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Monday

This morning was the first time on this trip that we had to wake up at 5:30. After getting breakfast, we headed to Muchin.

Mr. Madonna showed us the list of tasks that we could choose from. From there, we all split up: some shadowing teachers (Jossie, Jennifer, David, Lingge, Becca…), some grading papers (Paula, Hieu…). It was an incredibly rewarding experience talking to the students and teachers. We got to sit in classes, tutored, and offered them college advice. We learnt a lot about the culture of Muchin by observing how the teachers and students interacted. We all agreed that it was a lot more laid back and casual than we expected, but the students still seemed to respect their teachers. Muchin is strict on their disciplinary measures, such as giving out demerits for simple things like showing up late to class, or being loud. We’ve heard a lot of personal stories from the students, either about their life, goals, dreams, college plans… Compared to some of our own high school experience, Muchin seemed to be more open-minded and diverse. Two ways that Muchin incentivizes their students to do well are by offering open lunch for juniors and seniors that meet certain GPA requirements, and giving their seniors lavender shirts when they’re accepted into college.

Overall, we all had an incredible experience at Muchin today and are looking forwards to the upcoming week.

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