to graduate and succeed in life, manage money and my own place.

A role model is defined as “a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, esp. by younger people.” Young children look up to young adults. They pay attention to everything you do even if you don’t realize it. When a young adult makes a bad choice the young child is influenced by the adult. The choices a young adult makes good or bad has an impact on the child. As a role model it’s important to make appropriate choices.

Before I was a cross-age tutor I had knowledge of what a role model was because I am around younger kids a lot. Things I have said and done in front of children I have heard them repeat. This realization has changed my perspective about why young adults need to be good role models. Sometimes in my classroom students are asked to go out into the hallway to calm down. One time a student was removed from the classroom and sent to the hallway and he decided to do jumping jacks. He wears his pants so low that his pants fell down in the hallway. If a young child had been in the hallway and seen his behavior most likely they would have imitated that same behavior. This is a good example why young adults should be good role models. Being a role model is being a good leader and a good example to the ones who look up to you. Children pay more attention to young adults rather then their teachers. Young adults can be a support to older adults that work with children. I’ve been around younger children for a long time and I pay attention to how they behave around teenagers . It’s important to act appropriately when you have younger ones looking up to you.

Making a difference doesn’t have to be something huge and unforgettable. It can be something small and still be significant. It starts at home, moves into your neighborhood and community, and into the classroom. There are many things I can do to make a difference in all of these aspects of my life. I found a quote on internet which I feel explains how easy it is to make a difference:

“It is during adversity when one can really make a big difference. But making a difference is not about being a big hero. It is simply about leaving the bathroom a little cleaner going out, than when you came in.”

I feel I make a difference everyday when I tutor the children down the hall. When I see them in the morning they show their excitement by asking if I am tutoring today. I know I am making difference in their lives by helping them with their assignments or just listening to them talk about their problems. I can also make differences in my own neighborhood by getting friends together to pick up litter or plant flowers to improve its appearance. Another way I can make a difference is to volunteer in the community when there is a need. That could be anything from walking for cancer to or cleaning up from a flood. Anyone can do these kinds of things to make a difference. It all it takes is to be willing to lend a hand.

I can make a difference doing small things like listening to someone when they need an ear or tutoring the children in my school. I’m making a difference everyday when I help my teacher or my mom with things that need done around the house. Volunteering lends a helping hand that makes a difference in everyone’s life.

The Skin You Live In

Respecting diversity and honoring differences.

Student mural from the lesson I taught in Mrs. Hoium’s class.

CARRYING CAPACITY    When a land area becomes over

populated natural resources become drastically decreased causing starvation and diseases. Natural resources are fixed which means only so much is available to humans and animals. When there are too many humans and animals in a land area the natural resources become over used because of the demand. Over population in a land area results in high death rates and low birth rate areas because the environment can no longer support the population. Uncontrolled population is one of the largest problems facing humanity because it produces destruction, urbanization, agricultural development, and overgrazing.

http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/eco_carryingcapacity.htm

*Butterfly Slide show*

In 1874 Samuel Hubbard Scudder, proposed a system for naming butterflies that would appeal to the average American. Since 1874 approximately 750 butterfly species have been given common names. Both butterflies and moths belong to a group called Lepidoptera and have a complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa or chrysalis, and adult stage. Female butterflies are usually larger and live longer than male butterflies. As butterflies develop to their adult stage female butterflies release a special chemical called pheromones to attract the male. Butterflies are out during the day while moths are out during the night. Butterflies cannot fly unless they have a body temperature of less than 86 degrees. During the winter butterflies hibernate behind tree bark and other places. Most butterflies protect themselves from predators by camouflage while other butterflies are poisonous and make predators sick when they are eaten.

Operation Terra Odyssey also known as O.T.O is environmental interactive activities that involve the alternative high school students with the elementary/middle school students in our building. The high school students develop hands- on projects to lead for the younger students. In the morning we do team building activities with them in the gym and in the afternoon we rotate them through the hands-on activities.

This year the theme for O.T.O was recycling. We had four activities and mine was decorating cloth bags. I began by showing them a finished bag that I had decorated. Before I started I explained where plastic bags come from and why cloth bags are an alternative to plastic. The younger students interacted well and they encouraged and helped each other with designs. O.T.O is great for the younger students because the high school students are acting as leaders and role models. We have to manage them for 30 minutes and it is our responsibility to get the students involved and working as a team. I felt I was a good role model especially when on of the younger students opted out when he got frustrated over a mistake he made. I took charge of the situation by explaining that he wasn’t the only one making mistakes and we were here for fun.

I feel like I made a difference because the students were cheerful and excited and didn’t want to leave. I will have difficulty leaving the students as I’ve been tutoring three years. There’s always this feeling of belonging I get from them. If I could change anything about working with the younger kids it would be to have more days like O.T.O. I love interacting with them. Each year I have developed more patience with the students who get frustrated. I’ve learned how to give them time to take a deep breath and start new.