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TFA Induction / Institute update.
Her name is Destiny. She sits on the second row of my classroom but when Kimbo isn't there (I somehow became cool enough to call Kimberly by her friends only nickname), she moves to the front row. She has little issue sitting next to our special students with autism during class, though she sometimes falls into the class habit of treating his as though he has an infectious disease. She wears a purple lumberjack / hipster-esque hoodie to school everyday to handle the subfreezing classrooms. She's in seventh grade. She reads at a fifth grade level. She hates math - when she feels like she can't understand math equations, she shuts off. You can see her eyes checkout of class and hear in her sigh when you ask her to solve a multiplication problem that she just doesn't get. But in reading class, I ask her to tell me a point of view and describe it. She proudly sounds out om-ni-scient, just like we practiced as a class. She says it means "all-knowing." "Is Kevin all-knowing," I ask her, referencing another student in the class. Kevin reads at a 3rd grade level. He is 12. "No!" several students call out. they're breaking one f our class rules, but I let it slide because last Thursday, no one answered any questions. This week generall at least 4 raise their hands every time I ask for a fact or a thought.
Destiny and the other scholars at Room 33. They're why I teach for America.
But that's my class at the middle level. They're compliant and on task... if I don't count Marco, who let's his hair swing over his eyes and refuses to read out loud in class. Or Nadia who needs to be reminded to read instead of coloring in the pictures ("I know you can do it Nadia, let's answer the questions together"). Or Ricky who says at least four times a day that this is all "too hard..." even though he can list off the step to find theme in his sleep. He can tell you how, but he can't execute. And so far, I haven't figured out how to help him. I've got 11 more days.
Teach for America so far has been a whirlwind. I've met people that I know will be some of my best friends for a long time. And I've met people who irritate the crap out of me (i.e. the girl who draws unicorns on everything. Really, why are you doing that?). And I've met a precious few, like maybe 2, that I'm not really sure I trust to teach America. I've had a million and a half conversations about politics, social activism, personal belief systems, and a ton of other things that fill the minds of the "type" that TFA attracts. Oh there is definitely a type. Idealistic, naive, smart, goal oriented, type-A. I've never sat in a room with so many people that I immediately felt camaraderie with. And now that we've all lived through three weeks of Institute (an exerience like no other), there's a bond that we'll never be able to explain to others. Yeah, it's partly about staying up until 2am to finish a lesson plan (or 3). But it's also about the feeling you get when a kid writes a summary to a story about weaving... that he's been reading for about 15 minutes... and writes about waving goodbye to a friend. Its an immeasurable sadness and a sense of frustration and definitely being overwhelmed that, like, this kid made it to 7th grade without so many basic reading comprehension skills. And then its a sense of urgency that, like, maybe we're not outstanding teachers yet, maybe we're not even really sure what we're doing on this rollercoaster out in LA, but we have a duty to every student we encounter to help them as much as possible in the time we have left together.
Angel wrote at the end of his assessment today: "I hope you like it Ms, I did the best I could" (with a few more spelling errors). It definitely made me cry, because I know he's being honest. I just want to help his best be at an ability level that will let him succeed next year in middle school. I'll be honest - I'm not entirely sure that's going to happen for Angel this summer. But I do know that everyday we're both learning a lot. That's a start.
So, yeah. That's just such a small small part of my story since I left Alabama. I love Kansas City (based on the week I was there) and am so excited to move back. I don't particularly like LA, though the weather is fantastic. Santa Monica is pretty awesome. I don't sleep nearly enough. Today was TFA Day which is why I suddenly have time to blog lol. And my English class of 17 is awesome. :) As for updating again, I shall try... but it might not be until August. There are many lesson plans to write and many assessments to grade. :)
With love,
Shelli
