Our Urban Experience: Day Four- Montbello High School.

Day Four, we headed out bright and early to get to Montbello High School and start our day shadowing students. As we arrived at the school, we were directed to the student council room, where we were paired with student council members. I was matched with a senior named Klahde, a quiet and pleasant young black woman.

We started the day by heading to Calculus class. Klahde is a very bright student, taking mostly Advanced Placement coursework. I also took AP classes in school, and took Calculus. Most of what the class was discussing was pretty foreign to me, though. I was not the best Calculus student in the world. We then headed to Weightlifting. I watched. There were many young black men trying to outdo each other on dead lifts of weights as high as 400 pounds. Klahde managed a personal best lift of 140 pounds and was very pleased with herself. We then headed to AP English Class. The reading assignment out of the textbook was written on the board. Klahde was to read a 5 page essay and answer a number of questions about the work. She and I read together. The essay was comparing the business ideologies of the United States and Japan. I helped her complete the questions. The teacher did not talk with the class through the entire period.

Then, we headed for AP Physics. The class was working on notebook computers hooked to a wireless network. The class was working on a science lab website, completing an experiment regarding pendulums. Most of the work involved clicking on pendulum swing points and seeing what various graphs looked like. Again, little teacher interaction. Klahde and her friends in class were not very enthusiastic about the online laboratory at all.

This was Klahde's last class of the day, as she was a senior and didn't have to be in school in the afternoon. I thanked her and headed for the exits.

There, I met with my posse, Lynn, Robert and Carolyn. We jumped into Carolyn's car and headed home, back to Fort Collins for the night.

We sleep in our own beds tonight and start out tomorrow morning for Lookout Mountain Youth Detention Center in Golden, Colorado tomorrow morning.

I am glad to be in my own bed.