Weekend in HOTlanta

So things have definitely improved since last post... Wednesday I brought in a fabulous book of teenage poetry for my lit circle girls, and they loved it.. major attitude improvements and interest in the material. Then Thursday when I had to teach, I prepared a highly interactive lesson teaching text features and I wrote an essay on the history of hip hop which they ate up and had to identify the different text features in... I felt MUCH better, and even though no one was observing me during those classes, I know what I need to do now to cater to these students. Friday I wrote them all individual notes affirming them on their progress this week and encouraging them to stay engaged and ensuring that they will pass the test if they keep it up. I feel like I got through to them a bit better and I know where and how I can improve my teaching this summer.. 

Otherwise, last night a big group of us from the CO corps when to the Red Sox/Braves game at Turner Field. VERY hot but a lot of fun- there was a fireworks show afterwards, and we had a fun time dancing in the stands. Today I took a really great run/walk around the GA Tech campus, then I went to the Coca-Cola museum with some girls and to The Varsity- a famous diner here in Atlanta where the workers yell at you "What'll ya have?" and they serve wonderfully greasy and unhealthy burgers, onion rings, etc. 

Tonight there is free cover for TFA-ers at a club called Opera, so we are going because it is tribute to Michael Jackson night as well.. so I am going to release a bit and get my dance on. Tomorrow I will get prepared for Monday and the rest of the week so I can be free of lesson -planning during my mini-vacation to the Mini-apple for the 4th. :) 

Peace- (and thank goodness for air conditioning and MJ dance music) 

C

Rough day

I am pasting an e-mail I wrote Nora Bowers today for the sake of not having to type it all up again- so sorry if something doesn't make sense. 

Thank goodness it is TFA (totally free afternoon) day, for my own sanity!

Hi Nora,

Thanks for your letter and encouragement. When I get home tonight, I  
will definitely curl up and look at it all again as I re-evaluate what  
I am doing here because it has been one of those days. Today was the  
first really bad day- close to tears, why am I doing this? am I cut  
out to be a teacher day.

First of all, there were 7 student there today, the most we have had.  
The kids came in this morning and I had a fun review game planned,  
started out a bit rough but they got to enjoying it and showed me that  
they DID retain some things. So that moment of the day was the only  
positive that I can come away with.

Then the administration of like 5 teachers bursted into our room and  
asked to search all the students for their cell phones, so the  
students were taken off guard  and shaken up a bit.

Then we transitioned into Lit circles, and I have been sharing with  
the girls in the class, stories about the freedom fighters, asking  
them questions about the rights they have now versus the rights these  
women didn't have back in the day.  The girls were NOT interested in  
reading, talking, understanding anything. So I asked them to write to  
me what they want to read about and what they are interested in, and  
they didn't really have any feedback, they were just tired and resigned.

THEN we transitioned into the reading hour, and the whole class  
period, all but 2 of the students were resting their heads on their  
desks, tired, unresponsive. It was terrible because I had given them  
an intense writing assignment because their writing has been so poor-  
I have been pushing them to write more like high schoolers, in  
complete sentences with detailed ideas, and it took them each about 5  
minutes to get motivated to even start the writing. Then my advisor  
came in to observe me, of course in the last half hour of class when  
my students were actually sleeping and not even responding to my  
individual attempts to motivate them and get them redirected and back  
into the class. I had to speak to them at the end to tell them what I  
expect of them and how I come to class prepared (after scrambling this  
morning after copies I had outsourced were not in my mailbox, I WAS  
prepared for them) and how I expect them to get enough sleep at night  
so that THEY are prepared for class. That they made a choice to be  
here every day, they failed the test so that they need to take  
responsibility for their education that I am giving them so that they  
can go to high school.

After they left the class, I felt the tears about to come up, my  
advisor told me to breathe and told me what she would have done, but  
what I had done was done. Although today was extremely hard, I am not  
discouraged, I am just realizing the simple things that my students  
are not getting, and while I DO believe in them, it is easy to think  
that they don't care enough to get enough sleep at night.

The good news is, we are being released from institute early today- we  
get a half day off to go back and relax which is GREAT. I am going to  
read your note again and think about things. Evaluate my teaching and  
my approach to my students. This isn't easy but I am learning and  
hopefully the next good day outweighs this awful day.

Sorry to send a gloomy note, but I hope you are really well and thanks  
a lot for your encouragement. It means more to me than you'll ever know.

Peace,
C

Weekend in Denver

So I finished my first week of teaching and immediately took off for Denver- I flew in Friday night, took a state-mandatory special ed. test on Saturday morning, signed a lease for an apartment downtown Denver, and then flew back to Atlanta on Sunday. I think I'm now a bonafide jet-setter!

Friday's class was a bit of a struggle for me, I did not plan enough and so we had extra time and being a Friday, the kids were restless and definitely testing me. I was really happy to be on a place and relaxed after school got out on Friday, and was lucky enough to meet some other sped. friends at the airport that night who had to take the test, and my friend Jack's mom picked us up and we stayed with him all weekend. His boyfriend Rob had made their little apartment all cozy for us, made beds all over the floor, got us a ton of breakfast food, and even arranged rides for us back to the airport on Sunday- it was so amazingly relaxing! And very very needed after an intense week of teaching and institute. 

So I took the test at 8am on Saturday, think it went well, then we indulged in some Chipotle (originated in Colorado!) and then my friend Katie went with me to check out the apartment I had been thinking about. An 07 corps memeber, Martha, whose job I actually took at Rachel B. Noel, is now moving in with her boyfriend and so she had her apartment info on the TFA net. So I went to catch up with her about the new job, and also she was a theatre major in college and went to grad school for drama therapy AND she is from Morris, MN!! So she and I have a lot in common and the apartment just felt right. It is a studio, very small, but has a mountain view from the bedroom. It's two blocks from the capitol, very close to many places to eat and grocery shop, yoga, all the things I need. It is going to be great- I signed the lease and I'm moving in on July 14th!

Katie and I just explored the city the rest of the day- 16th street mall and cheeseman park neighborhood. We had dinner and drinks (above) in a cute area called Governor's Park, and had amazing burgers and happy hour specials. We got a nice early bed time that night and slept in- and flew back to ATL. Now I am just preparing for the week ahead. The good thing is this week I am only teaching Tuesday and Thursday, and I will now only teach two days a week since we have a long weekend on the 4th. It will be good, I just need to be a bit more over-planned for this week so my students are getting the full two hours to get ready for their test. 

That is all, it was a lovely weekend and I cannot wait to get back to Colorado. It will be such a great place to live, work and play. ;) 

Peace-  

C

First day of teaching!

Taking a brief moment to catch the blog back up to speed- 

Saturday I had to take the Praxis II test which for me was just elementary general content- it wasn't too hard, but you can get a lot wrong and still pass, so I am just crossing my fingers that my two night cram sessions will be enough to get me to pass. So that was an early morning wake-up call on my Saturday, so I rested most of the day. Then the Colorado corps decided to have a little dorm party before going out to some fun bars in Atlanta's highlands. (there are also highlands in Denver, that are actually highlands...) it was a lot of fun and a great chance to meet more people and bond with the CO corps (the best corps!) 

Sunday was a work day,  very productive for me and my group to get ready for the first day today. I have the same students as three other teachers, one other reading teacher that I switch every other day teaching in the AM with, the two math teachers that rotate teaching in the afternoons. Zack (Mr. Greenamyre) is my collab. teacher, he is from the Atlanta corps, and so we switch even and odd days that we teach the reading lesson for the day. Then Sarah (Ms. Burns) from the NYC corps and Doug (Mr. Ely) from the St. Louis corps, they team teach in the afternoon. Kind of complicated, but a very fun and easy-going group to work with in terms of setting up class rules and procedures. 

So today went well, I was the first teacher up to teach and I did a lesson on genre-identification. (Fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, etc.) The worst part about the day was that out of the 13 students on our roster, we only had 4 come to class. The 4 students were engaged and seem to follow along in my lesson very well. But it was a very frustrating reality to face - that on the very first day we had attendance issues with 9 of our students. . . I am realizing that coming to school in the summer in the first place is a giant step in the right direction for these 4 students and I am going to do my best to help them pass the CRCT and get into high school, but it is frustrating the amount of work I am putting into lesson planning for the weeks and days to come and that I only have 4 students to plan for for 3-9 hours a week. 

Deep breaths, and breaks to talk with family and friends are good things to help me get through my frustrated moments. I am coming down with a cold too so I need to take care of myself so that I can be a good teacher and have the energy I need through the day. This is HARD WORK, but I am determined and very focused on the task ahead. People here are so supportive and make such good surrounding role models, it is a very great environment to be in when you are stressed or doubt your capability to be a teacher. 

That's it really. I am going to Denver on Friday to take another test on Saturday morning- PLACE test for special ed in Colorado. I will be looking at the studio apartment in Capitol Hill that I am seriously thinking about renting from a previous corps member whose job I am actually taking over at Noel M.S. so that is an exciting progression I am making!

Lots of love and positive summer time thoughts to all- 

Peace, 

C

I'm in ATL!

So busy, haven't had time to blog about ATL. ..

Got here Sunday, the facilities are very nice, Georgia Tech campus is cut off from the rest of the city, so it is beautiful and secluded. The dining hall is high-class, much more sophisticated than even the Sanford Hall dining hall at the U. I have my own room but I share a suite with another girl who went to Minnesota and two other girls from the Colorado corps. 

So the Parks Middle School bus, my bus, leaves campus at 6:35, so the mornings are rough. Although there are TFA staffers playing music and cheering us on as we drudge to breakfast, it is still dark out and none of us go to bed early. But Parks is a cool place- there are about 70 out of the 500 here that go to Parks every day. Our job is to help 7th and 8th graders pass their CRCT's so that they can pass to the next grade. I got assigned to an 8th grade class and I am co-teaching reading with another corps member from Atlanta named Zack. So basically every day we go to Parks from 7am until 5pm and we attend sessions that teach us how to be teachers in a very intense and condensed form. It is very interesting and the instructors are great, but it all comes at us very fast. I feel confident in the material, and lesson planning and talking about classroom management and investment in education all comes very natural to me, so that is good. It's the waking up early and eating well, working out, and getting every thing done on time that I am struggling a bit with. 5:30 comes way too soon and it seems like my body just doesn't want to go to bed until the late late hours. 

So overall, institute is hard but I think it is going to really help me become a great teacher. I am able to do some socializing at meal times but otherwise it is very focused on getting things done and turned in so it can be reviewed. We will officially start in the classroom on Monday, and I am very excited because I am going first in the rotation, and the students that I met with yesterday REALLY need our help. We assessed them for their reading levels and as will-be 9th graders, right now they are reading as low 6th graders. I can clearly see now why I am here and the work that has to be done. I am eager to begin pushing these students and help them pass the test!

Miss everyone from home- please e-mail me and tell me how you are and what you are up to this summer '09. 

Peace- 

C

Pics from the art fair in Denver and from Lime - a cute trendy Mexican restaurant in Denver where I had those lime salutes with some of my friends. 

I am in Atlanta now, internet is sketchy and only hooks up in my living room. Hopefully that gets fixed- I have to go to bed early because I am getting picked up to go to my school at 6:30 tomorrow morning! 

Peace- 

C

Hired!

So yesterday was a crazy day- I had to go to the Denver Public Schools job fair just to get a call for an interview at a school I had really wanted to work at. My placement advisor had worked at this school and put a good word in for me so I got a ride from my good friend Emily out to the school, which is in Denver but out by the airport, and I walked in and talked to the principal and got offered the job on the spot. It was so relieving and exciting- the school is Rachel B. Noel Middle School in Denver and I will be a 6-8 grade learning specialist. They work on inclusion model and pull-outs, so I will be helping a number of students in different ways. I am so happy and grateful to Martha, my placement advisor. She really helped me a lot- she was a theatre major in college and she is interested in using drama and art for special ed. and so we connected in that way. 

Today has been closing ceremonies, finishing up business in Denver. I looked at two houses today but I haven't felt too right about anything just yet. It may be a matter of waiting until my other friends get job placements until I make a final decision about a place to live. I am very tired so I am just going to relax and get ready to go to Institute. I fly out tomorrow morning but we are getting picked up at 4:30am. . . eesh. 

Miss everyone at home- this week has FLOWN by. 

I'll keep you posted on how things are in HOT lanta! woop. 

C

Day 3 in Denver

I am here! I made it but I have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to really be by myself or take a break to blog. But things have been going really really well. 

The first day I got off too a little bit of a late start, but I made it to O'Hare on time and when I sat down at my gate I met a girl right away from Michigan flying out to Denver for TFA. So that was great, and when we got to the airport, I met several other nice people on the car ride to Campus Village, where I am staying. Met two of my room mates, one named Caroline who is fabulous and a lot of fun- we ended up inviting everyone to the 'Caroline's dorm' later that night to talk and get to know each other. That evening there was an opening dinner for us all, and the Lt. Gov. of Colorado Barbara O'Brian spoke to us about the impact we will make on Colorado public schools. It was very inspiring and I felt really honored to be a part of such an important and powerful group. 

The second day was long, a lot of sessions and lectures about the program. That night we went out to dinner with TFA alumni in the area- had dinner at a restaurant on 16th street mall which is the area where all the places to eat and drink are. Then some of the older corps members invited all of us to Wynkoop Brewery, and TFA pretty much took up the entire upstairs bar. It was a lot of fun, everyone is great and helpful. 

Today, the third day, was a bit more special ed. specific. We got an introduction to our separate licensure program, and we all got to know each other a bit better. There are 16 corps members that are teaching special ed., and I love all of them. They are all amazing and I feel so lucky to go through this with them by my side. The afternoon we had a safety lecture and then we got more info about neighborhoods where corps members live. My friend Emily is from Denver, so she took me and two other girls on a little driving tour of the city and showed us where she lives and where she would recommend living. I am considering living with my friend Katie, who is actually from Waukegan, IL so we talked about different locations- but there really are no bad areas to live in this city. I am waiting to see where I get placed for a job, but the good news is I have an interview TOMORROW with Denver Public Schools- so hopefully I get placed tomorrow so I can make a decision about housing... Tonight we had dinner with present corps members, and they were so hilarious. They had a beautiful apartment with a balcony that had an amazing view of the city (pics posted). We had pizza and talked for a long time, then we went to Breckenridge Brewery for more meeting people and talking.. Lots of breweries here!

So things have gotten off to a great start- I am learning more and more about Denver, getting to see the mountains today was exciting and all the places we saw today look like nice places to live. I can't say enough how great the people are- everyone is so smart, has so many different experiences and is SO nice. I was most nervous about not fitting in with people here, but I truly feel like I will be making some really amazing friends within this experience. 

Stay tuned about the job interview tomorrow- I am crossing my fingers!

C 

Yikes!

I am leaving tomorrow for Denver for Induction week- getting oriented around the city, meeting the corps out there, and doing a lot of paper work, learning things, etc. Sunday I will fly out to Atlanta for my 5 week summer institute. It has all happened so fast! I am extremely excited but extremely nervous. This week at home has been wonderful but has gone by very fast. I am so lucky to have so many friends and family here and other places who support me and have given me the confidence and love I have needed to get this far. 

We will see how things go! I don't know what to expect, but I am excited and prepared to soak everything in.. Stay tuned. 

C