Conference Response

1. What advice did you receive from Megan?  Be specific.

At the meeting Megan suggested that I focus on Washington D.C, and study one minority as suppose to all of the minorities in America. Then she told me that it would be easier to either look at the neighborhood's impact on student's education or the teaching methods in those schools and how it affects the students success in college and the workforce. Also the group at my conference helped me find ways to measure "success" for students rather it be how many graduate and go to college or the types of careers those students pursue

2. What was the most helpful piece of advice you received? Explain.

The most helpful advice I received was to look into the different things that each neighborhood has to offer and how that may impact the student's life academically. I feel as if by looking into things such as violence, the type of households student's live in, and what opportunities are offered in those areas and then the type of grades students from those areas receive, I could make a connection between the two. I might even find more factors that have a big impact on how students perform academically.  

3. What was the least helpful advice you received? Explain.

The least helpful advice I received was to focus on a specific grade level. I didn't find that helpful because I want to use this project to figure out why students in general don't do well in school and who so many from my hometown drop out, or don't go to college. So I am not looking at a particular grade level rather that a collection of grades for example high school is what I hope to focus on because that is when students drop out. But who knows maybe my research will lead me to believe that students who do not do well in elementary or middle school are more likely to drop out.

4. Was the conference beneficial overall? Explain
YES! This conference has really sparked my thinking wheel and I am fueled with ways to approach my inquiry project. However I feel a little conflicted with where I want to go with my paper because of all of the ideas I have. On one hand I want to explore the community's impact on a student's academics and on the other hand I think that the schools should be tailored towards how the student's are affected by their communities and seek to help their student's on a more personal level. I also feel as if I should look into school curriculum as a state and see if that proves that traditional ways of teaching no longer work.

5.  Did Megan answer all your questions?  If not, what questions were left over?  Why didn’t they get answered?
Yes she answered all of my questions I may have more at a latter point in my research.

6. What are your plans for revision?  Be specific.  I should be able to understand exactly how your work will change in exactly which places.

My plans for revision are to re-read my essay and look at ways to clarify my points.