Journal Entry #3:
2 page reflective entry:
Take a moment to think back over your WLE day this week…what was it like? What happened? What did you take away from the experience?
If you get stuck, consider some of the following questions:
· What value or purpose did what I did today serve (for me personally, for school, for my site)?
· What did I learn about others? What did I learn about my self? What did I observe (self, world, others)?
· Is what I am doing valuable? How do I know? Is it meaningful work?
· What questions do I have?
· How has my experience at WLE changed my perception of what is possible out a ‘school’ experience?
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It feels really good to say I am an Intern. This is the closet thing I feel I have to a real job. My life right now I have no time to get a job. My day breaks day like this wake up at 6:00 am and get ready for school. By 7 am I am out of the house and headed for the freeway. Now in order to get to school on time I have to catch a train from Embarcadero before 8:30 am. If I catch a train after that point I am going to be late. Then I am on to school. After school I have 2 hours to get downtown. In those two hours I must find a place to start homework. When I get home it is about 6 Pm and have to eat dinner and do homework. Wow!!!
Anyway I am getting carried away from the real meaning of this blog. On Wednesdays I know I don’t have to be worried about the K line or any line because my internship is only a 15 walk away. What makes it even better is the fact that I start at 10 a.m. What makes that great is the fact that I get to Embarcadero at 7:30-7:45 am. That gives me time to find a nice coffee shop “Starbucks.” This gives me time to wake up and do some more homework. Now when it gets close to work time I can walk, ride the F-line or any underground line to Powell.
Now when I get to my job I must prepare for a forty-five staff meeting. Since Zeum wants the experience of a job to fit the description they really wanted to include the other interns and myself to feel involved so they said come to the meetings. This make all the interns and I feel really welcomed to Zeum.
I already knew I could develop and strong project out of my WLE experience of Zeum. On our shadowing day we knew exactly what I would be doing in my time at Zeum. So I was informed my by mentor I would go through three weeks of training, it’s really three days but I am only there for once a week. But as soon as our training is finish I will be able to work with all parts of Zeum. So I will check in next time about training.
I got to my internship 15 minutes early; just like the handout said that we should be there 15 minutes earlier. I met my mentor, Mr. Mac, and we went to his room so he can drop off his stuff and then pick his class up from the yard. When we got back to his room, all the 5th graders were trying to get ready to go on a field trip to the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. On this trip, I was to supervise the 5th graders along with Mr. Mac and three parents-helpers. Soon after everyone got ready, Mr. Mac introduced me to the class, telling them I was going to help out and to observe the class. Then we left for the field trip to the De Young. We took two buses, which are the 49 and the 5 to get to Golden Gate Park. When we got to the De Young, this lady who worked at the De Young greeted us. The purpose of the 5th graders going on this field trip was to see the different art that was displayed in the museum and to write poems from looking at the art. When the 5th graders were able to go freely in the museum, I walked around looking at the art that was displayed and walked around to see if any of the 5th graders needed help. No one did need help. I walked around the museum and saw the 5th graders concentrating on the work and I glanced over to read a few lines of what they have written for their poems. I saw that their poems were pretty good, better than what I can write. After the museum, we went to eat lunch. It started sprinkling and we ate under this stage. While eating, it stopped raining and the 5th graders started to have their recess to play. I saw most of them playing with sticks and a few girls playing Chinese Jump-rope. They reminded me of me when I used to play Chinese Jump-rope. It made me wanted to play, but I didn’t feel like it. The kids looked so happy playing in the wide-open space. (As we got ready to leave, I saw a few freshmen from CAT. I heard that they were on a field trip.) We went to the 44 stop to wait for the 44 and then took it to the 1 stop where we took the 1. When we got back to school, it was time for the 5th graders to have math. I sat in the back observing the math class. Mr. Mac passed back tests, scoring from 15 to 105. The scores surprised me because it was so low. I wondered what questions they had about the math unit they were working on. They were doing division and decimals. I wondered if my tests were that low back in 5th grade when I had math class with Mr. Mac.
I learned that being a teacher isn’t that easy because the kids can be disruptive and you’ll have to tell the kids to behave and what they’re suppose to do. But I still like to learn more about working with kids and to see if I would like to pursue a career in teaching.
Journal Entry #3
My WLE this week was quite boring, in all honesty. I didn’t really do anything that wouldn’t constitute manual labor, but in the end I’m still happy about it. Why? Well, I knew from the beginning that I would have to get stuff like this out of the way before I could start doing the really interesting stuff. Although I was tired at the end of the day, after all of the box moving and stuffing envelopes, I know I’ll get to do more engaging stuff soon, so it’s all worth it in the end. I also realized that this kind of work is the stuff I want to avoid when I’m going to go and get my first long term job over the summer. I’ll leave that to someone who doesn’t mind doing repetitive work so much.
On a more positive note, what I did today saved my mentor a lot of time, as he probably wouldn’t have found anyone else to do the job he asked me to do. I basically had to organize boxes of files in numerical order alongside a wall in the garage of the building they work out of. This means he can find the files he needs when he needs to easily, as all of the boxes have the contents listed on the top of them on a page that’s taped onto the cover. I also stuffed envelopes full of bills, which was nice because no one else had to waste their time doing that, and all of the bills can go out on time and to their respective destination.
What I did today served the above purposes, but what I did is also kind of what I have to do in school sometimes, although the work so far in my WLE requires less thinking on my part. School wise, I showed that I could go out and get an internship, as well as get to my workplace learning experience on time.
I observed how the general office setting works, and how I can handle doing generally repetitive activities just fine. In fact, at a certain point, things like stuffing envelopes became second nature, and I found myself having time to ponder other things, like the meaning of life, and why the sky is blue. Just kidding. But it did give me a lot of time to plan out my school work schedule in my mind and things like that, which was nice because I have to work a full 8 hour day, which isn’t easy by any means.
My work thus far hasn’t really been meaningful, but this is the first time I’ve been to my WLE, so I really can’t expect much, or say that this is how things will be like in the future, because I know that isn’t true. I know I’m going to be able to do much more interesting things, like upgrade the office’s computer systems and be a technology advisor of sorts.
Thankfully, this experience has been quite fulfilling and it all has made sense so far, so I don’t really have any questions about the WLE as far as my requirements are or anything of that sort, because the teachers at CAT have been pretty clear on those, and have talked to anyone who didn’t quite get it to make sure that everyone is on the same page, which is nice.
My experience at the WLE has made me realize that although everyone always says that we should enjoy school while we can, and the real world is a lot harder than going to school, I still look forward to being out of school and in a steady job so I can get to the point where I can support myself and not be a financial burden to anyone but myself. Also, although I’ve always heard that school is a lot less frustrating and or complicated than working in a real workplace, I would have to disagree. With work, you get in, do your thing, get out, and get paid. With school you constantly have to worry about homework and grades and such, and it creates a lot of stress that I think is unnecessary considering what a real work environment would be like.
This week, I had an interesting interview with the vice principle. She was very nice and she supported me through the whole process. I learned that she is very fond of working with high school students. She introduced me to all the teachers and kids, and they were very kind. I went to the teacher’s lounge and had an intriguing conversation with different teachers. When the kids first met me, they asked me my name, and I told them my name is Kaid, but they ended up calling me Mr. Kaid by the end of the day. As I was introducing myself, I told them that I enjoyed playing sports, and they opened up and told me about themselves as well. They wanted to play basketball and kickball, so I told them that we could play during recess. The asked me questions about when I was a fifth grader and if I had as many problems understanding math as they do now, and I told them that I hated math, but you really get into it when you take your time and understand what is happening. Also, I told them to keep the persistence up when they were stuck, and to keep trying to figure it out and the satisfaction will be there. During class time, I helped certain students with their math problems, and taught them easier ways to solve math problems. One kid in particular told me that I helped him so much that he would like to do math problems all day. This made me feel accomplished and that I did something right. At the same time, I reviewed that basics which helped me remember how it was for me as a fifth grader. I learned that teachers have an extreme amount of patience dealing with that many kids at that age. All the students were different in one way or the other, such as their learning processes. One student I tried to help understood exactly what I was explaining to her and figured out how to solve the simple problem quickly, whereas another student I tried to help took about ten minutes to realize what was being done in the problem, and I felt good that even though it may have taken a bit longer than the other girl, that it still felt great to help him.
Journal Entry # 3:
My first day of WLE internship was on February 7, 2007. I first checked in with my mentor just to let her know I was there. She taught me how to fill out a yellow form, which is required to order the police reports of people who committed a crime. It wasn’t a hard task filling out the forms. After filling out the forms I had to take them to the 4th floor, which is where the police’s offices are, and drop them off. At first I didn’t know where to drop it off and where the drop-off basket was, but I got help from an officer that just walked out of the office and that assured me. I’m becoming familiar with the building and where everything is located.
My mentor took me to the office that dealt with homicides, which is on the 3rd floor. She introduced me to a lady that is the assistant of the homicide department. She was a really nice lady and I felt comfortable in helping her. I helped her make copies and ended up making tons of paper copies. It was tiring making all the copies, but it helped me improve on my organization skills because there were lots of papers and documents to keep track of.
I observed how the people in the office are involved with being responsible and being independent. The working environment is calm and quiet. People have to be accountable for their own work and everyone has an assigned task. At school it feels like a totally different working environment than my internship place. I feel that the working environment in the office is serious and focused. Attorneys dedicate a lot of effort into getting their work done and they can’t slack off. At school people slack off all the time and school isn’t taken seriously. There is a difference between school and the attorney’s office. In the office there are no teachers to guide you, unlike school.
I think what I’m experiencing in my intern place is valuable. It’s valuable because on a usual day at school I don’t experience what I do at my intern place. In the office I have to be more respectful and sophisticated. I have to dress in a more formal way, unlike the casual way I dress to school. This leads me into becoming mature and grown up. Once I’m in the office I have to be serious towards doing work. It’s important to follow instructions and get things done. Doing this internship gives me an idea of what reality is really like and what people in the offices have to do.
My WLE was very interesting this week; I did a lot and saw a lot. In my department I watch two procedures on these two patients. For these procedures the doctors had to stick this ultra sound camera device down the patients esophagus to see if the need to do any operations/shocks on either patients hearts. Luckily they didn’t because the camera device showed their hearts were fine from any threats. This week I learned to be very respective to the needs of the nurses and doctors that occasionally come through my department. Handle things that are in my area, even if people don’t ask me to them. Make sure the patients are comfortable and well adjusted, because a lot of them are really nervous to get these procedures done. So for me to just reassure them that things should work out just fine and that they will be back on their feet in no time.
The purpose I had today was being kind of like a med student; I was to listening, watching, and learning. I feel I have made an affect for the future patients I hope to have. If I know my career field area then there is more like of a chance for me to succeed in the medical profession. I want to be able to cure any harmful dieses when I become a doctor, and help out my community at the same time. So by working today at the hospital I am just that much closer to achieving my goals.
I learned that other people are willing to teach you as long as you put in the effort to learn. I’ve also found out a lot of people loose their passion of working in their chosen career. To be careful that I keep the passion of what I want to do inside of me. I’ve also learned that as long as I work hard and put in 100% in what I’ve been asked to do, then there is nothing but good that comes from that hard work. I have observed doctor/nurses interaction with the patients; how important it is to have that kind of relationship to reinsure that they have the patient’s best interest in mind.
I think what I’m doing is valuable, because by me giving the hospital voluntary hours it really helps them for the small but very meaningful tasks that need to be completed through-out the hospital. I know what I do is valuable; because all of the staff work at the hospital tell mean what I do really helps them out. In all interning at the hospital really keeps everybody satisfied.
A question that I’ve had on my mind, is if I were to volunteer next year for my senior year, would I be able to work in pediatrics?
WLE can help me see a number of opportunities that are just waiting out there for me to grab. It can also show me the reality of what the “real” working force can be like. My WLE experience can help me understand the pressures of being a responsible adult.
Peace Out, Mizz Snoopy
Luckily I remember my first and second days at my wle so hopefully this won’t be too hard. I was so nervous going in, I met Ramona outside at around 9:30 and we just stood around and contemplated what time would be good to go in and introduce ourselves. First of all the gate wasn’t completely open so we weren’t sure if we should go in but then somebody went in and we just followed him in. I was glad to be there with somebody and not alone and we were acclimated pretty well. Everyday (unless somebody cancels) we, well now I, help with a field trip. A group of anywhere from first to third graders come in and we help them write a story. The whole process is actually really quirky. They are under the impression that there is a mean old cranky editor Mrs./Mr. Blue who owns the 826 publishing company and the leader of the field trip was usually “fired” the previous day and now these kids have 45 minutes to crank out a story. They give the typist the ideas and they type up the story on a big screen so they (the kids) are involved every step of the way. There is also an illustrator who draws two (or sometimes three) pictures not including the cover to the book and then the production crew (us) runs around the back and puts the book together. Mostly its copying the text onto colored paper the cover and back cover onto cardstock and fitting the drawings. My first day they were drawn on overhead laminates so they fit in the copy machine perfectly but normally they are drawn on giant pads so we have to shrink them down and I still can’t do that perfectly. I usually feel like a super jerk asking Jory or somebody else to help me shrink some paper because I can’t work the copy machine!!! Then we bind them and pass ‘em out they are approved by Mrs./Mr. Blue and then we’re done! It was actually really easy my first day because a volunteer, Rosie, who I haven’t seen since and she was the nicest person ever- showed us how to do everything and anything. I think our mentor didn’t know what to do with us so he had us organize a lot of books and simple stuff (I have since graduated to coffee runs, exciting). Monday through Thursday from 2pm to 5:30pm there is tutoring. Usually it’s the same kids and we tutor them in everything from math to book reports. They bring in their homework and all I remember was I had the biggest headache of my life afterwards. I hadn’t worked with kids in such a long time and I was being too much of a pushover, letting them sharpen their pencil every five seconds and then taking 10 hours to eat snacks. Oh, and I haven’t done long division or any 2nd through 5th grade math since well I was in 2nd and 5th grade. Because I’m so used to doing everything on a graphing calculator I was completely stumped. I quickly remembered everything but I kept using terms they haven’t learned yet since I couldn’t grasp the fact that they were younger. So essentially I learned that I am truly not smarter then a 5th grader. How sad.
Today was my first real day on the job. I felt like even though when I first walked in I was totally confused on where to even start, with a bit of guidance I started to make myself very useful.
I spent a lot of time switching the power to the lights when they flashed so the lighting would look diffrent in the photos. This was a fairly simple task since it was mostly jsut switching cords and flipping switches.
I started noticing the diffrence between the photos when there was less or more light in certain areas. Also when the light moved how it significantly changed the picture even if it was just a few inches.
Next I learned how to set up the diffrent lights. I learned about the diffrent heads and filters and how these effect the lighting. I got a hold of how to set these up pretty quickly and it was fairly easy since I had guidance on where to put them.
It took a while to get the pictures that Marc wanted. It involved a lot of patience, moving things a bit here and there, and some of his skill to figure out how certain things would effect the picture.
I feel I really am doing my share with helping out Marc in his photography. Even though he has an assistant for official photoshoots, it is always good to have an extra hand to help and make things go more swiftly. Even though there's only one back that can be used to take pictures with, with my help everything seems to go a lot better than if it was just with Marc and his assistant.
I really enjoy working here. I hope that the next coming weeks will teach me a lot about photography and I'll be able to make my school proud.
my first day of the WLE internship process was a very intresting day indeed. i was a little nervous at first because even though ive been going to the Excelsior boys and girls club since it opened in 1998 i've never really been to the second floor so it was intresting to see what would happen. my day started like this, since my internship starts at 2:00 Pm i get to sleep in. i wake up and get ready by twelve so there really is no hurry. there is no need to worry about the transportation to the Excelsior boys & girls club is just a few blocks away from my house, but if im feeling lazy i just catch the 44 bus to mision street and walk half a block. i get there really early like about an hour and 10 minutes so that gives me time to get something to eat. since the Boys & Girls Club is on right off Mission Street there are A TON of resturaunts to choose from, from chineese food to pizza there are alot of choices. when my 1st day started at 2:00 i went up to the second floor and the lady Imelda shows me and introduces me to my 1st mentor Jason. He seemed like a really chill kind of person. as the day went on i started to fell the stress of the late evening internship, i was getting tired and it was only 6 o'clock and i had TWO MORE HOURS!!!!! What my mentor was teaching me started to make no sense and as it got later i started to fade out. But my chance to show my mentor that i was really serious about being his intern came aroun 7:30 when he was helping a kid with Gargeband which is a music program and he couldn't hel the kid. Luckily iknew garageband like the back of my hand and i easily pointed out the problem. he told me that "he loked foward to working with me in the future wednesdays to come." Him saying that made me feel confident and it brought me back to my senses and made me want to come again more energized. i knew next week would be much better.
Well this week my WLE was as i have stated earlier fun and then bad at the same time. Well the fun part was playing with the kids and interacting with them and just having fun. Like when i was playing kickball with them and when i was watching them make paper machee balloon balls. The bad part was the little incident that i had with one of the kids and it had me kind of down for a little bit but like i said the other kids brought my hopes up. I took away from the experience some new activities and some different ways to handle different situations with the kids. I took away good ideas and some thoughts of being a teacher...... maybe, somewhere further down the road during my career time. For me I just get a kick out of helping kids i have always liked helping kids and all the kids that i work with like me and there parents/gaurdians tell me that im great with kids and that i should either be a teacher or doing something with kids. For the school i think that the teachers and staff and students really like me because they tell me that all the time. They even tell me that they dont want me to leave the school when its time to go and that they really need me and that makes me feel really good. I am always learning about myself when i am at the school, the kids and the teachers are always teaching me.
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