Physical Development

My partner was late to school today. I was unable to work with her in her math class this week, because she did not come to her first class. Today’s class worked on their complex assessment this week instead of their usual math work because all of their teachers were participating in teacher development training. These complex assessments are designed to apply their learning throughout the year. A few of the students were designing their very own Rube Goldberg Machines. I found the complex assessment assignment fascinating, and I am very excited to find out what MayZin is doing for hers.

Today, since MayZin was not in school for her first class I assumed she is not motivated in her schoolwork. She has told me a couple of weeks in a row that she has not been feeling well that week, but looked healthy. Today a few of MayZin’s friends told me she is sick and would not be in school today. I understood that, sat down at her table and observed the classroom, but then she showed up to her second class perfectly healthy. She at least appeared healthy. I assume she does not want to come to school, but she may have something else going on at home. There could be a bigger reason she was not in school on time. MayZin could also really be sick, and just does not show symptoms the same way as other people. There are many factors for why she was not in school on time, and it could be that none of them are she is not motivated to come to school.

MayZin is 16 years old, so it is clear that biologically she has reached adolescence. I do not know enough about her culture to determine what her culture thinks. I do know that in her culture it is important for children to focus on education. Since she is still in school, and her parents are pushing her to do well in school I believe that in her culture she is still considered a child. When MayZin does reach adulthood in her cultures eyes she will be required to start thinking about getting married. It sounds like her family is not having her think about marriage, and wants her to mostly think about her education. Myanmar does not have rituals when a young woman reaches menarche, ”first menstrual cycle”(Arnett, 2013, p.41). The only cultural ritual I was able to find when a young man or woman reaches adolescence is for young Buddhists. When young Buddhists have reached adolescence they are encouraged to become temporary monks or nuns (CultureGrams, Lifecycle). However, this ritual does not apply to MayZin because she is not a Buddhist, she is a Muslim. I believe that her culture still views her as a child, because there is still a strong emphasis on education.

According to MayZin’s WIDA Can Do descriptor table, she has a level 3 writing comprehension. Writing is very important in Algebra, so I am trying to help her with these two standards. Many answers in algebra are sentences, and one must be able to decipher the units of measurement and use them properly. It is difficult to solve for a numerical value, if one cannot figure out what they need to solve. I am trying to get MayZin to the writing standard “revise work based on narrative and oral feedback” (Gottlieb, M., Cranley, M. E., & Cammilleri, A., 2007). One of the most important ways I am doing this is letting her write her answer down, and then I will suggest verbally ways she can fix her answer grammatically.

Works Cited

Myanmar: Life cycle (2016). CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest. Retrieved from http://online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country_sections.php?cid=198&cn=Myanmar&sname=Life_Cycle&snid=28

Arnett, Jeffrey J. (2012-07-02). Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (Page 168). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Gottlieb, M., Cranley, M. E., & Cammilleri, A. (2007). WIDA English language proficiency standards and resource guide. Madison, WI: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.