Thursday, July 23, 2009

I live on a lake on the sweetest and most welcoming small town on this side of the Mississippi (I now live on the Western half). I have a magnificent view of the sunset over the lake from every back window in our house. My mom is coming tonight. Life is good.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Right now I cannot express how happy I am to be sitting in the Hilton in Baton Rouge (thank you, Hilton, for sponsoring TFA corps members in SLA). The humidity feels wonderful! Even sweeter is the fact that when I stepped out of airport I did not feel an oven opening onto my face or a blow dryer sucking all the moisture off my skin.

Instead, I am sitting silently and alone in my hotel room in Baton Rouge. I cannot imagine doing anything more wonderful. I cannot help savor these moments of quiet before the rush, and the rush is definitely coming. Tomorrow I sign the lease for Meg and my lake cottage. On Monday we complete all the necessary paperwork and fingerprinting. On Tuesday I begin Pointe Coupee training. On Wednesday I return to TFA training in Baton Rouge, which also goes into Thursday. Thursday night we have our welcome dinner back in Pointe Coupee. The rush continues right up until August 3, when I officially begin my adventure as a 4th-6th grade special education teacher.

I have so much to learn still, but everyday I learn more. Moreover, everyday I begin to grasp how much this job is and will transform my life. I can only hope I'm ready.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I am sooooooo proud of my Kindergarteners... correction: my first graders! Today they graduated from the Kindergarten summer school, and next week they enter the first grade!

Our reading goal was to move up 6 points on the DRA, and on average we met 197% of our goal. Every student at the very least met their goal; one even tripled it.

Our math goal was to increase 70%, and we met 88% of that goal. Nonetheless, our students soared! They know far more than they ever did before, and they learned what hard work can bring!

My greatest fear is that I will never learn anything else about the class that first taught me how to be a teacher. They were my teachers, too, after all, though I could not tell them that. I will never forget Andrew falling on the floor wailing, because he was in the group that was "less than" the other side... failed attempt at teaching greater and less than. Nor will I ever forget watching Andrew begin reading or my deep disappointment when he stopped showing up to summer school. Nor will I ever forget that moment when Marquis fluently read a Level H book and gave me the biggest grin and a high five! Nor will I forget when Aziyah counted blocks one at a time! Nor will I forget when Christian apologized for using mean words! Nor will I ever forget when my students taught my mentor teacher how to stand "hip and lip"! Nor will I ever forget when Zaquariae began to participate in class, sometimes bursting with the answers! Nor will I ever forget when shy little Ju'Maree transformed into the class clown! I will never forget these beautiful faces. They will be with me forever.

Teaching continues to transform my life. I wonder what two years will do to me.