Hope for Latino Students!

Hope for Latino Students!

Expanded TOC

1. Pre Class Set Up

1) Become familiar with and committed to the desired outcomes of the class, which is to motivate each student to finish high school and graduate from a university or trade school.

2) Become familiar with the idea that the primary goal of the class is to instill in the student the belief that he CAN, that is to raise his/her self-expectation and overcome all obstacles.

3) Parent’s permission/cooperation, signature

4) Who student will tutor, signature of other parent?

5) Coordination with Elementary School to provide statistics

6) Surveys (Qualitative and Quantitative) of High School Student

2. Set Up Class, Explain

1) Purpose and breadth of course

2) Necessity of Tutoring someone, or being tutored

3) Importance of safety in tutoring non-siblings

4) Scope of tutoring necessary

5) Grade dependent on tutoring and progress of tutee                                      

3. Bonding Activities and Games, Team Building, T-Shirts or Polo-Shirts

1) Start off the first few days with fun activities that enable the students to get to know each other and to feel like the other students are friends and companions.

2) Activities to become acquainted with teacher

3) They are partners in a common endeavor—to get through university and fulfill their parents’ expectations of them. They need the support of each other to accomplish this. (This is the Latino-Discovery Gang)

4) On the last day of this have them design the logo to be printed on the T-shirts or Polo-shirts that will be supplied to them, to identify them as a Latino Discovery class, which they will wear to school at least once a week (or more, depending on the decision of the class.)

5) See https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/ for specific lessons already developed.

4. Goals, Grades, and Outcome Expectations     Si, Se Puede

1) Everyone can get a A in this class! The goal is to come to believe in themselves, that they can graduate from a university, or some form of advanced education, plus perform their tutoring assigments.

2) Convince the students that it is 100% up to them to come to believe and accomplish the goal. It is up to them to believe Si, Se Puede.

5. Tutoring Discussion, assignment, and expectations

1) The most empowering assignments of this class is the tutoring that they do for others.

2) Tutoring is best done 20, or more, minutes per evening, or 100 minutes per week on the weekend.

3) Each student will select the person that he/she will tutor, and be approved by the teacher. (It could change during the year, but must be approved.)

Candidates, in order of preference, are:

a. Younger siblings,

(Imagine that you yourself are only reading English at a 4th grade level and you tutor your sibling at a 2nd or 3rd grade level, how much that will help your own English.)

b. Parents learning better English, (You learn together.)

c. Younger cousins or nieces or nephews,

d. Neighbor children. (You will need to have a permission form signed by the parent and be supervised (at least an adult in the same room) while tutoring) for your safety in not being accused of inappropriate behavior.

d. Your peers, who are struggling with a subject in which you are knowledgeable,

e. Being tutored yourself if you are struggling with a subject and have someone else who can help you on a daily/weekly basis.

4) It is ESSENTIAL that tutoring be done consistently throughout the year. (You can even continue tutoring when you are not taking this class. It is an activity that will empower you.)

5) Tutoring techniques: (See http://www.schools.utah.gov/CURR/star/Resources/Educator-Tutor/CrossAgeTutoringManual.aspx

and http://www.schools.utah.gov/CURR/star/Manuals-Materials/CrossAgeTutoring.aspx

for a complete instruction on Cross-Age Tutoring Instructions)

6) Multiple tutoring lessons to be used as needed by the students’ individual situations.

6. Honesty, Integrity, & Reliability  

1) Your parents will sign a weekly form listing how many minutes you tutored each week.

2) It is essential for your personal growth that you do not forge this paper in order to get a good grade in the class. Disadvantages of reporting hours incorrectly

3) Half of your grade from this class will come from your tutoring minutes. You will not grow from this experience unless you do the tutoring as required. (The other half of your grade will come from attendance and participation in class discussions.)

4) Principals and advantages of honesty, integrity, and reliability

5) Siblings will be tested on improvements in math and/or reading and your grade will reflect the progress of your tutee

6) Honesty as a principle in the world we live in

7) Effect of corruption in local and national governments

8) Advantages to businesses in being honest with customers

9) Advantages to you as an employee to be honest with your employer

10) See M: C-1. Academic Integrity: What Is Your Opinion?

11) Reliability-Latinos can’t say NO, & then don’t show up. What is a better way?

7. Books to read for English Credit    

1) It’s possible that the school district will offer this class for English credit, in which they will require specific assignments to be completed to receive the credit.

2) Typically a requirement might be to read certain books (typically about Latino experiences) and give reports on their content. Some suggested books are,

3) Book list:

8. Latinos are performing poorly in school. Why? What can be done about it?

1) It will help you to succeed if the atmosphere at school among other Latinos is one of success.

2) Therefore it is in your best interest to help improve the success atmosphere in your school.

3) Participate in a discussion in your class about what you and your class can do to improve the success attitude at your school.

4) Participate in activities, determined in your class discussion, that might help to improve the school atmosphere of success.

5) Present statistics on Latinos vs whites in various areas

6) Latinos drop out of high school at 3X the rate of white kids, 48% vs 17%

7) Latinos enroll in universities at 1/3 the rate of white kids, _% vs _%

8) Of the Latinos who do enroll in university only 13% graduate, whereas 34% of white kids graduate

9) The average ACT score for white kids is 21 whereas the average for Latinos is 17

10) Latino youth are arrested for crimes at 2X the rate of white kids

11) Latina girls between 13 and 17 years of age have 3X the pregnancy rate of white girls

12) Divide the class into groups and have each group discuss one of these statistics, and then prepare a report on why this is so and what can be done about it.

13) Explanations, these should have come out in 8. above. Discuss these reasons and spend the majority of the time discussing what the class members can do to change the statistics for the members of this class, i.e. how can we change ourselves so that we achieve at least as well as white kids? (Note: Some of the reasons given can be very challenging, such as limited money for university tuition, need to have a job to help support the family, etc. Tell the class that one of the purposes of this class is to help students find ways to overcome these barriers.)

9. Teamwork

1) Except for book reports for English credit, and a report on the experience of their parents, this class does not require tests or other homework to be turned in to your teacher.

2) Instead, the desired outcome of this class is to raise your own expectations of success in graduating from high school and university or other advanced training.

3) Therefore, rather than focusing on having classmates help you cheat on exams or other homework, the emphasis of this class is to work together to help everyone raise his or her attitude of success. This class is a team. You are a team member. The more you help your classmates to success, the more you will be helped by giving that support.

4) Discuss what is the meaning of Teamwork, both in concept and in real life situations

5) Discuss instances in which teamwork is lacking in the lives of the students where it would be helpful

6) Discuss instances in which teamwork is happening and how much it helps in specific situations

7) Discuss specific instances in which the class can set up a teamwork environment, to help not only other class members, but also their friends, acquaintances, and family members

8) Teamwork in service, tutoring, homework, family

9) See M: A-11 Lost on the Moon, https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

10) See M: B-2. Roping in Teamwork, https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

10. Communication Skills

1) See M: A-7 Multi Way Tug of War, https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

11. Si, Se Puede

1) 45% to 55% of Latinos graduate from high school. 10% to 13% achieve university graduation.

2) Some, if not many, of those students have overcome obstacles as great as yours.

3) Your greatest chances for success in the American system of education and employment are up to your own attitude, not your obstacles.

4) You are able to overcome any obstacle. Your parents overcame many obstacles to get you into this country for a better life. It’s up to you to follow their example and succeed.

5) Who first coined this phrase and what is the story behind it? (Cesar Chavez)

6) How does this phrase affect your performance and learning in this class?

7) How does this phrase affect your performance in all of school?

8) Who used this phrase more recently and what was the intention? Discuss the results

9) Class discussion on how this phrase affects the lives of all the students in the class

10) What potential does each student have that he/she may not be thinking at the moment that they have?

12. Cultural Confidence(This is one of the most important topics of the entire course and students must gain a new insight into the significance and value of their native culture)

1) You have a culture much different than the standard American culture which derived mostly from northern Europe.

2) Your cultural experiences can add significantly to the American culture.

3) America used to be called the “melting pot” (or a mixed soup) meaning that all the northern European cultures eventually integrated.

4) People of color do not melt as easily as people who are all white. Therefore America has now become more of a “mixed salad”, which is just a healthy as a “mixed soup.” The saying, “American is no longer a ‘melting pot’, but a ‘mixed salad’”. What does this saying mean and what are the responsibilities of minority students in making America a very nourishing salad?

We need to have the depth and beauties of your culture add to what we already have. Hold onto your culture and share it with your white friends with pride and confidence. We need you.

5) Discuss what is different about the student’s culture and how these differences add to the American culture

6) Have students in groups analyze how their culture is currently degrading America, and what they individually can do to NOT have this effect on America and their own local culture and families, and have them report their findings

7) Assign students in groups to study and report on the contributions of great American leaders from their culture or ethnic background and how these leaders improved America (Political leaders, judges, businessmen, political or economic activists, educators, individual families, worker’s rights activists, minority non-profit organizations throughout the country, etc.) (This can be a very large part of the class and a significant amount of time should be devoted to homework/research, and reporting on the results.)

8) Assign students in groups to brainstorm ideas on how they can contribute to the overall cultural shift of America, and have the students report their ideas and findings

9) Have students prepare in groups and then report, with each student participating, on how this section has changed their perspective of who they are individually in America, and how they individually can contribute more than they had previously imagined to America, their own community, to their families, and to themselves as a result of this section.

10) (If the student has taken this class and done this assignment in a previous trimester, encourage them to pick a new leader for section 4. to study and on whom to report.)

11) (Encourage the student to expand on his/her perspective on their own place in this culture and how this section of the class has further expanded their view of themselves in society.)

12 See https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/  for lessons on this subject.

13. My Family Experience (This might be the second most important portion of this class.)

1) Typically your parents sacrificed greatly to bring you to the USA.

2) We find that usually the story of their experiences has not been told to their children and grandchildren, and the children do not know of all the sacrifices of their parents. This section is neither to condemn nor condone the parents for crossing the border illegally, but to give the students an appreciation of what their families went through to get here.

3) Take the first class period to introduce the subject by asking the students in the class to tell the story of their parents coming to America. Most will have no idea, which is the point.

4) Emphasize how important it is that they know the story of what their parents went through to come here and provide a better life for their children.

5) To make the most of their parents sacrifice by obtaining the highest education level they can as a show of respect for their parents.

6) This is your only written assignment:

a. Interview you parents about the experiences they had coming to this country. Please ask them to tell you in detail of all their troubles and difficulties.

b. Take notes of the interview, and then write an essay on your parents’ experiences.

c. If your parents or you are undocumented than you MUST change names of all people and places to retain confidentiality. (Have the students emphasize to the parents that every precaution will be taken to make sure the document produced will not end up in the hands of ICE.)

d. Either the students work in  groups to review and edit the written copy, or the teacher works with each student to improve the written copy.

e. Each student presents to the class the document and description of their parents struggles to come to America.

f. In groups the students discuss their own impressions now that they know the difficulties their own parents made to come here. The various groups report their conclusions, making sure that each member of the group participates in the report.

f. They discuss how this has affected:

1. Their own attitude of respect toward their parents, 2. Their attitude towards what they are willing to do to capitalize on the sacrifice of their parents, 3. How this affects their willingness to sacrifice current pleasures in order to make an even better life for themselves, 4. How they have more respect for their parents and their parents low education level compared to themselves, and how they intend to repay this sacrifice to their parents.

7) You can spend a few weeks on this assignment, but most of the time is spent by the student on his own, so introduce the subject, follow-up to see that it is being done, but spend class time on other subjects..

8) (Note: If the student has done this exercise as a result of being in this class in an earlier trimester or year, assign them to interview and write the story of a different relative or neighbor.)

14. Being Bilingual

1) Using the Bilingual Evaluation Form in Appendix B, have each student do a self-evaluation on the extent of their personal bilingual capability.

2) Discuss the advantages of being fluently bilingual in the society of today (Economic income, culturally in their neighborhoods, enhanced educational opportunities, enhanced employment opportunities, opportunities to influence society and the local and national culture, etc.)

3) Have the students in groups discuss and report on how they can improve their personal bilingual capability (Take language classes to improve the depth of their language capability, particularly their grammar that they do not get from conversations at home, increase their interaction with their parents—talking more in the native language of their parents, reading more literature of all kinds in their native language, reading in their native language with their parents and other relatives, etc.)

4) Have the students set goals and report on improving their bilingual capability, how they will reach those goals, i.e. what they will do to reach those goals, and make commitments to pursue improvements in their bilingual capability

15. Why Stay in School?

1) If you do not graduate from high school and obtain some form of advanced education you will be betraying the dream that your parents had in bringing you to America.

2) Without advanced education you will be delegated to the same low paying manual labor jobs that your parents hold.

3) It has been shown that having an advanced degree will enable you to earn about 10 times the amount of money over your lifetime as without.

4) Your parents may need you to drop out of school now to help support the family, but if you obtain a high school diploma and an advance degree, in a few years you will be able to help the family MUCH more than if you stop your schooling now.

5) Finally, having an advanced degree will add greatly to your own satisfaction in your entire life.

6) Discuss the reasons that a large number of minorities drop out of school before graduating from high school, and/or do not go on to advanced education.

7) Have the students analyze the reasons given above and discuss and report on which are valid reasons and which are not so valid. On both valid reasons for dropping out, and invalid reasons, have the students discuss in groups and report on alternatives to both sets of reasons and what are the advantages of staying in school

8) Have the students discuss in groups and report on reasons to NOT drop out of high school before graduating, and reasons to set goals to go on to higher education

9) Have the class discuss the reports given above and evaluate the validity of the reports, their feasibility, their desirability, etc.

10) Have the students discuss in groups and report, with each student participating, whether this subject has influenced their decision whether or not to drop out and why. If students still plan to drop out have that student report his/her reasons and have the class brainstorm, impersonally, what alternatives the student might have and what would be the advantage of the student taking the alternatives and stay in school.

11) Discuss with the class the overall motivation for advanced education i.e. university or trade school. Emphasize that there will be further sections on obtaining scholarships and other financial aid, and help in preparing to pass entrance exams.

12) SeeM: A- 31. Unequal Resources at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

16. Academic Roadmap

1) Have class consider the question: “If you could do or be anything you wanted to when you grow up, what would it be?” Make a list of answers and note if there are any that are more popular.

2) Starting with the most popular, make a list of requirements and discuss what a person has to do to be able to be what they want to be.

3) a. Education, such as university, b. Money to get the education (or whatever else), c. Experience and training in the field, d. Pre-education (such as graduating from high school or trade school, e. What university specializes in your chosen field? f. GPA and ACT scores to get into the university you want, g. Delay romance and marriage, or find a way to do both, h. Etc.

4) Have each student, in his/her own notebook, make a step-by-step path and mile stones they have to do and reach to become what they want to be

5) For students who don’t know, assign them to research in the library, internet, or school councilors what are some options they could consider and think about over the next months or years

6) Divide the class into groups and have each group discuss things that would sabotage their goals:

a. Pregnancy, b. Worldly things like a truck or the latest iPhone, c. Getting married before they are ready, d. Doing poorly in high school, i.e. low GPA, poor ACT score, e. Getting in trouble with the law/legal system, f. Not getting involved with extra-curricular activities such as debate team, year-book, band, etc., g. Not mixing and becoming comfortable with teachers, with students of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds,

7) Have students divide into groups and list obstacles that could sidetrack them, and suggested ways to overcome those obstacles, such as: a. Parental support for their goals, b. Peer pressure to abandon their goals, c. Extended family pressure to abandon their goals, d. White society pressure to tell them “No Si, No Se Puede”, e.School councilors that might discourage them, etc.

8) Have each student evaluate how badly they want to reach their goals, and whether they are willing to sacrifice “current fun” to reach their goals. Have them document their desire in their personal notebook.

17. Avoiding Gangs

1) Gangs provide an important role in providing self-esteem to gang members and leaders.

2) But gangs often lead to illegal activities, imprisonment, and early death.

3) Instead, be a member of the “Latino Discovery” gang.

4) Be a member of a gang that supports each other in obtaining a better life in the long run rather than immediate only rewards and satisfaction.

5) Divide the class into groups and have each discuss the topic, “Why Latino/Minority youth join gangs” The emphasis of this discussion is “What positive experience do youth get out of being gang members?”

6) Have each group report their finding and opinions

7) Now using the same groups discuss, “What is a better way to achieve the same goals?”

8) Report the results in the class

9) Have various volunteer members of the class discuss why the reasons to achieve the results some other way are not realistic

10) Have the class members evaluate how they as a class can overcome the objections raised above and provide the emotional needs for which youth join gangs

11) Set specific assignments and goals for the class to provide gang members an environment such that they can achieve their needs without being in a gang

18. Life Skills

1) Have the students form groups and brainstorm on what life skills in which they are not as strong as the white kids in their classes (Getting part time jobs, keeping from getting pregnant, keeping from having to get married before they are sufficiently educated to be responsible for a family, how to get a full time job, overcoming the stigma of being brown, getting scholarships for university, getting admitted to advanced education, joining extra-curricular clubs at school, getting on sports teams, study skills, getting good grades, being recognized as a person instead of a minority, being elected to school office, gaining respect of teachers and other adults with influence, maintaining their parents culture while fitting into the local culture, maintaining rapport with parents while advancing beyond the education level of their parents, getting help with homework and learning what is being taught in classes, balancing needs to be a babysitter for younger siblings and yet getting homework done, avoiding the need to join gangs to meet their emotional needs for recognition and acceptance, how to join local Scout Troops, 4H, or other local worthwhile clubs, etc.)

2) Divide the students into small groups of 2 or 3 and have each group access the difficulties of being minority and come up with suggestions on how to overcome those difficulties

3) Have a group discussion on how overcoming these difficulties make the student stronger and more able to contribute to his culture and to America as a whole

4) Divide the students back into their groups and have them submit a written report, to be assembled into a booklet for everyone on how to become strengthened in their life skills

5) See https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/ for specific lessons on the topic.

19. FASFA, Scholarships & Financing College

1) There is no doubt that finishing high school and obtaining an advanced degree is expensive.

2) Nevertheless, there are an incredible number of sources of money that can be obtained with just a little bit of effort.

3) FASA Pell Grants. Unfortunately these are only available to documented students, but they are available to ALL documented students. $6,345 per year is the typical amount for the 2020-2021 school year and they usually increase annually. They are grants and do NOT need to be repaid.

4) There are many, many free scholarships available, that only need to be found and applied for. You can find a partial list of scholarships at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/scholarships-2/ and https://www.youthdiscovery.org/web-based-scholarship-list-from-fastweb/

5) Many local communities and universities or colleges have their own scholarships and you should inquire into this possibility.

6) Some students plan to work and save money for college. Think of this: If you work at a fast-food restaurant you might earn $7 to $10 per hour. If you spend 100 hours applying for and receiving a $5,000 scholarship, you just earned $50 per hour. And it can get better.

7) Go to your school computer lab, or your local library if you do not have internet at home.

8) Have your teacher or school councilor help you edit your application before submission to make it as attractive as possible.

9) You will want to write a generic self-description of why you want to obtain advanced education and save it for multiple applications.

10) Additional suggestions are at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/scholarships/ Go to the bottom of the page and click on “Scholarships power point”, or go to https://www.youthdiscovery.org/enhancing-latino-education/ for two Power Point presentations.

11) Discuss current conditions in each situation (each student) whether they have the finances to support advanced education, such as a. Personal finances, b, jobs, c. parents financial situation, d. extended family possible contributions.

12) In 12th grade take all documented students to the computer lab and have each fill out his/her FASFA applications before the deadline. They will have to pick a few universities to include with the application

13) In 11th grade take all students, documented and un-documented, to the computer lab and train them on applying for scholarships Enroll each student in a course to prepare them to apply for scholarships, including: a. Where to look, b. How to write their application letter, c. How to save everything they have written on a computer or memory stick once to use the almost same thing in future applications, d. Develop a group to review each students writing to critique it and improve their standard essays and such,

14) It is critical that each student is trained to become proficient in applying for scholarships, and that they realize that they will need to continue to apply all during their college career to keep their education financed throughout the 4 to 5 years that they will be in undergraduate school. Encourage the students to not run out of money because they didn’t keep finding scholarships.

15) Emphasize that grants are also the way to finance advanced degrees, such as Masters, and Ph.D.’s

16) Don’t neglect ROTC programs for students willing to spend time in the military after graduation. Nevertheless, make sure they understand the obligation for military duty if they take this route.

17) Emphasize that every year $millions of scholarships go un-awarded because no one applied for them. For minorities there are $millions of scholarships available, and all the student has to do is find the ones that fit his/her goals.

18) See the link titled FASFA on http://www.youthdiscovery.org/background-of-youth-discovery-inc/ for instructions in applying for a FASFA grant

19) Every student should apply for at least 5 scholarships. And then they should keep applying until they have received at least $10,000.

20. GPA  

1) GPA stands for Grade Point Average. Make sure each student understands what a GPA is, and what is their own GPA. Make sure they understand that the importance of their grades towards their GPA begins in the 9th Grade.

2) You should study hard, turn in your homework, and keep your GPA as high as possible.

3) GPA is considered by universities for admission and from those awarding scholarships.

4) If your GPA is low because you have been goofing off until now, you can do much better the next couple of years and point out to those interested how much you have improved, and they will likely take that into consideration. Read Jessica’s story at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/student-story/

5) Ask the students if their parents know what GPA stands for and what is the GPA of their student. (This may be embarrassing for the student, but emphasize that this is a starting point, i.e. being honest with their parents.) Don’t let the students tell their parents that F = “fantastic.”

6) Have the students in groups discuss the importance of a high GPA and report to the class.

7) Mention the coming subject of their ACT score and how their GPA and ACT score will affect their ability to go to the university of their choice.

8) Have the students in groups discuss the GPA of each member of the group, and have the group brainstorm on what each student can do, in the time remaining, to raise their GPA. (Even a 12th Grader can do better in the remaining trimesters, and the improvement can be shown to university admissions personnel, and to potential scholarship committees as mentioned above in Jessica’s story.)

9) See M: C-2. Grade Point Average at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/10) See M: C-3. Last Term’s Report Card at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

21. Study Habits

See M: C-4. Study Habits Assessments:

at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

See M: C-20. Study Skills for College–It’s All About Time:

at https://www.youthdiscovery.org/actual-lesson-plans/

22. ACT Preparation

1) Like GPA, how well you do on the ACT test has a lot to do with university admission and receiving scholarships.

2) The best preparation for the ACT test is to study hard in high school and do your homework as well as you can.

3) There are Study Guides for taking the ACT test and hopefully your school has become licensed to allow you to study the guide in preparation. It may take multiple times taking the class for the student to be sufficiently prepared. Do your best!

4) Emphasize that the student can take the test more than once, and if they feel they can do better (they were too up-tight the first time) that they can do so.

5) There are also organizations that will pay the fee for minorities to take the test, and if this is important then you can find these sources.

23. Leadership  

1) Latinos have a unique style of leadership different than most Americans.

2) Learn what you can about this style and use it as appropriate in conjunction with American style leadership.

3) Read: “The Power of Latino Leadership, Culture, Inclusion, and Contribution, by Juana Bordas, ISBN 978-1-60994-887-0 for a more in-depth discussion of this leadership style.

1) The “Old” BSA Woodbadge course taught 11 very useful leadership skills developed by White Stag Leadership Development: http://www.whitestag.org/

2) Each skill was taught one at a time and then the scout leader would write 2 ways, or goals, in which he could implement the skill. (Called a “Ticket”)

3) The scout leader then had a certain amount of time to implement the goal. (Called “Working His Ticket.” Thus each scout leader got practice in 2 ways to use each leadership skill.

4) If this is implemented in this course, then this is a second actual homework assignment.

5) It is recommended that the skills be presented about once a month, and then followed up during the month.

1) Called Woodbadge for the 21st Century, this course covers only 5 leadership skills, and they are slightly different than the 11 above.

2) This set of leadership skills is not as comprehensive as the “Old Course” but may be useful if the teacher does not want to go into as much depth.

24. Environmental Literacy, Involvement, Service

1) A service project will be part of the class

2) How you grow by giving service

3) Brainstorm on the specific service project the class will carry out, consider: 1. The need for the service project (we don’t want something trivial), 2. The resources of the class for carrying out the service project, 3. A timetable for initiating and carrying out the service project, 4. An evaluation of the value of the service project to the students and to the person/organization helped

4) See M: B-7. Community Service Part 1

5) See M: B-13. Community Service Part 2

6) See M: C-8. Community Service

7) Carry out a service project. In class time? After school?

25. Outdoor Experiences

  1. Out door experiences are very rewarding to students. If you live where you can occasionally take the class outdoors please do.

26. District Conferences

1) Each group of 8 or more Latino Discovery Classes should have an annual conference together in the spring of each year.

2) If a given school district is sponsoring 8 or more classes throughout the district then that school district can run their own conference.

3) If the district has 6 or less classes being taught then they should try to combine with another district so that at least 8 classes are combined for the conference.

4) The main purpose of the conferences are to bring together other classes so that the students in each class can see that they are part of a greater whole.

5) A second purpose of the conferences is to give the students a chance to critique the course and make suggestions for improvement in succeeding years.

6) Finally, the conference should be fun, perhaps with a closing dance for the students.

Appendix A, Forms 

  1. Invitation form by school administration for student to take this class.
  2. Sign up form by the student, commitment to tutor sibling, name of sibling, and elementary school.
  3. Permission and support form by the parent, agreement to sign time sheet, obtain parent signature.
  4. Sibling form, Agreement to be tutored.
  5. Permission form from parents of non-sibling tutee to be tutored and supervise tutoring.
  6. Weekly report form for number of hours spent tutoring, signed by parent and student.
  7. Elementary school form, agreement to provide information to researchers. Researchers will have name of student to tie progress to high school tutor, but will keep all information anonymous otherwise.
  8. Agreement of high school to obtain progress of elementary school student being tutored.
  9. High school form, agreement to release statistics on progress of high school student.
  10. High school form, agreement to have class and contract for 5 years, depending on statistics, and depending on whether they get YDI support.
  11. High school agreement to pay for T-shirts or polo-shirts of students of class.
  12. Agreement form from school district to pay YDI for use of curriculum.
  13. Agreement of YDI in case it agrees to pay for teacher FTE.
Appendix B, In Class Forms
  1. Bilingual self-evaluation of student.
  2. Student agreement to complete qualitative survey forms, before and after class.
Appendix C. Instructions to teachers 
  1. Purpose of course
  1. To raise the self-expectation of the student so that he/she chooses to graduate from high school and go on to some form of higher education.
  2. To provide students with information they probably don’t know about American education.
  3. Emphasize the importance of scholarships (10 hours to find each $500 scholarship = $50 per hour. Much more than they can earn at a fast food store. Encourage them to spend time at home, friend, library, or other internet outlets looking for scholarships.) Scholarships are out there for Latino youth!
  4. Make sure they know how and importance of getting continuous scholarships.
  5. Nearly all students qualify for FASFA, currently of about 6,345 per year. This is a good starting point but they will need other scholarships also. See that they complete their FASFA application and know how to do it in coming years.
  6. Necessity of Tutoring someone, or being tutored
  7. Importance of safety in tutoring non-siblings
  8. Scope of tutoring necessary. (Minimum of 100 minutes per week.)
  9. One-half of grade is dependent on tutoring and progress of tutee. (100 minutes/week = A, 50 minutes/week = C, less than 25 minutes/week = F.) (Tutee progress in his school–add 25 minutes per week average.)
  10. Curricula are provided for grades 8 to 12.
  11. Normally you would use the curricula for which you have the most students. Nevertheless, you are free to choose lesson plans from other years, especially as you see the need in your students.
  12. Collect tutoring minutes forms on Monday. (Latinos forget. They get zero minutes for the week if not turned in by Tuesday. 1/2 of the class grade should depend on the number of minutes tutoring.)
  13. Students need computer lab time in grades 11 and 12 for scholarship applications and for FASFA applications. Work with computer lab teacher to provide 1 to 4 weeks time for the students to have computer access. (Avoid after school hours if possible as you will get much lower attendance and this is incredibly important for grades 11 and 12.) Encourage teamwork in internet access and in writing essays. Be sure other teachers edit their essays.
  14. Encourage discussion in class and make sure each student understands the point of scholarships.
  15. Repeat classes if they don’t get it.
  16. Don’t underplay the lessons on their family history of coming to America. This has a tremendous effect on to attitude of the student toward making his/her parents sacrifice worth it. One-fourth of the grade should be dependent on their report.
  17. Encourage students that as they tutor their siblings that they can also raise their own math and reading level. Provide extra circular material if needed.
  18. Arrange ACT preparation classes if they are below their grade level. Work with the school district to provide the ACT classes. Don’t let them get 17 when their Caucasian peers are getting 21.
  19. Encourage all seniors to apply to at least 3 university or vocational schools so they have a choice, and maybe get a scholarship.
  20. As you get into the class, provide to the students the outline of the class and ask them which subjects they need/want the most.
  21. Investigate the possibility of class polo-shirts. Who designs it? who pays? (Try to get the school to pay.) What days do they wear it to school? Brainstorm with students on other ways to develop pride in the class.
Appendix D. Instructions to the School District Officials 
  1. This is not a trivial class. It can make the difference between a student going to university of living in poverty.
  2. Have an annual conference of all students of all the schools participating in the district:
  1. Who is in charge?
  2. Where will it be held? (In one of the district auditoriums or gymnasiums.)
  3. Agenda for the conference:
    1. Round table discussions on the value and topics of the class.
    1. Round table discussions on how to make tutoring of siblings effective.
    1. Motivational speakers.
    1. Endorsement speeches by students who really “grew up” in the class.
    1. Awards?
    1. Fun
  4. Make sure ACT preparation classes are available at each school.
  5. Make sure each school and each grade 11 and 12 student has sufficient computer lab, or home computer time, to search for scholarships and FASFA.
  6. Make sure applications to local and regional university and vocational schools are available to each student.

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