Personal Project Class for International Baccalaureate Winter 2013

Last winter, I became involved in co-piloting a personal project class for International Baccalaureate. The pilot class consisted of seniors who had previously been unsuccessful in completing this project and were deemed to miss graduation because of it. You might think, hey, you've been a teacher, no big deal. Well, for me, yes. I have a talent for working with serious students, those working ahead of the curve, you know the type. I talk fast and have high expectations. I work best with students who are self motivated and self disciplined. I just can't understand why one would not try. Needless to say this was not the M.O. of this class. To my surprise about 1/3 of the kids failed again. What I discovered about myself, as I worked with one student in particular, is that I can adapt my teaching skills to varied levels, I can and do have patience when a student needs it, I can slow down my pace and be a caring, supportive mentor to a struggling student. I also discovered that I can be inspired by a student especially one that is overcoming difficult obstacles in their desire to complete an education. It was a challenging and rewarding experience.