...for my lack of dedication to my blog. For someone who follows almost 50 blogs in my Google reader and checks them MULTIPLE times a day, you would think that I would have all the gusto in the world to update and maintain one of my own! (the person who wrote that philosophy must never have been a teacher).
SO. Hello friends. My faithful few. I appreciate your dedication in the midst of my absence.
Indeed, much has happened since the last time I updated. True confession: I actually had to go back and read the last blog I wrote to remember what I was actually doing back then. Woof. It's been awhile. I am still in Memphis. I still LOVE my life. The Lord has blessed me in ways that I still don't quite understand or comprehend.
There is a lot to update you on. I could talk about the 10 days I spent with Teach For America and my professional development at the end of August. I could talk about the subsequent 3 weeks I spent with my school Memphis College Prep and everything that I learned-- from "extra crispy" school culture techniques to joy factor cheers to scouring our reading and math curriculum. I could talk about the new restaurants I love (The Majestic Grille, if you are wondering...) my new church that I am OBSESSED with, or the first 7 school days I've spent with 28 other tiny humans, attempting to transfer knowledge about letter sounds and math skills into their tiny little brains.
But if I did all that, this post would be about 20 pages long and I don't think anyone (including myself!) would care to read about it.
Instead, I will tell you about probably the most meaningful experience I've had since joining this movement and officially becoming a real life "teacher."
I sometimes forget how big of a deal kindergarten is. Sure, I am focused on giving my kids an excellent education because it is what they deserve. I'm fighting a cause I deeply believe in and work in an environment that has VERY high expectations for our students. One of the reasons I chose to teach lower elementary was to close the achievement gap before it even existed. I have a vision, I have a goal, I have the support and I know how I can get them there.
But sometimes you forget that these kids are 5, and for almost all of them this is the first year of all day school. Kindergarten is a pretty damn big deal, no matter if you grow up in Oakwood, Ohio or inner city Memphis. This is the first phase of their formal education.
I share this with you because of a moment I had with a student, (we will call him "C", as I recently learned that giving any student information out over the internet is illegal. Who knew?) that completely changed the way I looked at my job. I was standing at our front door on August 22nd, nervously awaiting the scholars that I had dreamed about for the past nine months. As each one came in, I greeted them, talked to their parents, took their book bags off and walked them to their seat. I instructed them that it was time to work on our coloring sheets, and that when we were ready and breakfast was over we would move over to the carpet. I was taking C over to his seat when his mom pulled out her camera and said, "C, sit down! I have to get a picture with you and your kindergarten teacher!"
In that one moment, I was struck by the gravity of what this situation was and the role that I now had to play. I am C's kindergarten teacher, and I will always be his kindergarten teacher. I remember everything about my kindergarten teacher. I remember my first day of kindergarten, the dress that I wore, how I walked to school and the other students in my class. Everyone, no matter your socioeconomic class, only has ONE kindergarten teacher (albeit two in this particular instance). I get to be that ONE person for 28 kids in the city of Memphis. I had gotten so caught up in what these kids will do for the year that I kind of forgot about who was going to get them there!
I am a kindergarten teacher.
I will forever be 28 kids' kindergarten teacher.
That is some powerful stuff.
Anyways, that is a quick story of how my life is rolling these days. School goes up and down, but in generally my little kiddos get better every day. Every day their behavior improves, they do a better job sitting on the carpet, and we sing "We are SLU!" about a thousand times a day. I am learning to celebrate small victories and not over analyze my teaching performance. Every day I learn something new. Every day my kids teach me something new. I hope my kids are learning something new every day, too.
Showing posts with label Memphis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memphis. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
And so it begins...
Well hey there world!
After 6 weeks of learning, doing, working, planning, sleeping (sometimes), crying (again, only sometimes), assessing, sweating (this happened a LOT), and TRAVELING I made it through institute, came home to Ohio, packed up all of my earthly possessions, loaded a Uhaul (with the help of my WONDERFUL family and neighbors to whom I owe my LIFE) and drove to Memphis to start this thing called my NEW LIFE! I am here. I am in Memphis. And I am thankful.
For those of you keeping tabs on me (and as a *quick* reminder for those of you that aren't), I flew down to Memphis on May 28th and have been engrossed in the TFA induction-institute-bubble ever since. After emerging on July 9th (the end of institute), part of me was oh-so-slightly confused. I had solidified my traveling and moving arrangements: fly home on the 9th. Pack on the 10th. Leave on the 11th. Move in on the 12th. Start living in TN on the 13th. Since orientation (the last part of TFA's training before I move into professional development with my school) doesn't start until July 20th, I found myself in a small dilemma: what was I going to do with myself for 7 WHOLE DAYS? With no one explicitly dictating where and when I was supposed to be at every hour of the day?
...the answer? The most glorious 8-letter words that my ears could hear....
I was going to take a VACATION!
Some of you may have just questioned my ability to lead a group of 20-some children in closing the achievement gap over the next two years, seeing that I had just survived 6-weeks in TFA boot camp but couldn't connect 7 days of nothing to do with vacation. Keep having faith in me...I'm still learning :)
So yes...I am on the tail end of my vacation as we speak. I've tried to balance out getting real world things done (ordering and setting up our cable, grocery shopping, figuring out my cell phone plan, car insurance, etc.) and resting at the same time. I've seen Harry Potter 7.2 (WHICH WAS AWESOME, although I'm not gonna lie I was kind of sad at the end! That was seriously the end of my childhood literary experience). I've laid by the pool and got sunburned (not too terribly, not to worry mommy). I've been on long walks with my friend Tammie on the Mississippi River. I found the Vera Bradley signature store in Memphis (although it is wayyy out in the boonies of Memphis and seriously takes like 20 minutes of highway driving for me to get there). I've watched as many inspirational sports movies as Lauren and my movie collection allows. I've been to Target. Twice. actually, maybe 3 times.
So yes, life in Memphis is going swimmingly. Tomorrow orientation starts, when I will officially plan out my year and how exactly I am going to get my kindergarten or first graders on grade level in all of their subject areas. I'll figure out my big goal, how I will invest students and their families, meet my Manager of Teacher Leadership and Development (MTLD, or ma-tild, also formerly known as PD's to all you alums out there). Orientation is 10 days long, and then I start professional development with Memphis College Prep on August 1st. My kids arrive on the 22nd.
Life is good.
Memphis is good.
I am good.
God is good. :)
After 6 weeks of learning, doing, working, planning, sleeping (sometimes), crying (again, only sometimes), assessing, sweating (this happened a LOT), and TRAVELING I made it through institute, came home to Ohio, packed up all of my earthly possessions, loaded a Uhaul (with the help of my WONDERFUL family and neighbors to whom I owe my LIFE) and drove to Memphis to start this thing called my NEW LIFE! I am here. I am in Memphis. And I am thankful.
For those of you keeping tabs on me (and as a *quick* reminder for those of you that aren't), I flew down to Memphis on May 28th and have been engrossed in the TFA induction-institute-bubble ever since. After emerging on July 9th (the end of institute), part of me was oh-so-slightly confused. I had solidified my traveling and moving arrangements: fly home on the 9th. Pack on the 10th. Leave on the 11th. Move in on the 12th. Start living in TN on the 13th. Since orientation (the last part of TFA's training before I move into professional development with my school) doesn't start until July 20th, I found myself in a small dilemma: what was I going to do with myself for 7 WHOLE DAYS? With no one explicitly dictating where and when I was supposed to be at every hour of the day?
...the answer? The most glorious 8-letter words that my ears could hear....
I was going to take a VACATION!
Some of you may have just questioned my ability to lead a group of 20-some children in closing the achievement gap over the next two years, seeing that I had just survived 6-weeks in TFA boot camp but couldn't connect 7 days of nothing to do with vacation. Keep having faith in me...I'm still learning :)
So yes...I am on the tail end of my vacation as we speak. I've tried to balance out getting real world things done (ordering and setting up our cable, grocery shopping, figuring out my cell phone plan, car insurance, etc.) and resting at the same time. I've seen Harry Potter 7.2 (WHICH WAS AWESOME, although I'm not gonna lie I was kind of sad at the end! That was seriously the end of my childhood literary experience). I've laid by the pool and got sunburned (not too terribly, not to worry mommy). I've been on long walks with my friend Tammie on the Mississippi River. I found the Vera Bradley signature store in Memphis (although it is wayyy out in the boonies of Memphis and seriously takes like 20 minutes of highway driving for me to get there). I've watched as many inspirational sports movies as Lauren and my movie collection allows. I've been to Target. Twice. actually, maybe 3 times.
So yes, life in Memphis is going swimmingly. Tomorrow orientation starts, when I will officially plan out my year and how exactly I am going to get my kindergarten or first graders on grade level in all of their subject areas. I'll figure out my big goal, how I will invest students and their families, meet my Manager of Teacher Leadership and Development (MTLD, or ma-tild, also formerly known as PD's to all you alums out there). Orientation is 10 days long, and then I start professional development with Memphis College Prep on August 1st. My kids arrive on the 22nd.
Life is good.
Memphis is good.
I am good.
God is good. :)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Memphis Lives in Me
Oh my sweet Jesus, y'all are getting an update from me!
*side note: I promise that I haven't completely abandoned my midwestern roots and lost all sense of how to speak. But I have developed a *slight* fancy for the word "y'all" and am enjoying practicing my southern drawl where I won't get made fun of.
Well, some significant changes have occurred in my life since the last time I wrote an entry in my blog, the biggest of which is that I am now officially a daughter of Saint Louis University forever! Graduation weekend was SO.MUCH.FUN. OhMyWord I can't even explain it. My parents and sister rolled into town on Thursday, where we ate at one of my favorite Spanish/Italian restaurants and stayed in town all weekend for fun and festivities. I left SLU exactly the way I wanted to, with nothing but love in my heart for a place that has given SOsoSO much to me. I put this on one of my Facebook statuses, but it is worth saying again: my four years at SLU were some of the most life-changing years that I'm sure I will ever have in my life. To everyone who's played even a small part of it, please accept my deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks :)
SO I came home from school and was at home for a week, which was a restful time and gave me some great opportunities to catch up with some of my best friends. It also meant that I had exactly 7 days to unpack everything (which didn't exactly happen...) and re-pack 2 suitcases so I could get ready for my next adventure: Teach For America! My family and I (minus my brother, sadly) flew down to Memphis on Saturday to begin looking at housing and begin to get situated with my new city. Honestly, I have never fallen in L.O.V.E. with a city so quickly. I don't know what it was, but something spoke to me about this town that immediately caused me to love it. I'm still learning a lot about its history and culture, and I have no doubt that my love will only continue to grow.
Monday officially started my first phase as a first year TFA corps member: induction. For those of you who don't know TFA has 3 main components to the summer before you start teaching, and the first phase is called induction. It is used to acclimate you to your region, introduce you to some regional (and sometimes national) staff, and, as my sister says, "start the brainwashing process." We learn about our core values, our impact in the classroom and as an alum, and get to know a LOT of people. We're now almost officially half way through induction, and so far I have met some amazing people that have done some I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E things for their kids in the classroom. I wish I had time to write about it all. Ask me the next time you see me, I know I will be able to talk your ear off!
One of the things I've been most inspired by since I've arrived in Memphis is the opportunities that are coming to this city in terms of public education reform. If you don't know, Tennessee was the recipient of the a national "Race to the Top" grant that awarded only 3 states something like $500 million to the 13 poorest and lowest performing schools in the state (8 of which currently are in Memphis). In addition, Memphis City Schools was also the recipient of an almost $100 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for education reform. This year, Memphis was able to accept 183 corps members into the 2011 corps. Coupled with the 2010 corps, one-fifth of the teachers within the Memphis City School District in the 2011-2012 academic year will be Teach For America teachers, and over the next five years we will impact over 100,000 students in the classroom. This is unbelievable and certainly not the norm in all TFA regions across the country!
Tonight we were able to tour the National Civil Rights Museum and see the balcony and room where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings coming out of tonight (which I will spare you from temporarily and save them for another post) :) but during our de-briefing sessions one of my friends said something that I think was so interesting and important to think about: in 1968, the United States was watching Memphis as an epicenter of civil rights reform and/or as a catalyst for change. Now, 40 some-odd years later, Memphis has more opportunity in its hands to be an epicenter for educational reform and a proof point for the country that all children have the ability to achieve. I am INCREDIBLY excited and unbelievably humbled to be a part of this movement.
This is the time. Memphis is the place.
*side note: I promise that I haven't completely abandoned my midwestern roots and lost all sense of how to speak. But I have developed a *slight* fancy for the word "y'all" and am enjoying practicing my southern drawl where I won't get made fun of.
Well, some significant changes have occurred in my life since the last time I wrote an entry in my blog, the biggest of which is that I am now officially a daughter of Saint Louis University forever! Graduation weekend was SO.MUCH.FUN. OhMyWord I can't even explain it. My parents and sister rolled into town on Thursday, where we ate at one of my favorite Spanish/Italian restaurants and stayed in town all weekend for fun and festivities. I left SLU exactly the way I wanted to, with nothing but love in my heart for a place that has given SOsoSO much to me. I put this on one of my Facebook statuses, but it is worth saying again: my four years at SLU were some of the most life-changing years that I'm sure I will ever have in my life. To everyone who's played even a small part of it, please accept my deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks :)
SO I came home from school and was at home for a week, which was a restful time and gave me some great opportunities to catch up with some of my best friends. It also meant that I had exactly 7 days to unpack everything (which didn't exactly happen...) and re-pack 2 suitcases so I could get ready for my next adventure: Teach For America! My family and I (minus my brother, sadly) flew down to Memphis on Saturday to begin looking at housing and begin to get situated with my new city. Honestly, I have never fallen in L.O.V.E. with a city so quickly. I don't know what it was, but something spoke to me about this town that immediately caused me to love it. I'm still learning a lot about its history and culture, and I have no doubt that my love will only continue to grow.
Monday officially started my first phase as a first year TFA corps member: induction. For those of you who don't know TFA has 3 main components to the summer before you start teaching, and the first phase is called induction. It is used to acclimate you to your region, introduce you to some regional (and sometimes national) staff, and, as my sister says, "start the brainwashing process." We learn about our core values, our impact in the classroom and as an alum, and get to know a LOT of people. We're now almost officially half way through induction, and so far I have met some amazing people that have done some I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E things for their kids in the classroom. I wish I had time to write about it all. Ask me the next time you see me, I know I will be able to talk your ear off!
One of the things I've been most inspired by since I've arrived in Memphis is the opportunities that are coming to this city in terms of public education reform. If you don't know, Tennessee was the recipient of the a national "Race to the Top" grant that awarded only 3 states something like $500 million to the 13 poorest and lowest performing schools in the state (8 of which currently are in Memphis). In addition, Memphis City Schools was also the recipient of an almost $100 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for education reform. This year, Memphis was able to accept 183 corps members into the 2011 corps. Coupled with the 2010 corps, one-fifth of the teachers within the Memphis City School District in the 2011-2012 academic year will be Teach For America teachers, and over the next five years we will impact over 100,000 students in the classroom. This is unbelievable and certainly not the norm in all TFA regions across the country!
Tonight we were able to tour the National Civil Rights Museum and see the balcony and room where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings coming out of tonight (which I will spare you from temporarily and save them for another post) :) but during our de-briefing sessions one of my friends said something that I think was so interesting and important to think about: in 1968, the United States was watching Memphis as an epicenter of civil rights reform and/or as a catalyst for change. Now, 40 some-odd years later, Memphis has more opportunity in its hands to be an epicenter for educational reform and a proof point for the country that all children have the ability to achieve. I am INCREDIBLY excited and unbelievably humbled to be a part of this movement.
This is the time. Memphis is the place.
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