Alex showed me the two paragraphs he had drafted of his research paper. His revisions tracked our discussions of last week, and I made edits and comments. We then discussed and further mapped out the rest of the research paper tracing events leading up to the decision of President Truman to drop the atom bomb on Japan. I suggested Alex add material about the initial use of conventional weapons in Japan which failed to produce a surrender . We then located additional research to support the thesis specifically- the human cost of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, the use of conventional weapons on mainland Japan the , opposition to the use of the atom bomb even by Oppenheimer who discovered the process , and last the political ramifications to the US position against Stalin in the emerging Cold War. I suggested that Alex should perhaps print out these resources and try to draft his paper with the resources in front of him.Alex hopes to have a completed draft by Wednesday when we will meet again to address grammar , edits etc.
After ascertaining the scope of the research paper, we first reviewed the bibliography of primary and secondary sources Alex had prepared. We then discussed his thesis or argument. Alex had already begun the drafting ,and I reviewed his initial draft. As the matters discussed in the draft paper in great part did not support or relate to his thesis , I proposed arguments to support his thesis ,and we then worked on redrafting the introduction to incorporate these arguments. After redrafting an introduction, we then prepared an outline of the arguments to include in the paper. I alluded to possible suggestions for an opening sentence for the conclusion. Alex will conduct additional research to support the arguments in the outline and return Monday with a draft.
In this activity, Alex worked with equations of best fit. The exercises focussed on lines and quadratics of best fit. The calculator plays a central role, because the computations take hours by hand.
Today was our first meeting scheduled at 3:30pm. Alex needed tutoring for a test tomorrow. We would have worked past 4:30pm, but Alex's Dad called. They had to leave for an orthodontist appointment. The test was supposed to be today, but Alex explained the Pine School was cancelled today due to a power outage.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
40
Lesson Comments
Today was supposed to be our first meeting at 3:30pm. Alex needed tutoring for a test tomorrow. (The test was supposed to be today, but school was cancelled due to a power failure.) For the first 20 minutes, I sent Alex several texts and attempted calling him through Teams, but he didn't come online. I called school and they said they would contact his mom. They texted her and we waited to hear back from Alex or his mom. Checked in with school at 3:48pm. Elise has not heard back from mom. She said she exchanged confirmation of our 3:30pm lesson today message via texts with mom at 9:25am this morning. I am watching my screen and hoping Alex will get online. Alex is here at 3:50pm! Alex says he doesn't really like history, but seems to be very bright. His memory retention is strong. Like Ana, he feels more comfortable with multiple choice questions than essay questions. Alex is using the "Ways of the World" AP book, which I have and taught from last year. We seem to have different editions. Mine is the third edition, updated for fall 2017. We had to rely on reviewing Alex's notes and the text - there was no study guide from the teacher. I recommended that Alex highlight as he reads. It will help him tremendously with the density of the text. He said he will do it in the future.
