A Day in Her Uggs: My Experience Shadowing a Junior

I have been wondering what it felt like to be a high school student in this day and age. My current students seem to have fuller days than I did in the early 90s. In those days, taking more than one AP class was not common and there was always time to just be a teenager. I got my wish this month when I had the opportunity to shadow junior Mimi Sarkodie, a hard-working boarding student who is also a busy athlete. I picked Mimi because her student profile seemed just like mine when I was a high school junior in New Jersey. I asked Mimi to just be herself and promised her that I would not hold anything I heard or saw against her.

I always thought that it was normal for my students to complain about having too much work or not having enough free time. Teenagers are supposed to do that. I did it! Through conversations with my freshmen advisees this year, I discovered that in fact there were days that their whining had some validity. Of course, the stress felt on many of those days was a result of procrastination, another adolescent trait. My mission as “Yensen” for a day was to take my students’ complaints into consideration and perhaps develop empathy for their stressful days. Mimi has an AP course; two Honors classes; and is currently a member of two athletic teams simultaneously: Darlington School Soccer Academy and track and field.

I wanted to experience every detail of her day, including wearing a uniform and carrying a heavy backpack. So I borrowed a shirt from Ezra’s closet and a skirt from Mimi’s closet, wore my purple Uggs, and carried my pink Vera Bradley backpack with a couple of books and a laptop. Let’s just say developing empathy was not difficult once I started speed walking in the cold from building to building.

Here’s how the day went:

Advisory

Mimi met me in front of the dining hall at around 8:15 a.m., ready to start the day. She was holding her notes for AP U.S. History and seemed nervous about the test that day. Our conversations during our walk to Mr. Marshall’s classroom and during advisory were centered on two big terms: Restoration and Reconstruction. It was too early for me to utter those big words and to recall what I had learned in Mr. Tarrallo’s class in 1992. I was very thankful for her fellow advisees who defined the terms with ease and discussed the details of the era with Mimi. I tried to absorb as much as I could from their conversations as well as from Mimi’s wrinkled, highlighted and underlined notes. It did not take long for my nerves to flutter in my stomach, as I would be taking the test as well.

Spanish 3 Honors

Mimi’s first class that day was my class, Spanish 3 Honors. It was strange to sit in my own classroom as a student and to see a substitute teacher sitting at my desk. My classroom looked different from this new angle. The substitute asked us to complete an assignment "the teacher" had posted online. The assignment was based on a grammar concept I had covered the day before. I partnered up with Mimi for the assignment and helped her interpret the Spanish instructions. As we completed the assignment, I noticed that Mimi and the other students were struggling to understand the instructions. At that point, I realized that I should have provided more detailed instructions and perhaps an example. Many times I have heard my student say, “Ms. Lambert, I didn’t do/finish the homework because I did not understand the instructions.” I must admit that most of the time I don’t accept that as an excuse. Doing this assignment with Mimi made me realize that perhaps what seems clear to us may not be very clear to our students.

‘Free Period’

The week before I shadowed Mimi, her friends told me that Mimi usually took a nap in the dorm during her free period. Alright! I was looking forward to catching a few Z’s on the famous Regester House lounge’s super-comfortable couch. As we left Spanish, Mimi mentioned the two big words again. Instead of taking a nap, we went to the history department to meet with Ms. Decatur. She offered to help Mimi prepare for the AP U.S. History test. Mimi knew her stuff and just needed clarification. Ms. Decatur’s take on the Reconstruction and Restoration almost sounded like the text on a picture book. It wasn’t childish; it was clear and straight to the point. She devoted her entire planning period to Mimi. I will always remember those teachers that gave up their ‘free periods’ or stayed after school to work with me – they truly made a difference in my life.

Break

It was mid-morning and my stomach sounded like a tuba. I ran downstairs to get bananas for Mimi and me from the dining hall. I stood in front of the door for a few minutes making a puppy face, hoping one of the dining hall workers would feel sorry for me and open the door. A few of them, who usually open the door for Ms. Lambert, ignored me. Then it dawned on me that I was wearing a uniform and all they could see from far was the purple of my shirt. One of them finally recognized me and opened the door. I grabbed two bananas and brought them upstairs to Ms. Decatur’s classroom – they were still reviewing! Mimi was starving and was very grateful for the banana. I wonder if I could fit a fruit stand in my classroom for my hungry teenagers.

AP U.S. History

Mimi was very nervous about the test, specifically about the essay questions. As we walked into Mr. McDurmon’s classroom, I suddenly forgot all the information I attempted to cram during advisory, our free period and break. Mr. McDurmon did not waste any time and distributed the test. I answered the essay questions with logic and sophisticated words, hoping this would get me a passing grade. The bell rang and Mimi was still working, but did not seem nervous anymore. On our way to Geometry, we talked about the most difficult parts of the test. Sometimes Mimi struggles with multiple-choice questions that ask you to infer. I explained to Mimi that those types of questions assess her deep understanding of the material, not just memorization. It was refreshing to see that critical thinking is a part of our assessment, as well as our teaching practices.

Geometry Honors

We finished the History test after the first bell had rung and I was worried we would get a tardy. Mimi did not seem worried at all. “We are going to Ms. Atkins’ classroom. She is so sweet. She won’t be mad. Don’t worry.” She was right. Mrs. Atkins greeted us with a sweet smile and an “I understand.”

The day’s lesson was beautifully and colorfully laid out on the board. Everyone started taking notes as Mrs. Atkins began her lesson. Although it has been over 20 years since I took Geometry, her lesson was easy to follow. Mrs. Atkins constantly scanned the room for puzzled faces and instead of asking if we understood, she quickly differentiated her instruction. Within 10 minutes everyone, including Mimi, started to get distracted. The teacher quickly assigned problems to apply what she had just taught. The problems got the students to refocus within seconds. Because I teach Mimi, I know that she, as well as other students, benefit more from short lectures/lessons followed by practice activities.

Just when I though it was time for lunch, Mimi says to me, “It’s time for Physics.”

Physics

For my brain, the transition from Geometry to Physics was a lot easier than going from History to Geometry. Because we teach the same subject each day, sometimes we forget that our students’ brains are constantly switching gears as they go from one discipline to the next. I was still processing the Reconstruction, Restoration and Abraham Lincoln when Mr. Malmberg started talking about circuits. I also could not stop thinking about food.

Mimi sat in the back of the room with the other upperclassmen. The energy of the group made it very clear to me that this was mainly a ninth-grade class. Mimi transferred her sophomore year from a school where she had to take Biology during her freshman year. Mimi understood today’s lesson very quickly and finished the exercises before most of the class. When she was done, she helped two of her classmates figure out the answers.

While we waited for the other students to finish, we decided to read cliff notes on line of chapters 15-17 of Huckleberry Finn. See, Mimi had devoted most of the previous night to preparing for the History test.  After studying for History, she was too tired to read and decided to go to bed. She made History her priority because it was her lowest grade at the time. Although there would be a reading quiz, she also knew that Mr. Marshall would drop her lowest grade at the end of the semester. Reading cliff notes for English has not helped her in the past, but it made her feel better to at least know the main ideas of the chapters. The bell rang and we proceeded to lunch!

Lunch

Mimi introduced me to all her friends as “Yensen.” About 12 of us sat around a dining hall table. I have always wondered why so many of them would prefer to sit in a crowded table to eat. I must say the coziness of the table made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The conversations ranged from the latest romances to how difficult/easy the assessments of the day had been. My favorite conversation was about how to get Mr. Marshall to cancel the reading quiz the following period. A few of them came up with very elaborate ideas that included sappy stories and puppy faces. I giggled as I listened and told them none of those ideas would work. They insisted on giving it a try nevertheless. So I made a bet with one of the students: if Mr. Marshall didn’t cancel the quiz, she would sign up for Spanish 5 next year. If Mr. Marshall cancelled the quiz, I would teach Zumba at the Huffman Center every weekend until the end of the year.

English 3

As I predicted, Mr. Marshall gave the quiz in the beginning of class in spite of all the whining. Some students were upset about the quiz, even though it was announced. But it made me wonder how many of them had to make the same choice as Mimi the night before, after sports, and study for the class where they had the lowest grade. The ones who read answered the questions with ease and confidence, which made me believe it was very straightforward. The rest of the students shook their legs and chewed on their pencils, hoping they answers would rain down from heaven.

It was time to collect the quiz and get started with the reading analysis. Mr. Marshall reminded the students who were upset, including Mimi, that he always drops the lowest reading quiz grade at the end of the semester. They will have plenty of other reading quizzes to make up for that low grade.

We opened up our books to chapter 15 of Huckleberry Finn. Mr. Marshall asked a student to read the first paragraph out loud as the class read along. Then asked the class which word was the most important in that paragraph. Mimi said “we” without hesitation. Mr. Marshall celebrated the fact that very few students during his time at Darlington have been able to pick up on that word as quickly as Mimi did. She was beaming with pride and the bad quiz was a thing of the past. A teacher knows his/her students.

Journalism

This was the last period of the day and I had not had any coffee since breakfast. How was I going to make it through another period?

I noticed Mimi was walking faster than before. Journalism was in the library and English was at other end of campus. I was huffing and puffing running up the stairs to the Media Room. This class is in charge of the yearbook and the deadline is soon approaching. We sat around a table to discuss the yearbook cover and other stories and needed to be completed. Mrs. Forgette was the facilitator for this discussion. The yearbook is truly a student effort and she simply offered options and ideas.

Another topic of discussion was the production of a one-shot Darlington lip dub video. “Shake it Off” was a big success and they wanted to recreate it with an uplifting song for Light the Lake. I enjoyed listening to her ideas and how they defended their opinions. Mimi’s energy was running low, so having a discussion like this at the end of the day kept her awake and engaged.

When the bell rang, Mimi went to the dorm and I went home to change. The day was not over yet.

Track and Field

After leaving Journalism, I had just enough time to change and drink a protein shake. I knew track practice was not going to be a walk around Chris Hunter Stadium. We started with a warm up lap around the track and drills on the field. We then divided into groups by event. Mimi is a high jumper, along with two other students. Mr. Cox was very patient with me, as I had never high jumped before. After a number of drills on the mat, Mr. Collier had us do 200-meter sprints. I had never run as fast as I did that day, but even so I was always 10 seconds behind.

Top 10 Takeaways

10. Students will not listen for more than 12 minutes straight.

9. Breaking up lessons with engaging activities is always a good idea.

8. Students will always prioritize their studies according to their average in each class.

7. Students must have snacks throughout the day to keep focused – let them eat a bag of chips in your room if they ask you.

6. Give clear instructions on assignments – don’t assume they know what they are supposed to do.

5. Students need time and opportunities to be teenagers - which may include invading your phone with group selfies!

4. If a student is overwhelmed and would appreciate an extension on an assignment, consider it.

3. Don’t forget to compliment your students.

2. Your 30-minute homework might be one out five other 30-minute homework assignments each night.

1. Students will reach out to those teachers who show them compassion.