Process: "First Mentor Meeting 02/15/2011" 02/16/11

On Tuesday, February 15, Ms. Shenk and I had our first mentor meeting.  In the WISE process each student must chose a teacher or someone involved in the school district that they believe will be a good mentor throughout the 16 duration of the WISE class.  Ms. Shenk is teacher at Ithaca High School.  This past fall semester, I was a student in Ms. Shenk's government class.  While in Ms. Shenk's government class, I felt she would be a great mentor throughout my WISE project.  Ms. Shenk not only knew about politics, she was also a member of Ithaca Common Council for six years.  Ms. Shenk will be able to mentor me through this process with personal experience.

At our first meeting, I told Ms. Shenk about All Politics Is Local, the novel I am reading by Tip O'Neill.  I filled her in about why I thought Tip O'Neill's book was interesting, and specific points he made that I agreed with or found interesting.  Ms.  Shenk told me that she has a book given to her when she was on Common Council, and that I would be more than welcome to read it.  I also filled Ms. Shenk in with my intentions to interview several public figures that are involved in the Waterfront Trails, she agreed this would be a good idea.  In my "2 Week Plan", I mentioned that I wanted to conduct a survey of the public, asking whether people knew about the Waterfront Trails, and if they did whether they believe they are a good or a bad thing.  Ms. Shenk gave me the idea that I should wait to conduct this survey until after I speak to one or two people that are involved with the Waterfront Trails.  She said that I could ask them if there was any information they wanted to know from the public.  If this is the case, I can conduct a survey that contains this information and would personally be involved with the Waterfront Trails.  This is a great idea in my opinion!  It incorporates both the interaction and research aspects I hope to gain from this project.