The 2010-2011 school year has finally come to an end! Even though now it seems like this year has flown by, I have to say that as a whole, this school year has really tested my limits as far as patience and balance is concerned. However, I feel extremely relieved and proud of the work I have done this year and in these last two years with TFA, and I would not go back and change a thing.
Last week was full of festivities, beginning with Noel Idol, the talent show, that myself and my other teacher friend organized. While our students are still learning proper audience etiquette, and still developing their singing, dancing and instrumental talents, we got a lot of compliments for the way the show was done and how much work the kids and ourselves put into the show. It was a lot of fun, as the co- emcee, and the highlight for my student may have been when I went to sit down with the judges on the stage, and missed the chair and fell completely on my butt in front of the entire 7th grade.
Wednesday was the 8th grade Continuation, which myself and LM also had a lot of organization and planning energies involved in. The ceremony was nice, similar to last year, lost of families there, over-the-top outfits and tears, balloons, bouquets, but it created a really nice feeling of finality to the year and I was pretty proud of most of the kids who showed up. Our bottom line however, was hoping that these kids and families want MORE of these continuation/graduations ceremonies to happen for these kids, that this was not the last one but the first one of many to come.
Thursday we went to Elitch's (the Great America, or Six Flags of Denver) with the 8th graders, and all of the 8th graders started to add us on Facebook.. That has been interesting to negotiate. . .
This weekend has just been full of fun, parties and being outside, BBQ's, celebrating the end of a solid year and the start of a good summer. My summer is packed full of working here in Denver, moving then traveling around for weddings and having wonderful visitors come to Denver and play music. I am super excited for all of the fun things lined up for this summer, it's going to be great and well-deserved before the next, new crazy adventure of a school year starts up again.
Responsibility in May? Yeah, I think I rocked it. Tomorrow I will check out with Teach for America and Rachel B. Noel officially, and then I think I will feel like my job has been done. I am grateful for the sense of urgency I have developed towards reforming education that working at that school has given me. TFA and RBN helped me to get a clearer picture of what the achievement gap is and put me in a school that feels it and is perishing because of it. Now, it's up to me to guide myself down other paths in continuing to be a part of the solutions to the achievement gap. Hopefully for me, that path is through being a drama teacher, or building and supporting advocacy for arts education policy. I am excited for how this experience is going to always inform the choices I make concerning education and the actions I continue to take to try to close the achievement gap. It's hard work, but it's worthy work.
Until next school year?
Ms. Younts
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