Marco, the man of the hour. You have achieved what no principal of your middle school thought was possible: not only have you graduated from high school, but you are class valedictorian! You should go show them your pin.
I am going to miss you next year, Marco. There won’t be anyone whispering “5-0, 5-0” as I walk into a classroom, no one stealing people’s notebooks and pens just for the fun of it, no one slapping people upside the head, no one grabbing papers out of my hands and dropping them on the floor just to make us smile, no one calling Javier to sing “Kristin is stupid” when you want my attention. You are a jokester, Marco, and The Met will be a few laughs — and groans — and bruises — short once you walk across that stage.
But as much as you’ve done your best to harass the heck out of all of us, to make us pull at our hair and roll our eyes, you’ve also given back to the community in real and important ways. Whether it was cleaning up just because you thought the place looked a mess, or shadowing Charlie [the principal] and making others “Get back to work,” or bringing students to your LTI to share with them the things that have impressed you so deeply, you’ve shown us all how much you respect and care for this school.
It wasn’t always that way. It took a little while for The Met to grow on you. I remember our conversations freshman year and your insistence that you didn’t believe in respect, saying that it was impossible to trust people and so instead you were going to just look out for yourself and do what you wanted to do. Even then, it was clear that this wasn’t the real Marco speaking — the Marco that so many of his classmates value as a confidante and whose counsel they take seriously; the Marco who classmates know they can turn to when they’re in trouble and who will treat them like a brother or a sister. No, the Marco of ninth grade was disillusioned with life and with learning...
[Still] I remember in ninth grade when I trooped all of you to an art exhibit downtown. At some point, I lost you — no surprise — and had to begin my ritual Marco rounds, but when I found you, you weren’t into the trouble I had anticipated. Instead, you were deep in conversation with an old veteran who was volunteering as curator at the exhibit. You were asking him interesting questions about the pieces and by the time we had left, you had him so interested in The Met, that he was volunteering to be a mentor.
You amazed me then and you continue to amaze me now. People like you are few and far between. So as you plan your next steps and venture out into the world, don’t forget that there’s a little school called The Met Center filled with people who know and love you. People who respect who you are and all you’ve done and we’re also in the habit of tracking you down, so don’t think you’ll be able to hide. So if things ever are not going your way, swing by and we’ll help you remember the secret to your success — “smile in the morning, you’ll smile throughout the afternoon...” fade out with a beat --------
2.0 On mentors
For her senior project, Met student Victoria Stilwell documented
through words and images 30 student-mentor pairings in workplace internships,
creating a book called Mentors. After on-site visits
for interviews and photo shoots, she wrote the text, selected images,
returned drafts for fact-checking, collected release forms, and designed
the layout—with, of course, support from her own mentor.
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“To me, the field I’m in, crafts and metals, has been a field of mentoring and apprentices and that’s the only way handiwork can be passed down,” explains Boris. “As soon as there is nobody showing anybody else how to do
it, it’s going to die out.... The most satisfying part of this is that [Dan’s] caught the bug. He likes metal work; he’ll always remember where it came from. He’ll realize his link in the chain and be aware of his responsibilities to pass it on to someone else.”
— Boris Bally, mentor and metalsmith, on his work with Met junior, Dan
Click on book cover to see excerpts
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3.0 An advisory in brief
At The Met, each advisory group has its own “dedicated” classroom space where students can meet as a group and store their belongings. Advisories meet for a half hour after each morning’s school-wide Pick Me Up and again for a half hour at the end of the day. The students in Damian Gonzalez’s advisory are all tenth graders. Three visitors from New Haven, with plans to start a school modeled after The Met, sit in on this morning’s session.
Damian’s advisory: 1.22.03
9:30 — 10:00 Group time
Damian invites students to introduce themselves to today’s visitors. The informality and intimacy of the group quickly surface. “I’m Ashley,” “Gladys,” “Natalie” give way to “Precious” and “Damn Sexy” as the introductions move around the table.
Damian shares his reflections on last week’s second quarter exhibitions by students. “Personally, I thought you all did a good job, better than first quarter,” he says. “I’m happy that you all stepped it up. Those of you who had gaps, I know you’ll fill them in. But all in all, I’m proud of you.”
He then asks students to share their own quick assessment of how they’d done. Some responses:
. . .I think my exhibition went well, because I’d researched it. Of the various things I covered in my exhibition, what I’m most proud of was my tuberculosis project. I’d researched it a lot and my parents learned from it. That was my goal.
. . .I felt I was articulate, that I had a game. In terms of all the hard stuff I’m going through, I’m proud that I actually did my exhibition. And the fact that my dad finally came to one of my exhibitions—that’s the best part of all.
. . .It wasn’t as good as my first quarter exhibition. And my mom didn’t like it; she was mad at me for some reason. Still, I was proud of everything I’d done and how much I’ve learned about myself.
. . .My exhibition was banging. And my mom liked it. She had no faith in me the night before. But when she came in, I shocked her. I proved that I was on target with my work.
. . .This is the first exhibition where I’ve been happy with what I’ve been doing, with my LTI. I’m also proud that I overcame my usual procrastination—that is, I procrastinated but didn’t let it discourage me.
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Damian switches gears. “You know that the idea of the advisory is family support, responsibility, leadership,” he begins. “I want us to take a few minutes now and do a check on how we’re doing as a group.” Damian passes out a handout [see box at right]. “What I want you to do is to put your name next to those areas where you are weak and give it back to me when you’re done. The point is for you to visualize the areas where you can improve.
“Now as you work on these weaknesses I want you to support each other. Say Marcos isn’t well organized. Then I want him to go to Gladys and Natalie, who excel in organization, and enlist their help.” Students chat as they begin to work on the handout:
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PERSONAL QUALITIES
Organization
Time Management
Punctuality
Leadership
Maturity
Consistency
Responsibility
Language
Respect
Focusing
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. . .Are we still sticking to the name “Day-Day’s Kids” [Damian’s Kids] for our advisory group?
. . .No, we’re growing out of that name.
. . .But we’re always going to be his kids.
. . .No, we’re growing up, we aren’t just his kids anymore.
. . .I think we definitely need to find a new name.
Damian ends group time by throwing out a “scenario”—a staple of Met advisory group meetings, aimed at sparking reflection and discussion:
“We‘re on a boat. It’s sinking. We’re all going to die except for one person who gets to live. Who would you pick and why? And it can’t be yourself!”
Some answers:
. . .Crystal lives. Remember when we went to her grandfather’s funeral and she saved herself? She deserves the chance to follow through on what she committed herself to that night.
. . .Gladys, because she is doing things. She does more work than the rest of us, she’s determined to get everything she can from her education.
. . .Marcos lives. I can’t let him die a virgin.
. . .Natalie lives because she’s going through a lot right now, I know she is, and she does so much work.
. . .Let Matt live. He has such a strong character, a lot of potential to do good things. Plus he needs to experience more things.
And some last words from those going down with the ship:
. . .What I would want my family and friends to remember me by is my artistic ability. And for everyone in my advisory to know that I grew to love them and that I love my family.
. . .That I love my family, that they did bring up somebody to be somebody. To my advisory, it’s been an honor to know you.
. . .I’d thank my father for everything he’s done, for being the best father in the world, for standing by me always. I’d want to give honor to my brother for all he’s been through. And I’d thank my classmates for being there and my advisor.
. . .I’d ask my mom for her forgiveness.
10:00 — 10:30 Independent work time [Students start these tasks now and then continue to work on them during the day, as their schedule permits.]
- Fill out RI Department of Education’s SALT survey of student attitudes
- Rough draft of 3rd quarter narrative
- Double check Gateway binder
- Choose a book for 3rd quarter
- Work on resume
- Schedule date to lead advisory before Gateway
- Complete any unfinished 2nd quarter work
4.0 Diagramming student-parent relationships
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Met expectations for parents/guardians
That they will participate in their child’s quarterly Learning Plan meetings
That they will attend their child’s quarterly exhibitions
That they will communicate regularly with their child’s advisor and mentor(s)
That they will take part in Met whole school and grade specific events
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What this means for students...
That their parents will have significant input in their Learning Plans—and they will need to take their parents’ opinions and concerns into consideration as they plan projects, internships, sign up for college courses, and make summer plans.
That their parents will be part of the audience to which they “exhibit” what they’ve learned—including where they have succeeded and stumbled.
That their parents will be visible and vocal members of the school community—and therefore frequent visitors to campus.
That there will be constant communication between their advisor and parents—which means comparing notes when there is a problem as well as sharing good news.
That their parents will likely ask them more questions about school—and be unwilling to accept “fine” or “okay” in response.
That talking openly with their parents will be part and parcel of what they learn at The Met—including managing their approval and disapproval.
That they will make a place for their parents in their intellectual, social, and emotional growth—and accept the vulnerability that comes with this transparency.
That their parents’ expectations for what they will accomplish will rise with their own hopes—leading to disappointment, at times, but also great pride.
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5.0 Student projects involving The Met community
At the same time that Met students pursue LTIs outside school walls,
they often make The Met itself the beneficiary of their interests,
energy, and ideas. The roster of projects recently completed includes:
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Continued the school’s Men’s Group started in 1999:
organized and facilitated the weekly meetings, researched young
men’s issues, and organized field trips to help the group
bond and share positive experiences. Click
here for Men’s Group
project proposal and syllabus in PDF format.
Organized The Met’s first baseball team: recruited student players, gathered necessary health forms, raised funds to buy equipment, led practices with a mentor, and communicated with other local high school teams to organize competitive games.
Led the school’s Buddy Program: made sure all of the students involved in the program communicated with each other on a regular basis; documented their interactions with students; organized monthly meetings with participants. Concluded by creating a handbook on how to run a successful buddy program based on research and assessing The Met’s program.
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For my Senior Thesis Project I want to start a men’s support group. The class will be during school hours between 12:30 and 1:30 and it will be held on Wednesdays and Fridays. This class will be available to men who are really committed to the group. I will have all the men who are interested write an essay of why they want to join a male support group, then I will conduct an interview with each student. ...[The] group will be confidential; there’ll be emotional safety and support as well as guest speakers, articles to read, movies to watch, trips to take, and stories to share, and we will discuss and reflect at the end of all of these. Here are some of the issues to be discussed... Full project proposal in PDF format
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Translated the first chapter of One Kid at a Time, Eliot Levine’s book about The Met, into Spanish by working with a professional translator and generating several drafts.
Helped to plan and start a school-based health center at the new campus of The Met: conducted a needs assessment of the community; involved parents; ran the advisory board; recruited service providers; planned the set-up of the facility; met with grant writers and foundations; and presented the project to The Met community and others.
Helped to start The Met’s first radio station, to open in 2002-2003: researched the applicable laws, determined where equipment will be stored and monitored, raised funds, interned with WHJY to learn all of the aspects of running a radio station, and created a binder for the school to use once the facility is ready.
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