Issues – December 10th
December 17th, 2011 by Sarah TrowbridgeThe slight homework problems I had experienced with D. the previous visit seemed to foreshadow what happened during this one. P. began telling us about a science project she had that was due soon, and both Rachel and I had assumed that it was a project that she hadn’t actually started yet, and that she had some time to work on. Later in our visit, however, we come to learn that P.’s project is due in two days, and that she had not actually done a scientific experiment for her project. Furthermore, D. had to do a science project as well, and though her poster board was nearly completed, she hadn’t done her proposed experiment either. Yet, she was asking Rachel and I what to put for ‘data’ and ‘conclusion,’ which she had yet to add to her poster. Rachel and I tried explaining that the whole purpose of these projects is that you have to do an experiment, otherwise you won’t have any information to go off of.
I think we were both a little overwhelmed and shocked by their lack of awareness. They didn’t seem to comprehend how critical the actual experiment process was until we explained it. The fact that they had to carefully manage their time for the project and that this was a process, not just something you could do it a day, probably went over their heads. When we asked if they had received any specific instructions from their teachers or had asked their teachers for help, they both responded in the negative. Naturally, Rachel and I started to get a little stressed for them. Whereas D. had at least began putting together her project, P. had done no experiment and had not started a poster, and she only had two days to put everything together. We decided we’d come back the next day to help her with a simple project and to help her complete her poster. It was honestly the first day where Rachel and I really encountered an issue, and we were the only ones who could really fix it in such a short amount of time.