FTP- Midterm ProjectRima Alame

3rd hr

Autobiography 

My name is Rima and I am a senior --- finally! I live with my mother, my grandmother, and my only sister. This year, I was pretty limited with my time because I had three things on my everyday to do list: go to highschool, go to my internship site, and go to college. The internship program just recently ended so I feel more flexible now. My hobbies are spending time with my 

family (who I love a lot), bike-riding, taking random walks in the park, and listening to all types of music genres. I’m really interested in playing the piano, water skiing, and rock climbing, but unfortunately, I haven’t gotten there yet. My academic 

strengths are definitely AP Calc and Spanish. As for my weaknesses, it’s basically anything that has to do with physics or history. There are a few interesting stories here and there but a really recent one is the fieldtrip that my internship class went 

on. It was called Michigan Adventures at U of M Dearborn. For me that was a once in a lifetime experience. My classmates and I had to go climb up a 20-30 ft ladder and climb/swing/walk across all sorts of objects in the mid air. Of course they had tied a 

harness around our waists but for anyone who fears heights, this would be more than a challenge for them. That included me.  I was literally about to pass out of fear but I didn’t want to cause an embarrassing scene. I don’t know how I made it through in the end, but I did. The last thing we had to do was take our “leap of faith”. In other words, we had to jump off instead of go down the 

ladder. That was the best part of it (and the scariest). I later found out that the point of that activity was to prove that if we challenged ourselves (especially for those who fear heights) and made it through, we are most likely to be successful in our future lives. I also believe that that is true and I hope it plays a role in my future results. I can’t deny or be modest about the fact that I felt so proud for actually challenging myself all the way (even though I was freaking out the whole time). My lifespan may have been shortened 10 years but at least I lost my fear of heights. I’d have to say that my favorite semester of all my four years of highschool was definitely the previous one all because of that program. My class was amazing and I absolutely loved all the people in there. I 

also got to meet several students from other Livonia districts schools. Hopefully this semester will be my next favorite one with the Community Service Program. I signed up for several 

reasons. I have worked with these students only twice (as in only two days) and I really enjoyed it. They’re so sweet and adorable. Also, I thought to myself why not sign up for either a math class or a job related class since my strengths lie in those areas. Another big part of my decision is that I know for sure I may have to work with cognitive people in the future so I thought this experience would better help me understand them and be able to work with them. Part of my future plans have to do with this course. First and foremost, the medical field and the human brain fascinate me to a ridiculous extent so I plan to go to medical school. As for what kind of doctor I want to be, I am still unsure. I am looking into oncology, psychiatry, or pediatrics. My second goal is to open two institutions anywhere most suitable - mental institution and an adoption institution. I’ve always had a thing for fosters and the cognitively impaired so I hope my field will make enough money in time for me to be able to do this. I don’t want to get ahead of 

myself so I’ll end by saying that I also want to learn two more languages in addition to the three that I speak. I’ve just always had an interest in languages so I hope I can make time for that. The best thing I can do right now is keep trying to my fullest extent and take out any new opportunities that are open for me. I’m really looking forward to meeting these students and having a better 

perspective of who they really are. I already know this will be a memorable experience. 

I EXPERIENCED A SOMEWHAT WHOLE NEW WORLD INSIDE MY CLASS. IT WAS A WORLD OF DEPENDENT, INNOCENT STUDENTS WHOSE SOLE PURPOSES ARE TO BE HAPPY AND MAKE FRIENDS. I ALSO HAVE GAINED A MUCH BETTER PERSPECTIVE OF HOW THEY FUNCTION AND HOW I SHOULD FUNCTION WITH THEM FOR FUTURE PURPOSES. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I HAVE OBSERVED THE TEACHER’S METHODS IN TRYING TO CATCH UP ALL THE STUDENTS TO EACH OTHER’S LEVEL AND IN MAINTAINING A FUNCTIONAL, BUT FUN ATMOSPHERE. 

I LEARNED NUMEROUS ASPECTS OF THE STUDENTS THAT I WORKED WITH, INCLUDING:

1) A MENTOR NEEDS TO BE PATIENT WITH COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED STUDENTS.2) A BETTER INSIGHT ON THEIR DISABILITIES, SPECIFICALLY EACH INDIVIDUAL’S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.3) ONE WEAKNESS AREA THAT THEY ALL SHARE WHICH IS PERCEIVING AND COMMUNICATING, THUS FOCUSING.4) NOT TO TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT THEY DON’T FORGET WHAT THEY SEEM TO KNOW WELL.5) TO BEST TEACH A COURSE ACCORDING TO THEIR AVERAGE LEVEL OF INTAKE, AS TO NOT LEAVE SOMEONE BEHIND AND ASSUME THEY WILL LEARN INDEPENDENTLY.

ON A DAILY BASIS, I:

**HELP THEM WITH WINTER/SPRING SUMMER WORDS.**GO OVER THE CALENDAR WITH THE CLASS.**WATCH MOVIES CONCERNING JOB READINESS.**AID THEM WITH MEMORIZING THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION.**TALK ABOUT THEIR DAILY HOME ACTIVITIES.**ETC

FTP - Final ProjectPart 2

Rima Alame – 3rd hr

What time is it?Job Readiness

What is the date

5 MORE THINGS THAT I LEARNED WERE THAT…

6)ALONG WITH THE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, SOME STUDENTS MAY HAVE ADHD WHICH HIGHLY EFFECTS THEIR FOCUS AND IMPAIRMENT. 7)HYGIENE IS A NECESSARY ESSENCE THAT WE NEED TO CONSTANTLY KEEP THEM ON TRACK WITH.8)SOME OF THE STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY AWARE THAT THEY HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS AND THAT THEY ARE HANDICAPPED. 9)ALWAYS KEEP REMINDING THEM THAT PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES AND THAT NO ONE IS PERFECT.10)MANY OF THEM LOOK UP TO ME TO THE POINT WHERE THEY TRY TO IMITATE MY ACTIONS.

Here the students learned how to make a window screen after watching the tutorial a couple of times. They enjoyed this to a great extent.

AN FTP STUDENT WAS ASKED WHY HE IS PRACTICING TO STRETCH OUT AND WRITE WITH HIS HANDS …HE ANSWERED “BECAUSE I’M HANDICAPPED”. AFTER I LEFT THAT ROOM I CRIED MY HEART OUT. I HAD ALWAYS WONDERED WHETHER THEY WERE AWARE OF THEIR CONDITION AND TO MY SURPRISE, MOST OF THE STUDENTS ARE. ANOTHER INCIDENT OCCURRED WHERE ONE OF THE FTP STUDENTS ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT THE FHS STUDENTS AND ADDRESSED THEM AS THE “NORMAL FHS STUDENTS”. ONCE AGAIN I HELD MY TEARS BACK UNTIL THE END OF CLASS. AT THIS STATE, I WAS FURIOUS BECAUSE IN MY EYES, THEY ARE MORE THAN NORMAL; THEY JUST HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS. I MADE SURE THAT STUDENT WALKED OUT KNOWING THAT. THE SECOND SEMESTER AFFECTED ME TO A WHOLE GREATER AND NEWER EXTENT THAN THE FIRST. WORDS CAN’T EXPLAIN HOW DELIGHTED I WAS TO SEE THEM ADVANCE WITH THEIR NEEDS AND WITH THEIR SKILLS. I FOUND MYSELF LOVING MY FRIENDS MORE AND MORE EACH DAY, EVEN WHEN I THOUGHT I COULDN’T LOVE THEM ANY MORE. I HOPE I WAS ABLE TO EXPRESS THAT TO THEM. ALL I CAN SAY THAT IF I COULD, I WOULD TAKE THIS CLASS ALL OVER AGAIN - I WOULD DO IT TODAY, BEFORE THE NEXT DAY! THIS HAS DEFINITELY BEEN THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY FOUR HIGHSCHOOL YEARS!