Institute has begun. I arrived at St. John's University with 600 other new Corps Members from Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York City, Detroit, and Newark and received a giant packet full of curriculum-planning materials.
I will be teaching...Biology/Living Environment! I will be at a small school in the south Bronx (that has air conditioning!). I can't wait to begin. I also can't wait to tell my students next year that I used to teach in the Bronx. Badass points for me.
The dorms at St. John's are cozy, but my roommate is cool and we have a nice common area. I'm housed with all of the other CTers.
After a weekend of relaxing (and eating...and drinking...), it's tough to get back in the swing of things, but they're starting us off easy. This evening, we had an introduction program, a series of 5 short speakers that was actually inspiring. Either it was a great program, or I've been successfully and motivationally brainwashed into being an excited TFA CM. Because I am.
We've been given the next 18 hours off, for settling in to campus. I will probably look into what I can do to get ahead on my work, because they say it'll be a tough 5 weeks. 1 day down, 32 to go.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Why?
Today I received a text message from one of my students from this year.
"Hey I passed everything thanks for all your help your going to make a great teacher good luck"
That's why.
"Hey I passed everything thanks for all your help your going to make a great teacher good luck"
That's why.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Community Service
Today began with community service projects around the state. My group's assignment was humbling and challenging and rewarding.
Carpool #22 was assigned to read stories to children at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. We arrived at the hospital and found the volunteer center, and after some logistical miscommunication, we were reading to children. One of the CMs in our group did a fantastic interactive performance of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and I chose If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. After the two stories, the group split up. A CM and I visited some patient who were too sick to leave their rooms, while the rest of the group worked on art projects and more reading with the patients in the playroom. We read to two different patients, one of whom didn't really respond, but the other lightened up right away. It was a pleasure to see her and her father smile at Jamie Lee Curtis' silly story Today I Feel Silly.
Today I feel proud and sad and exhausted. I am continuing to work on my capstone project while watching MTV's 16 and Pregnant.
Carpool #22 was assigned to read stories to children at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. We arrived at the hospital and found the volunteer center, and after some logistical miscommunication, we were reading to children. One of the CMs in our group did a fantastic interactive performance of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and I chose If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. After the two stories, the group split up. A CM and I visited some patient who were too sick to leave their rooms, while the rest of the group worked on art projects and more reading with the patients in the playroom. We read to two different patients, one of whom didn't really respond, but the other lightened up right away. It was a pleasure to see her and her father smile at Jamie Lee Curtis' silly story Today I Feel Silly.
Today I feel proud and sad and exhausted. I am continuing to work on my capstone project while watching MTV's 16 and Pregnant.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
NO EXCUSES
Dinner last night was a barbecue at a TFA donor's house, a huge farmhouse with a barn (horses) and two Rhodesian Ridgebacks (see previous blog). Following dinner, I made it as far as the doorway of the bar before turning around and heading straight to bed.
Today started out well and got better. We visited various schools in CT to observe TFA CMs and alumni in action. My carpool visited a charter middle school in Bridgeport. The first class we saw was the "bad kids class", as we were warned by three different people on our way to the classroom. We pulled open the door, with some trepidation, and saw...a classroom full of kids sitting quietly and enthusiastically learning science. Some kids in the back weren't smiling...maybe that's what they were talking about.
This afternoon was a little tedious, especially because field day was rained out, but we learned about our teacher certification process. As science teachers, the first part of our "capstone project" is an assignment of 2-page papers on each of 5 different people who were important to science and technology in the 19th and 20th centuries. Not the most challenging, but certainly not bad. So far, I've been thinking (and we're encouraged to represent minority groups): Charles Drew, Alan Turing, Marie Curie, Gregor Mendel, and Dmitri Mendeleev. I've got an African American, a gay man, a woman, a clergyman, and a procrastinator.
Tonight at dinner we finally had the presentation I've been waiting for. Doug McCurry, superintendent of the Achievement First charter network (of first failed interview fame) gave a challenging and motivating speech that had everyone in the room out of their seats and chanting mega-church style. Most importantly, he was the first speaker we've had that made it clear that there were NO EXCUSES. Especially, that we are first-year teachers.
He also gave ample advice on the practical matters, like setting clear, measurable goals and managing the details of a classroom. Set goals like having students grow 1.5 years in reading, not aiming to be a good teacher. Aim for 80% of students mastering standardized exams, or running 13.1 miles.
NO EXCUSES.
He also told us that, unfortunately, teaching is not like Dead Poet's Society or Mr. Holland's Opus. Unplanned lessons do not end in a swell of music and inspired applause. And soccer playing. They will not lift you on their shoulders. But they will, if you plan carefully, and be consistent, and relentless, at the end of the year, say thank you.
He was, suffice it to say, inspiring.
Today started out well and got better. We visited various schools in CT to observe TFA CMs and alumni in action. My carpool visited a charter middle school in Bridgeport. The first class we saw was the "bad kids class", as we were warned by three different people on our way to the classroom. We pulled open the door, with some trepidation, and saw...a classroom full of kids sitting quietly and enthusiastically learning science. Some kids in the back weren't smiling...maybe that's what they were talking about.
This afternoon was a little tedious, especially because field day was rained out, but we learned about our teacher certification process. As science teachers, the first part of our "capstone project" is an assignment of 2-page papers on each of 5 different people who were important to science and technology in the 19th and 20th centuries. Not the most challenging, but certainly not bad. So far, I've been thinking (and we're encouraged to represent minority groups): Charles Drew, Alan Turing, Marie Curie, Gregor Mendel, and Dmitri Mendeleev. I've got an African American, a gay man, a woman, a clergyman, and a procrastinator.
Tonight at dinner we finally had the presentation I've been waiting for. Doug McCurry, superintendent of the Achievement First charter network (of first failed interview fame) gave a challenging and motivating speech that had everyone in the room out of their seats and chanting mega-church style. Most importantly, he was the first speaker we've had that made it clear that there were NO EXCUSES. Especially, that we are first-year teachers.
He also gave ample advice on the practical matters, like setting clear, measurable goals and managing the details of a classroom. Set goals like having students grow 1.5 years in reading, not aiming to be a good teacher. Aim for 80% of students mastering standardized exams, or running 13.1 miles.
NO EXCUSES.
He also told us that, unfortunately, teaching is not like Dead Poet's Society or Mr. Holland's Opus. Unplanned lessons do not end in a swell of music and inspired applause. And soccer playing. They will not lift you on their shoulders. But they will, if you plan carefully, and be consistent, and relentless, at the end of the year, say thank you.
He was, suffice it to say, inspiring.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Happy Summer Solstice
Day 2: I was happy to get to sleep until 7:30AM.
Last night's dinner was really interesting, even though we'd been sitting all day. After a much-needed hour-long break, we were bussed to the State Legislature in Hartford. We were fed buffed-style and seated in the grand stone lobby, where we were engaged by three great and different speakers.
First, Dr. Adamowski, the Hartford school superintendent famous for kicking off a serious reform effort, told us both about the crippling Achievement Gap in Connecticut and his confidence in our ability to make a significant change. The second speaker was an 8th grader attending Choate next year on a full scholarship, who told us a story about how TFA teachers have changed her life. Almost everyone was in tears. The last speaker is a current corps member (CM) who interspersed anecdote with spoken-word teaching theory, including a tear-jerker about a pregnant 14-year-old that he taught who now just finished her first year at a 4-year college, successfully juggling childcare and pre-law. After tears were shed, we took buses back to the hotel to play Scrabble and enjoy a late night happy hour.
Today:
Although I'm not very good at sitting still and listening, it's nice to learn a couple of good teaching techniques. A second day of being profound about fixing education in our country is a bit much.
Today's morning lesson was quite frustrating. Of our 90-minute lesson of an introduction to Connecticut, the first 30 minutes or so were spent discussing, in groups, why we want to learn about Connecticut and what we were going to learn.
Really? Can't we just learn the stuff already?
The "learning" that followed would have been perfect for a group of unmotivated 12-year-olds with no access to a library or computer. Each table was split into four pairs, and each pair had a specific topic (mine was history). Each pair received a topic-specific packet, with instructions on how to divide the work among the pair. We had 10 minutes to read the material and another 10 minutes to prepare a 4-minute presentation on our topic with our partner. Then, each pair presented to the table, followed by more time to discuss our feelings. We were constantly told how impressive we were to do so well on such a challenging task.
Fantastic. Any of us could have completed the same task in 15-20 minutes on the internet.
When that activity was finally over, we had a panel on teaching as learners, or constantly continuing to learn. It was nice to hear current and past CMs stories of struggling, learning, and succeeding, and there were some very useful pearls of wisdom. But, I was pushed up the anxiety scale just a little further.
Pearls of Wisdom:
Get to know your students
Don't try to learn or excel at everything at the same time
Saying something doesn't mean that you are teaching it
Failing at something the first time sucks, but then you fix it
Then I ate way too much for lunch. Lunchtime included a panel of exceptional education advocates and community members. It was interesting, but why can't they just feed us? Can't we take an hour to stop having information and motivation indiscriminately thrown at us?
By the way, the other CMs are wonderful. I've made many friends and expect to make many more, before the week is out. I'm exhausted, but happy. It's nice to finally be working hard after an entire year of less than that.
It's also fun to be blogging again. It helps sort and layer the mudslide of information and feelings. (Earth Science metaphor!)
Last night's dinner was really interesting, even though we'd been sitting all day. After a much-needed hour-long break, we were bussed to the State Legislature in Hartford. We were fed buffed-style and seated in the grand stone lobby, where we were engaged by three great and different speakers.
First, Dr. Adamowski, the Hartford school superintendent famous for kicking off a serious reform effort, told us both about the crippling Achievement Gap in Connecticut and his confidence in our ability to make a significant change. The second speaker was an 8th grader attending Choate next year on a full scholarship, who told us a story about how TFA teachers have changed her life. Almost everyone was in tears. The last speaker is a current corps member (CM) who interspersed anecdote with spoken-word teaching theory, including a tear-jerker about a pregnant 14-year-old that he taught who now just finished her first year at a 4-year college, successfully juggling childcare and pre-law. After tears were shed, we took buses back to the hotel to play Scrabble and enjoy a late night happy hour.
Today:
Although I'm not very good at sitting still and listening, it's nice to learn a couple of good teaching techniques. A second day of being profound about fixing education in our country is a bit much.
Today's morning lesson was quite frustrating. Of our 90-minute lesson of an introduction to Connecticut, the first 30 minutes or so were spent discussing, in groups, why we want to learn about Connecticut and what we were going to learn.
Really? Can't we just learn the stuff already?
The "learning" that followed would have been perfect for a group of unmotivated 12-year-olds with no access to a library or computer. Each table was split into four pairs, and each pair had a specific topic (mine was history). Each pair received a topic-specific packet, with instructions on how to divide the work among the pair. We had 10 minutes to read the material and another 10 minutes to prepare a 4-minute presentation on our topic with our partner. Then, each pair presented to the table, followed by more time to discuss our feelings. We were constantly told how impressive we were to do so well on such a challenging task.
Fantastic. Any of us could have completed the same task in 15-20 minutes on the internet.
When that activity was finally over, we had a panel on teaching as learners, or constantly continuing to learn. It was nice to hear current and past CMs stories of struggling, learning, and succeeding, and there were some very useful pearls of wisdom. But, I was pushed up the anxiety scale just a little further.
Pearls of Wisdom:
Get to know your students
Don't try to learn or excel at everything at the same time
Saying something doesn't mean that you are teaching it
Failing at something the first time sucks, but then you fix it
Then I ate way too much for lunch. Lunchtime included a panel of exceptional education advocates and community members. It was interesting, but why can't they just feed us? Can't we take an hour to stop having information and motivation indiscriminately thrown at us?
By the way, the other CMs are wonderful. I've made many friends and expect to make many more, before the week is out. I'm exhausted, but happy. It's nice to finally be working hard after an entire year of less than that.
It's also fun to be blogging again. It helps sort and layer the mudslide of information and feelings. (Earth Science metaphor!)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Induction
I did two exciting things yesterday:
1. I did the triathlon! It was pretty painful, as I was undertrained, but I finished. 2:00:49.
2. I drove to Connecticut. It's beginning.
Today marked the first day of Induction. 109 new Teach for America Corp Members and about a dozen staff members converged upon a hotel in central Connecticut to play ice breaker games and discuss the Achievement Gap, as well as introduce us to our two-year commitment to being "excellent educators."
Connecticut has one of the worst Achievement Gaps in our great country of equality (real statistics to follow in later posts). Students who are born into poverty enter terrible school systems from which they are unlikely to graduate. This creates a cycle of poverty that is often associated with high crime rates. Meanwhile, just outside the cities' borders the rich folks continue to do just fine. This socioeconomic segregation is very closely correlated with race.
Our mission in Teach for America is to address this gap.
We spent many, many hours today learning about the mission of TFA. It was tedious, but fortunately for my attention span, we were given opportunities to discuss the topics periodically. I'm also sitting at a table of interesting and hilarious corps members and staff. One of the more fun activities was a discussion of goals for ourselves and our students, and how to achieve them. The discussion was held entirely on paper. That is, each of us at table 5B was handed a marker, and a giant piece of white paper was put in the middle. We had about 10 minutes and weren't allowed to talk. We discussed everything from ideas for motivating our students to how hungry we were. It was a great opportunity to share feelings without being embarrassed. We ended up with a paper full of marker scribbles and discussion and check marks of agreement. I will never forget to bring my camera or phone again.
I also had an interview this morning. The second school that had rejected me over the phone had decided to call me back for an in-person interview. It went well, considering it was 7:30 AM. In the morning. It was at a really awesome school. I'm not super hopeful, given that they had already decided previously I wasn't good enough, but who knows?
Over the rest of this week, and the next five in Institute, I will be busy. But, like in Africa, I will try to write. It makes it easier to process. It makes the overwhelming slightly less...whelming. I will write somewhere between once a day and once a week. Or more. Or less.
1. I did the triathlon! It was pretty painful, as I was undertrained, but I finished. 2:00:49.
2. I drove to Connecticut. It's beginning.
Today marked the first day of Induction. 109 new Teach for America Corp Members and about a dozen staff members converged upon a hotel in central Connecticut to play ice breaker games and discuss the Achievement Gap, as well as introduce us to our two-year commitment to being "excellent educators."
Connecticut has one of the worst Achievement Gaps in our great country of equality (real statistics to follow in later posts). Students who are born into poverty enter terrible school systems from which they are unlikely to graduate. This creates a cycle of poverty that is often associated with high crime rates. Meanwhile, just outside the cities' borders the rich folks continue to do just fine. This socioeconomic segregation is very closely correlated with race.
Our mission in Teach for America is to address this gap.
We spent many, many hours today learning about the mission of TFA. It was tedious, but fortunately for my attention span, we were given opportunities to discuss the topics periodically. I'm also sitting at a table of interesting and hilarious corps members and staff. One of the more fun activities was a discussion of goals for ourselves and our students, and how to achieve them. The discussion was held entirely on paper. That is, each of us at table 5B was handed a marker, and a giant piece of white paper was put in the middle. We had about 10 minutes and weren't allowed to talk. We discussed everything from ideas for motivating our students to how hungry we were. It was a great opportunity to share feelings without being embarrassed. We ended up with a paper full of marker scribbles and discussion and check marks of agreement. I will never forget to bring my camera or phone again.
I also had an interview this morning. The second school that had rejected me over the phone had decided to call me back for an in-person interview. It went well, considering it was 7:30 AM. In the morning. It was at a really awesome school. I'm not super hopeful, given that they had already decided previously I wasn't good enough, but who knows?
Over the rest of this week, and the next five in Institute, I will be busy. But, like in Africa, I will try to write. It makes it easier to process. It makes the overwhelming slightly less...whelming. I will write somewhere between once a day and once a week. Or more. Or less.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Boot Camp
It's nearing time for Institute, and in 2 1/2 weeks I'll be standing in front of a class. What I'm thinking is:
WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO PUT ME IN CHARGE OF A CLASSROOM OF CHILDREN?
They tell me I can do it. I hope so.
Today was my last day tutoring. I wish my students the best of luck on the Earth Science Regents exam tomorrow, and I know they'll do great.
I have a student with a particularly clever sense of humor, who was being funny today:
Me: What is the geocentric model of the universe?
Student: Everything revolves around...ME.
Me: What is one way to reduce global warming?
Student: Shoot all the cows. Reduce methane emissions.
Me: I guess...that is correct.
I hope this will prepare me for Institute. After one week of introductions in Meriden, CT (Induction) and one week of training, we start teaching. I'll be teaching in my subject assignment, which means I'll be in a 7th, 8th, or 9th grade science class. Probably, Earth Science. Our day includes teaching, feedback, and professional development. There are many, many hours of work. Institute has been compared to boot camp, so I'm sure it will prepare me for teaching in September.
They tell me I won't get a lot of sleep in Institute, which terrifies me. I have anxiety about not getting enough sleep.
Good luck to my students. Good luck to me.
WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO PUT ME IN CHARGE OF A CLASSROOM OF CHILDREN?
They tell me I can do it. I hope so.
Today was my last day tutoring. I wish my students the best of luck on the Earth Science Regents exam tomorrow, and I know they'll do great.
I have a student with a particularly clever sense of humor, who was being funny today:
Me: What is the geocentric model of the universe?
Student: Everything revolves around...ME.
Me: What is one way to reduce global warming?
Student: Shoot all the cows. Reduce methane emissions.
Me: I guess...that is correct.
I hope this will prepare me for Institute. After one week of introductions in Meriden, CT (Induction) and one week of training, we start teaching. I'll be teaching in my subject assignment, which means I'll be in a 7th, 8th, or 9th grade science class. Probably, Earth Science. Our day includes teaching, feedback, and professional development. There are many, many hours of work. Institute has been compared to boot camp, so I'm sure it will prepare me for teaching in September.
They tell me I won't get a lot of sleep in Institute, which terrifies me. I have anxiety about not getting enough sleep.
Good luck to my students. Good luck to me.
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