A Free Tutoring Service: Preparing For the Future     

  Lesson Review C-35    March 11-12, 2003 :

  "Sometimes, I seem to be spinning my wheels. I think I'll become a Lawyer...see below"

Contrary to popular belief, all is not well in the Tutoring Service...all of the time. The students have to be reminded of what we expect of them upon occasion, and one of those occasions came on this day, March 11, 2003 at 6:00PM. There were approximately 12 students who heard my lecture..."Shape up or ship out"!

I referred to our "Rules of the Game" document of March 2000. The document clearly defined our purpose, our curriculum and our expectations. The students were reminded that a "C" is nothing to brag about! That statement drew a bit of disappointment from some of the students. I lectured them on the intensity of the students of previous years and that seemed to irritate some a little more. I told them that the students of Y2K could indeed make them look like amateurs when it came to graphing straight lines, doing mock trials, working with electrical components and generally preparing themselves for the future. Those statements drew more irritation from the students.

My lecture lasted more than 30-minutes. It covered "weak study habits, talking on the telephone too much, fooling around in the tutoring service too much, and having a wonderful afternoon of socializing in the tutoring service...too much". I did become a bit emotional when I told the students that "if they had no need of tutoring, and if they were not interested in excelling in other facets of education, then it would be better for them to stay at home; then I could replace them with students who really wanted to do all of the things that I had in store for them. My purpose, I reiterated, was to move them beyond their Middle and High School curriculums and "fooling around" too much was preventing me from reaching my goals. I cautioned them against bringing over school mates before telling them that this is a very intense program, and not for the faint of heart!

Not to my surprise, some of the students thanked me for my lecture. They praised me for reminding them of their obligation to education. Some of the students did not take to my lecture too well and I suppose some will miss a day or two to "lick their wounds". That is definitely all right with me!

One of the parents got in on the tail end of my lecture, and I believe she appreciated me telling the students "like it is". I had a conference with her and her daughter to determine what went wrong on a previous Algebra 2 examination. I worked with the student for more than an hour on the examination that saw her making a bad grade. I am sure that the student will make an "A" when the examination questions appear again. The examination focused on, of all things, fractional expressions containing unknowns. Were the student given an examination on fractions, she would have passed with flying colors: placing unknown quantities such as an "x" or a "y" made it another ball game.

Students, stick to your guns in doing fractions. Remember the basic rules of fractions and you will have no trouble when a "2" is replaced with an "X"...etc.

The students indeed got busy with their homework. They indeed went to the 2 computer stations and got busy. They indeed stopped the socializing and the eating of chips, candy and soda. Some indeed thanked me for my lecture. They went to work on homework with a fever pitch and they refocused themselves on the purpose of our Free Tutoring Service; That is.....Preparing for the Future.

                                              Cleophas Mike McAlpin....Chief Tutor

March 12, 2003.....Another Tutoring Day of seemingly....Spinning my Wheels. I Think I'll become a Lawyer.

The day started for me at a very early hour. I am too ashamed to mention. I had so many things to accomplish with regards to tutoring, that I thought it best to arise "before the rooster crowed".

School Visitations:

I visited 4 students at Banning High School. I talked with their instructors about their progress and was given favorable reports.

I spoke to Counselors and we discussed grades for the last progress reports. I reminded the Counselors to call me if grades were not "up to snuff", or if students got into any kind of trouble. The 2 Counselors were kind and cooperative with me.

I visited Long Beach Polytechnic P.A.L. High School and spoke with the Principal there about my need to sit in on some of the classes of my student. I was treated kindly, although not given permission because of stringent rules regarding visitations. I was told to speak to the Head Principal about my request, and that I will do in the near future. I did get to speak to my student for a minute or two and found out that she was in a Science class there and studying "Sound". I asked her what the speed of sound was, and of course, she did not know.

Sometimes, I seem to be spinning my wheels!

How I would have loved to sit in the classroom with my student and remind her of the things related to "Sound" that she should know. How I would have loved to talk to the teacher and obtain a lesson outline....but alas....RED TAPE comes first!

It was then on to Long Beach Criminal Courts on Ocean Boulevard to assist in clearing one of my students of charges of "gambling on campus". My student said he was innocent, but pleaded "no contest" when dice were found in his pockets. He served 30 hours of  community service for his plea, and that leads me into my lesson review for this night, March 12, 2003 at 7:00PM. "Why Plead No Contest If You Are Innocent of Charges?"

Attorney Larry Easterwood will be lecturing the students on March 23, 2003 at 3:00PM. All are invited to attend. He will be reviewing his video, "Logic and Proof", and will answer questions regarding it and the Law.

I gave a synopsis of the video and had each and every one of the students listen to my lecture. Each of the students know about Plaintiffs and Defendants, Reasonable Doubt or Beyond a Reasonable Doubt and their percentages. They know about Civil and Criminal cases and the "Burden of Proof" regarding each. They know about Capital crimes and misdemeanors. They know about Trials and Penalty Phases. They know about the most important of all....Crime and Punishment...in the Justice System.

The video will be further reviewed by each and every student and we will be ready to ask intelligent questions of our Volunteer Attorney, Larry Easterwood, of Carson, California. I want to thank Larry in advance of his lecture for causing us to study how to "reason" and how to determine if we should.......plead no contest! Even when we are innocent of the crime!