Ok so I have been horribly remiss in updating this site. I survived institute at Georgia Tech and have moved into my new place back in M-E-M-P-H-I-S. Couldn’t have imagined how challenging TFA’s Institute training would prove to be. In addition to learning an entirely new skill set full of lesson planning, scaffolding, scheduling objectives, designing assessments, and executing in front of a class for the first time I found myself pushed to change my mindsets and work with others closer than I have ever done before.
I was hardly perfect in my outcomes, my planning, or pretty much any aspect of my time in Atlanta. It was so odd to fall flat on my ass for the first time and be genuinely crappy at something I put so much effort into. My behavior management started out rocky, I was challenged by the math content I was tasked to deliver, and oftentimes I found myself curling up in my CMA room after lesson to nap because I was physically exhausted.
About half way through my experience I got to the point where I could reasonably control the class but the achievement piece wasn’t there at all. I am not a naturally reflective person. Generally I can just try something else or out work an issue. This experience required me to diagnosis tiny behaviors to find underlying faults not with the students but with myself. For the first time in my life I think I understand what it means to be accountable for something really important. It is on my if these kids don’t pass the CRCT (I hear the scores are in and can’t wait to hear how my 8th grade Math scholars fared).
In honor of the 2012 TFA application opening this week let me set the record straight on about institute. Institute is hard as hell and you will be pushed harder and challenged more than you have ever been in your life. However, if you got into TFA in the first place you can handle it. The thing that kept me going was the fact that I hate to fail and I hate to lose. With that in mind I didn’t mind looking silly in front of my students doing crazy lessons, I wasn’t too proud to ask for the help I desperately needed, and I got through the days I wanted to leap from that 2nd story window. You go into this trying to change the world for the better but after Institute I realized you stay in this because of the individual kids in the classroom and not some abstract notion of equity. The achievement gap sucks but more upsetting than any statistics are the 8th graders who can’t read or add. Thats gonna be my inspiration for being the best teacher I possibly can, the kids I taught this Summer.
Showing posts with label Atlanta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atlanta. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Quote of the Day 6/8/11
Men are governed only by serving them; the rule is without exception - V. Cousin
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Institute in Atlanta
So I arrived in the ATL this week to begin five weeks of intense teacher training Teach for America calls Institute. Complete with 5am wake-ups, collaborative teaching groups, and four years of education instruction condensed into just over a month I hear that I am in for a long Summer.
Today was my first day of instruction at BEST Academy Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia and next Monday I will be in front of an 8th grade math class all my own. Math should be interesting for me because it definitely wasn't my favorite subject and I think I will be able to relate too and anticipate some of the pitfalls some of my Summer School students may be facing.
The biggest takeaway thus far from my first day though had to be the DRA session I attended this evening. DRA is a reading diagnostic tool that allows a teacher to determine what level a student is reading on. I will be helping to administer these very test this week so we can establish a baseline for the middle school students taking remedial reading course. It was incredible to see how this tool worked and to put it firmly in my figurative "academic toolkit." I was am really excited to get down to the business of teaching and develop the skills that will enable me to have a major impact on the life trajectories of my students. For the first time I felt really "teachery" and it surprised me how pumped I got about it.
During Institute I will be doing a quote of the day here on my sites as well as on twitter.
Quote of the Day (1): In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia- Unknown.
Today was my first day of instruction at BEST Academy Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia and next Monday I will be in front of an 8th grade math class all my own. Math should be interesting for me because it definitely wasn't my favorite subject and I think I will be able to relate too and anticipate some of the pitfalls some of my Summer School students may be facing.
The biggest takeaway thus far from my first day though had to be the DRA session I attended this evening. DRA is a reading diagnostic tool that allows a teacher to determine what level a student is reading on. I will be helping to administer these very test this week so we can establish a baseline for the middle school students taking remedial reading course. It was incredible to see how this tool worked and to put it firmly in my figurative "academic toolkit." I was am really excited to get down to the business of teaching and develop the skills that will enable me to have a major impact on the life trajectories of my students. For the first time I felt really "teachery" and it surprised me how pumped I got about it.
During Institute I will be doing a quote of the day here on my sites as well as on twitter.
Quote of the Day (1): In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia- Unknown.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)