Awkward Situation

So forever ago we talked about situations that for the majority would be a little challenging for any of us to deal with. These would be where we run into our students at parties, students are attracted to you or the other way around, etc. The only situation I ever had to deal with was one student had asked me to buy alcohol for them the weekend I turned 21 which was pretty easy to deal with because I just said no. I've always thought that if I ever encountered anything that is out of the ordinary between myself and one of the students that I'd be able to handle it well because I don't see the situation ever as awkward.

Lauren brought up the drug issue at the end of class and I thought about it a little afterwards. When I was in high school I had a lot of friends that smoked pot and would always want me to as well. I only ever tried it once and never did it again. This gives me some extra experience that most of us don't have. I've seen the goods and bads of drugs, I have friends that are doing great now that smoke pot and I have friends that are still living off of their parents or are in trouble with the law. I also had a parent that was an addict and this is probably the reason why my family is in poverty now. So if any of you have any questions on this touchy subject I am sure I would be able to help.
Thanks,
Kris

Role Modeling

So the whole role modeling thing is one of those things I just do naturally and really is something everyone, if they do it right, does naturally. This was my mentality with my students last semester, I figured if I felt I was a good enough person that I didn't need to act in a certain way in class, I was just myself. Considering most of the students had added me to Facebook I really couldn't act fake around them because even though I would monitor what I would put on Facebook my friends weren't so nice.

Considering most of us were selected to be peer mentors because we are already good role models kind of makes becoming a role model redundant and we more or less have to maintain being a role model. The one thing that I still do with my students is be real with them and like we talked about earlier this semester, you don't have to tell your students the full truth but give them a taste of what you think will help them.

I've always been considered a role model since I was younger so I guess this stuff comes easy to me. In my hometown it is absolutely impossible to be fake with someone because everyone knows you and your family so the only thing you can do is be you. Being a role model and being a peer mentor go hand in hand with the Hixson program because we get to know the students closer than most programs do, so I consider being a role model is a must.

Kris

ps.....sorry this is late I accidentally just saved it and didn't post it

A few things I have noticed these past weeks

So after reading Chapter 9 in the book I can definitely tell personally how your emotions affect your study habits. These past few weeks my personal life could be said to be less than par and I can tell that this has effected my studying and my grades. This past week however things have begun to turn around and in the past 3 days I have done 2 weeks worth of homework, which is being pretty productive to say the least.

Okay I have to admit I didn't fully read the chapter but did anyone else notice how this chapter seems to go way to far into the science of learning? I'm usually one to want to know the science behind things which is kind of why I am a mechanical engineer but this just seemed to be a little much.

I am really impressed with the way this class is going compared to last year. Everyone seems a lot closer than where we were at last year and I this makes class even that much more fun to go to.