Day 8 & 9: Enter Title

Today and yesterday I did more fundraising for the gift basket. I haven’t put up a ton of blogs before because I haven’t real done anything different. I have made copies upon copies and gone to restaurant after restaurant.

Yesterday was not the most efficient day for me seeing how I was the most tired I have been in a very long time. The combination of staying up later than I should and getting up way earlier than I would like to has really done me in the past couple of days. I should probably fix that if I want to be any help to Mr. Martino in the near future.

Day 7: ROAD TRIPPP

Today for SCORE Mr. Martino and I prepared for a gift basket for the Manchester Essex Rotary Club's silent auction. We made flyers so when I went from restaurant to restaurant I had something to actual show that I was from DECA and I wasn't trying to cheat them out of a free gift card. I was somewhat successful in my adventure.

Before I left I TA'ed for the math support class while the students took a practice MCAS exam. I was given the task to analyze students ability to answer questions. Today I'm keeping the blog short partly because I'm lazy but mostly because I pump out 4-5 blogs a week.

Day 6: The Return

Today marked the start of my second week of SCORE and the third week out of school. I showed up today expecting to see Mr. Martino waiting in his room as usual but I was surprised to find an unlit room and a locked door.  I proceeded to check the math room and was unsuccessful. I then visited the main office where I found that he would be out for most of the day. I received his lesson plan and continued out business as usual. I made copies of packets for tomorrows Math support class, organized a couple things in the room, tended to some SCORE assignments and time cards and then found work for various teachers to keep me from being useless all day.

Mr. Martino later returned, had me scan a couple of items and then mail them to separate locations. It was a far more successful day then I thought seeing how when given nothing to day I tend to do exactly that, do nothing.

Day:4 FREEDOM!!

My SCORE started today with the promise of an escape. I was told I was going to be doing a small errand that would require me to leave school and then come back. Despite the seemingly meaningless I was oddly excited for the job. Something about fresh air and freedom while at “work” was enticing.

                After that joyous occasion it was time to get down to business. I was given the hefty task of finding, sorting and copying role plays for the students going to the international competition for DECA. This may not seem like to hard of a job but for me the smallest jobs are often the ones I have the most trouble with. I had to make several trips to the copier. I also had to tell Mr. Martino that I forgot how to use the machine which was tough because when I do something I don’t like help and/or I won’t tell you if I did need help.

The role plays took up most of my day which is a good thing because it kept me busy. I like to think that I follow directions well and when it comes to being a shepherd or a sheep, I often become the latter. But I need to be given work to keep busy because if I don’t I’ll never be able to get started on anything. Others would call this laziness but I don’t. I don’t have actually have a name for it but I don’t like the word lazy so I prefer not to call it that. 

Day 3:On to the Next One

Today or yesterday because I am a little late on this post was a lot like day one. Lots of organizing, cleaning and inventorying. We tackled the obstacle that was his closet. They were boxes of random DECA supplies as well as bags full of party supplies from dances. I reorganized and inventoried all of the boxes. We found old seat cushions and brainstormed ways in which we could use them. We also had to decide which of the stuff that we through was necessary and which were things that could be thrown out or recycled.

                Next we went to the 7^th grade support class. Homework was due and all but one student had nothing to show. The class in way decided its own punishment by presenting the idea of stamping their notebook with a line for a parent’s signature. Mr. Martino had the final say and chose that over keeping them for detention. This reinforced the value and need for them to do their homework.

                Next I watched juniors present Visual Merchandising projects that they had been working on which reminded me of when I was in the same position just last year and what I did with my presentation. I have already seen many things that I wish I had thought of or were even around when I did my presentation. One group used a program called Pressi. This program worked like a three dimensional map of information where you could zoom in and out of certain areas for instance the area inside of an “O” or the period beneath a question mark.

                That’s pretty much what I did today and I am interested in what is in store for me next as we still have to go around to local stores and fundraise

Day 2: And the Work Begins

               Unlike yesterday, today was not filled with easy work, funny people and energetic classes. I think I only left the room a handful of times for water and once for lunch. Today’s work was tedious, monotonous, redundant and any other synonym for repetitive and boring. Due to this I don’t have much to say about my day. Like I said I spent most of my time in the room doing paper work with the occasional chore to make a run down to the main office and back.

                It may sound like today was useless but it wasn’t. I did get through a lot of work and at the same time set up further dates for me to do some more entertaining work. I will be doing some fundraising for DECA which should be a great experience.

                In no way, shape or form am I criticizing, mocking or in any way devaluing the work I was given or the people who handed the work to me. I think I learned more today than yesterday because the business world is not all fun and games. A lot of it is what I call the “grind.” For me this word first made an appearance in the multiple video games I have played. It comes from having to do multiple tasks in order to reach a high goal or purpose. Today was a grinding day. I had to push though paper work in order to achieve a higher goal, although I’m no quite sure what that goal is…..

Day 1: The Beginning

So today marked the first day of SCORE and going in I wasn’t sure on what to expect. I didn’t know if Mr. Martino (my SCORE supervisor) was going to have me running around the school or if it would be as laid back as everyone else’s project. To be honest it was a perfect medium of the two. He had me working almost all day but at the same time there was no rush and I had time to sit back and relax.

                The first line of business I had to do was to collect, number, organize and inventory books for multiple classes just like and store owner would have to do with its products. That was more time consuming than I expected but I actually enjoyed it. Something about it not being school work made me want to do it and made it less of a hassle and added some value to the work I put in. That is the most unexpected thing I came across all day. The work didn’t feel like work.

                Next task I was given was to clean the room and more specifically organize and alphabetize all of the sample exams and role plays for his DECA classes. Once again the work didn’t feel like work so despite the actual amount of time it took it went pretty quickly which was the theme of the day.

                For C Block I was the TA for his 7^th grade MCAS support class. They were studying volume of simple three dimensional objects and I was a little nervous because it’s been a while since I was in 7^th grade math. It all came back pretty quickly and the class itself reminded me of some of the classes I have been in throughout high school. It may have seemed like it was out of control but the class progressed just how Mr. Martino wanted it to. Personalities quickly emerged in the class and there were so many differing ones. From extremely quiet to very loud. From overly energetic to very calm and under control. Mr. Martino had me paying attention to the management techniques he was using to keep the class on pace and schedule.

                I am excited to go back tomorrow and the following days more so than I ever thought I would be. Overall it was a very successful first day.