YEAH DELTA! Basically, that is what I screamed as I was leaving Moody and everytime I talked to a new person on my drive. So, I passed/survived institute. Who would have thought. Okay, really it wasn't the worst thing ever. It was hard, it is supposed to be. Duh, pretty sure we didn't sign up for a stroll through the park here.
Anyway, the last few nights have been maddness...I feel like I've gone out or just spend the evenings hanging out because never again will all of my institute friends be in the same location. It's crazy to think that we just bonded through something incredibly difficult and then leave each other for opposite parts of the country (or even in to the middle of the ocean). I was sad to leave my class at Browning, but almost more sad to think that I will never get to see these kids in 10 years and hope that they continue to "make good choices" as we say in Kindergarten! We decided that it is probably realistic to think that they will not remember us come fall, although, maybe it's a good thing they don't remember Kaitlyn and her crazy dance moves ;) Totally kidding. At least I have quite the list of places to visit: Hawaii, Denver, Houston (couldn't get enough the first time I guess)....
So, a recap from the last few days. We had a closing ceremony on Thursday. Each school was responsible for coming up with a cheer. Well, in true Browning fashion, we changed our cheer 3 minutes before the ceremony started. The cuipd shuffle is and will always be a reminder of Browning Elementary and the infamous Ms. Johnson. Wednesday night we had our CMA dinner and brought the fun back to the Hilton Bar. My friend Gina took a lemon drop shot the size of a martini glass...she's a rockstar. Pictures from this night have me laughing to tears, not much else is new. Thursday night we went to Alabama Ice House and got miserably lost on the way there. Thank goodness our curriculum specialist is such a nice person and answered the phone when we called her multiple times as we were lost and needing assistance. This place was DEFINITELY a place I could have worn mesh shorts to. Word on the street is that there are random dogs around this place, wtf gross. Friday we ROCKED O.U.T to Browning's entry in the end of institute talent show/celebration. Basically, the girls who sang were incredible and the audience participation (i.e. the 12 of us in the crowd) acted a fool.-->trying new lingo...I don't think that is exactly how it is supposed to be worded! Friday night we also went to Christian's Tailgate and made fun of the awful karaoke acts and sang dramatically with the ones we liked. Thought of the day...why on EARTH would you pick a karaoke song that is ALL screaming. Some people and their bad choices.
That was it. Institute was Ohhhh-ver! Hard to believe I moved in 5 weeks ago scared out of my mind. Since the first week, I've been so excited to get to the Delta, to have this seem real. Browning was real, but in a temporary fish-bowl like setting. I drove the 8.5 hour trip with two friends in their own cars behind me. Thank goodness for the love of my life, my cell phone. It kept me occupied from 10:15 a.m. until 5 p.m. Minus the 15 minutes that I was out of service...it about killed me too. We only stopped once the entire time, and my credit card refused to work in the gas pump and the worker thought I was incompetent, rude-o. Welcome to the present. Sitting on the floor, of my third college dorm room in the last 6 weeks, sick. This one does have running water, warm showers, toilets that flush, no need for an elevator so no need to worry about it being broken, and no pigeons waking me up every morning! Delta State is the home of our orientation activities the next couple of days, then it's time to head out and find a house, unpack when Jeannie, Cassie, and Trevor get here and then get back into teacher-mode with professional development. Really, was I planning intramural activities just 3 months ago?!
Hard to believe I am going to be teaching in a classroom this fall. TFA would call me the "instructional leader" of this room, I prefer teacher but whatev. If anyone would like to donate any low level books, games, toys such as blocks, costumes/dress up stuff, crafty supplies, etc. to my class, I would greatly appreciate it! Jeannie has been busy tearing apart the basement storage coming up with all sorts of things to bring down to me. They are leaving Amboy on Wednesday, July 16. If you want to pawn anything off on her, I would be happy to take it!!
Headed to bed...yes, actually a bed, no more bouch! Tomorrow is the start of orientation, catching up on two weeks of laundry, and some annual Delta party/dinner in the evening. Holla!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Red Hot (teaching for) America Summer
I stole this title from my friend Kaitlyn, sometimes she can be creative ;) Speaking of my collaborative members, they made a birthday sign for me at school on Thursday, brought in treats and made me wear a crown while I was teaching, it was lovely, and far to small for my head. Then all of TFA at Browning sang Happy Birthday in the afternoon (although it wasn't my birthday yet), wow was I embarrassed.
Anyway, summer if half over, what? Sometimes being in Houston makes me feel like I'm in outer space. I have no idea what is going on in the world. I haven't seen the news in well over a month. I becoming acclimated to the Houston heat. And worst of all, I have no idea if the corn was knee-high by the fourth of July. All I know is that in the Delta on June 7th it was to my shoulders.
Anyway, 4th of July in Houston wasn't thatttt bad. I wasn't the ideal place to spend a birthday, but I got over it. I would like to make it known that I haven't been to a parade yet this year and those people back home who refused to go to a parade for me (ahem, Brian Vargason) are in trouble.
Okay, so yesterday I had my day all planned out. Then, it rained starting at noon. Mother nature does not realize that the pool CLOSES when it rains. Actually, it wasn't really rain, it was torrential downpour. Awful. And for the first time in a month, instead of raining really hard for 1/2 hour and being nice again, it was crappy...all.....afternoon....long. So, I layed on my bouch and talked on the phone...all....afternoon...long. Last night we headed downtown to the Freedom over Texas concert. They were featuring Jo Dee Mesina, Miranda Lambert, and Sara Evans. It was an outdoor concert with a HUGE display of fireworks after. Well, we missed Jo Dee Mesina, but Miranda Lambert was good and Sara Evans was A-MAZING! We had some weird-o guy next to us that was holding up his wedding ring for Miranda Lambert. We are pretty sure that he told my friend Sally she could sit on his shoulders...does she look like she's 5 and can't see over people? However, the fireworks really did rock. I have to admit, Vernon Center has nothing on Houston. We boarded the bus to head back to Moody. Mind you, we only had one bus and probably 100 people. We were sitting 4 to a seat (yes, it is possible) with people standing in the isles. It was out of control and a definite safety hazard.
Today, we are planning on going to the pool again. Well, what do you know? It's cloudy and dark, UGH. So, my friends Gina, Sally and I went to an outlet mall about 25 minutes away that was incredible (like I really need more clothes though!). It was without a doubt larger than Mankato, Rochester and LaCrosse malls! And now it's Saturday night and while I should be revising some lesson plans....I am blogging and thinking about trying to do something with the disaster that has overtaken my dormroom.
This week is going to be a whirlwind. We have regular lessons M/T/W this week. Thursday spend most of the day doing testing, diagnostic tests that were administered at the beginning of the summer as well as DRA to track reading levels. All of this data has to be rolled up by Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening we have our closing ceremonies. Friday is our last day at school, so mostly a fun day. Friday night is end of institute celebration. Saturday I probably have to be headed to Mississippi by 9 a.m. PHEW. If you're bored AT ALL on Saturday, call my cell, I'll be in the car for roughly 9 hours! I will be spending Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Delta State, then going to my placement town to look for housing on Wednesday. Then the family will be here Thursday-Sunday, then back to Delta state for more training on Monday the 21st. If I don't update this for awhile, you'll understand.
Tomorrow is my last chance to go to the pool....desperation has set in, it had BETTER be nice out!
Anyway, summer if half over, what? Sometimes being in Houston makes me feel like I'm in outer space. I have no idea what is going on in the world. I haven't seen the news in well over a month. I becoming acclimated to the Houston heat. And worst of all, I have no idea if the corn was knee-high by the fourth of July. All I know is that in the Delta on June 7th it was to my shoulders.
Anyway, 4th of July in Houston wasn't thatttt bad. I wasn't the ideal place to spend a birthday, but I got over it. I would like to make it known that I haven't been to a parade yet this year and those people back home who refused to go to a parade for me (ahem, Brian Vargason) are in trouble.
Okay, so yesterday I had my day all planned out. Then, it rained starting at noon. Mother nature does not realize that the pool CLOSES when it rains. Actually, it wasn't really rain, it was torrential downpour. Awful. And for the first time in a month, instead of raining really hard for 1/2 hour and being nice again, it was crappy...all.....afternoon....long. So, I layed on my bouch and talked on the phone...all....afternoon...long. Last night we headed downtown to the Freedom over Texas concert. They were featuring Jo Dee Mesina, Miranda Lambert, and Sara Evans. It was an outdoor concert with a HUGE display of fireworks after. Well, we missed Jo Dee Mesina, but Miranda Lambert was good and Sara Evans was A-MAZING! We had some weird-o guy next to us that was holding up his wedding ring for Miranda Lambert. We are pretty sure that he told my friend Sally she could sit on his shoulders...does she look like she's 5 and can't see over people? However, the fireworks really did rock. I have to admit, Vernon Center has nothing on Houston. We boarded the bus to head back to Moody. Mind you, we only had one bus and probably 100 people. We were sitting 4 to a seat (yes, it is possible) with people standing in the isles. It was out of control and a definite safety hazard.
Today, we are planning on going to the pool again. Well, what do you know? It's cloudy and dark, UGH. So, my friends Gina, Sally and I went to an outlet mall about 25 minutes away that was incredible (like I really need more clothes though!). It was without a doubt larger than Mankato, Rochester and LaCrosse malls! And now it's Saturday night and while I should be revising some lesson plans....I am blogging and thinking about trying to do something with the disaster that has overtaken my dormroom.
This week is going to be a whirlwind. We have regular lessons M/T/W this week. Thursday spend most of the day doing testing, diagnostic tests that were administered at the beginning of the summer as well as DRA to track reading levels. All of this data has to be rolled up by Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening we have our closing ceremonies. Friday is our last day at school, so mostly a fun day. Friday night is end of institute celebration. Saturday I probably have to be headed to Mississippi by 9 a.m. PHEW. If you're bored AT ALL on Saturday, call my cell, I'll be in the car for roughly 9 hours! I will be spending Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Delta State, then going to my placement town to look for housing on Wednesday. Then the family will be here Thursday-Sunday, then back to Delta state for more training on Monday the 21st. If I don't update this for awhile, you'll understand.
Tomorrow is my last chance to go to the pool....desperation has set in, it had BETTER be nice out!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Moorhead MS...holla!
Well, I have my placement! We got an e-mail last Monday night saying placements would be out on Wednesday...WTF, we have to wait TWO days?! It was so hard to concentrate on lesson plans thinking about how we would find out our location in mere hours. Anyway, of course placements are not going to be put in our mailboxes by 6 a.m. so we had to wait until after school.
The other girls from the Delta (who also teach at Browning) and I sat in the very front of the first of our two buses that afternoon. Basically, the moment we stopped at Moody Towers we were running to the mailroom (okay, not quite but close). Well, we got our placements and I found out which school I was at and in what district. The best part was that they had included a map of all the counties and who was placed there, therefore, we didn't have to ask everyone where they were. So, for the next two years I will be teaching in Moorhead, Mississippi which is as far south-east I could possibly be in the Delta. My school is 100% african american and 100% free/reduced price breakfast and lunch. This also means being about 88 miles from Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Mike, AMAZING! I could have ended up something like 4 hours away from them. I was high.on.life. at that moment! I made a few phone calls before I had a meeting with a member of the Delta professional staff. I kept breaking out into a huge smile during the meeting and could only tell her that I was just so excited! Pretty sure she left that meeting thinking I was a HUGE dork! Oh well, I'm hired!
On Friday, another girl in my CMA group and I decided we would be roommates. She is teaching in the town next to Moorhead. Since there are only two corps members placed in Moorhead (the other one went to Gustavus, what?!) and not a lot of people/towns around me, I was a little nervous. However, she rocks, is totally laid back, was equally as nervous about what she was going to do for a roommate, and I feel like everything is working out the way it should. We have not quite decided what town we are going to live in yet, it is probably between Indianola and Ruleville. Lastly, the kicker in this entire placement situation...I am at the same school as my CMA and the same grade-level. We are the only two Kindergarten teachers in the school-she is going to be so sick of me. To add to this circle of connections...Lois, my future roommate, is from Melbourne, FL...the random beach that we decided to visit on our spring break trip to Florida this past March. Smallllllllll world!
So, I slept most of the day yesterday, which could have helped/hindered my bad mood. But I have all of my lesson plans written for the week, some revisions needed. I started my lesson plans for our last week already. I made a newsletter template for my class in Mississippi. I'm finally getting this blog sent out to people so I don't look like I've fallen off the face of the earth. Life is good and I'm lovin' it!
Headed to the pool...I like to catch up on my phone calls there! Holla :)
The other girls from the Delta (who also teach at Browning) and I sat in the very front of the first of our two buses that afternoon. Basically, the moment we stopped at Moody Towers we were running to the mailroom (okay, not quite but close). Well, we got our placements and I found out which school I was at and in what district. The best part was that they had included a map of all the counties and who was placed there, therefore, we didn't have to ask everyone where they were. So, for the next two years I will be teaching in Moorhead, Mississippi which is as far south-east I could possibly be in the Delta. My school is 100% african american and 100% free/reduced price breakfast and lunch. This also means being about 88 miles from Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Mike, AMAZING! I could have ended up something like 4 hours away from them. I was high.on.life. at that moment! I made a few phone calls before I had a meeting with a member of the Delta professional staff. I kept breaking out into a huge smile during the meeting and could only tell her that I was just so excited! Pretty sure she left that meeting thinking I was a HUGE dork! Oh well, I'm hired!
On Friday, another girl in my CMA group and I decided we would be roommates. She is teaching in the town next to Moorhead. Since there are only two corps members placed in Moorhead (the other one went to Gustavus, what?!) and not a lot of people/towns around me, I was a little nervous. However, she rocks, is totally laid back, was equally as nervous about what she was going to do for a roommate, and I feel like everything is working out the way it should. We have not quite decided what town we are going to live in yet, it is probably between Indianola and Ruleville. Lastly, the kicker in this entire placement situation...I am at the same school as my CMA and the same grade-level. We are the only two Kindergarten teachers in the school-she is going to be so sick of me. To add to this circle of connections...Lois, my future roommate, is from Melbourne, FL...the random beach that we decided to visit on our spring break trip to Florida this past March. Smallllllllll world!
So, I slept most of the day yesterday, which could have helped/hindered my bad mood. But I have all of my lesson plans written for the week, some revisions needed. I started my lesson plans for our last week already. I made a newsletter template for my class in Mississippi. I'm finally getting this blog sent out to people so I don't look like I've fallen off the face of the earth. Life is good and I'm lovin' it!
Headed to the pool...I like to catch up on my phone calls there! Holla :)
Bitter Betty
Okay, this is me venting....why? No apparent reason. It hasn't been the greatest day, so now it the time to vent about the things I'm frustrated with.
First off, I just read through previous posts and realized that I should spell check these, sheesh. My main problem is that I write them either late at night or ridiculously early in the morning. And, the timestamp on the post is definitely not right because I have never posted at 4 a.m. like it says.
Anyway, things that annoy me: wearing sweatshirts/pants everyday in the summer, not being able to open my window even a little bit, the birds outside that wake me up before my alarm goes off at 5:40 a.m., how none of our bathroom doors have working locks, how only one of our showers works and we have NO hot water, how I feel like this is the beginning of college and people have to try way to hard to impress others, our dress code at school and not being able to wear capris that are shorter than mid-calf, how I sleep on a 'bouch' because it's a combination of a bed and a couch, how we leave for school at 6:52 a.m. but then sometimes have to stand outside for 5 minutes until someone will let us in the buildling even though we show up at the same time everyday, how certain people address us in such a demeaning way and constantly write out the word "MUST" in capital letters 5 times in one description. I completely realize that these people have been teaching for a year or more, and although I am probably as old or maybe even older than some of them, I'm still made to feel like I'm a 10 year-old at camp who can't do anything without specific, forceful instruction.
My last rant of the night...I've learned this already and I'm sure it will come up again, but I hate the way that people can/will challenge your reasons for being here. This decision wasn't easy for me to make, obvs. I cried each time I told someone. However, I'm not here because it was a guaranteed job for two years. If that was my reason, I would have stayed in Winona, making more money, and closer to family and friends. But, whatev. I have plenty of reasons for being here, I realize that I can't justify all of them just yet, but what kind of a person are you if you are making me justify my reasons anyhow?
And to top all of this off...my Winona friends Matt and Danielle just got engaged and the only place I want to be is there celebrating with them.
Done-zo. I'll write a happier post tomorrow!
First off, I just read through previous posts and realized that I should spell check these, sheesh. My main problem is that I write them either late at night or ridiculously early in the morning. And, the timestamp on the post is definitely not right because I have never posted at 4 a.m. like it says.
Anyway, things that annoy me: wearing sweatshirts/pants everyday in the summer, not being able to open my window even a little bit, the birds outside that wake me up before my alarm goes off at 5:40 a.m., how none of our bathroom doors have working locks, how only one of our showers works and we have NO hot water, how I feel like this is the beginning of college and people have to try way to hard to impress others, our dress code at school and not being able to wear capris that are shorter than mid-calf, how I sleep on a 'bouch' because it's a combination of a bed and a couch, how we leave for school at 6:52 a.m. but then sometimes have to stand outside for 5 minutes until someone will let us in the buildling even though we show up at the same time everyday, how certain people address us in such a demeaning way and constantly write out the word "MUST" in capital letters 5 times in one description. I completely realize that these people have been teaching for a year or more, and although I am probably as old or maybe even older than some of them, I'm still made to feel like I'm a 10 year-old at camp who can't do anything without specific, forceful instruction.
My last rant of the night...I've learned this already and I'm sure it will come up again, but I hate the way that people can/will challenge your reasons for being here. This decision wasn't easy for me to make, obvs. I cried each time I told someone. However, I'm not here because it was a guaranteed job for two years. If that was my reason, I would have stayed in Winona, making more money, and closer to family and friends. But, whatev. I have plenty of reasons for being here, I realize that I can't justify all of them just yet, but what kind of a person are you if you are making me justify my reasons anyhow?
And to top all of this off...my Winona friends Matt and Danielle just got engaged and the only place I want to be is there celebrating with them.
Done-zo. I'll write a happier post tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Oh whoa, we're half way there...
It's hump week!! (if you're like WTF does that mean, it means it's our middle week of institute....just have to get over the hump and we're on the home stretch!). THANK GOODNESS. Hard to believe it's half over, then again, hard to believe we've only gotten through half of it.
I'm going to try and recap as much as possible in a short amount of time. Institute is still "intense." Every Tuesday we have two lesson plans due (for Thursday and Friday of that week). Every Thursday we have three lesson plans due (for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of the next week). Therefore, those nights are semi-packed. Maybe I don't spend enough time on my lesson plans, but I basically pound them out. They really are rough drafts, I turn them in, get feedback from my Faculty Advisor and Corps Member Advisor, then sometime before the lesson day I thoroughly go through and revise them to make sure they flow smoothly and are satisfying the objective. I, however, do not stay up until all hours of the night working on them. In fact, in the last two weeks I haven't been to bed past midnight. Some people STRESS out around here and go to bed at midnight and get up at 2 a.m. to keep working. Um, no thank you. I like my sleep. Plus, there is no way you can function in front of your class the next day with only two hours of sleep.
So....interesting events in Houston. Well, the first weekend we went out for a night of "Delta debotchery" I didn't name it. We went to some bar, some place in Houston. We parked in a parking lot close to the place and tried to use a machine to pay. The machine practically ate our card, so we said, "whatever." Well, we come back out a few hours later to find out that the car is towed. It was my friend Tamara's, not mine. BUT, it was her birthday. So, we get a cab to take us to wherever they took our car, only to find out it costs $200 to get it back. To make a long story short, the place we had to pay "claimed" that they were just contracted out, they didn't own the tow trucks, or the lot, all of this garbage. They refuse to tell you who does own it. They finally give us a phone number to call (Tamara was pissed because we honestly tried to pay). Well, we called the number before leaving and it turns out a lady inside the impound lot answers. Really mister? I thought you told us you weren't responsible for the lot or the tow trucks? He was such a joke. So, the moral of the story. There's a huge scam in which someone in that join owns the lot and the tow trucks and they just haul away ALL cars that park there ALL night and make 200 bones off everyone. I obvs. didn't learn this management technique in all of my classes through the business department.
Last weekend I took an afternoon off and went to the U of Houston pool, it's a block away, so convenient. They have this amazing little water park, it's so fun, going there every weekend from here on out! Although....and this is hard for even me to admit....It was hard to sit outside all afternoon in 104 degree heat. Don't tell Randy Vargason, he thinks I can endure through any kind of heat/humidity!
Side note, I have these ANNOYING birds that sit on the ledge outside of my window. They are pigeons...one was always there and would always puff out their feathers and make this annoying noise. I named it Bert. Then, I realized the Bert layed two eggs there and that is why he/she doesn't leave. NOW, there have been this polka-dotted pigeon that sits outside of my window. One day I came back and they were mating. I would throw things out the window at them, but wait, U of Houston does not have windows that open. So I'm forced to either close the blinds or have pigeons perched continuously outside of my window. Bert the bird is no longer my friend...although I do come home from school and look to see if the eggs have hatched. They better get a move on, I'm only here for a couple more weeks!
OH, on to the good news, I am PRETTY sure that I will be teaching in Mississippi next fall! Well, the Delta region extends into Arkansas and for several reasons, I really did not want to be in AR. However, people got slips in their PO's today saying they had to be fingerprinted as a law in AR. YAY! However, in less than 24 hours I WILL know my placement! They said we would find out on Wednesday. So, I get home from school at about 4:30, and I BETTER have a letter waiting for me :)
My last subject before bed...teaching. Last week I taught the science lessons each week. They went really well, I love doing experiments and teaching the kids about fun stuff like that. However, I was NEVER observed. Tons of people can/will come and observe you. Your corps member advisor, other corps members, the school director, your faculty advisor, the literacy or curriculum teachers, regional people, national people...I had no one. Wait, I take that back, I had a couple of my peers in for 10 minutes each. Anyway, Monday morning, my first day of reading/writing (which is also a 100 minute session, almost twice the length of science), I'm sooo nervous because I have no idea what I'm doing...and I have my CMA, literacy advisor, and faculty advisor all in my room watching me BLOW that lesson! Okay, it wasn't horrible, but the kids didn't understand my objectives, they couldn't sit still, I never had complete control of the class...it was one to brush off the shoulders, that's for sure! I had a little meeting with my CMA last night about it, just going over her notes...I attribute most of the bombshell to be my lack of confidence about teaching phonics and where the kids should be at and specific objectives they need to be meeting right now. We talked about a few strategies and today..my lesson was A-MAZING :) No observers though, go fig. Oh well, tomorrow should be okay. I met with my faculty advisor (who is the regular teacher for my classroom) and she helped me out a TON. Obvs. she knows all of the kids in the room, what they should be learning, and how I can effectively teach them in a non-TFA military style lesson! She rocks, my kids are awesome, and I'm just doing my Browning Best.
My apologies that this got so long again!
I'll leave you with a little "chant" aka "shout" the kids do in the morning:
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
the best
kids: the best
the best
kids: the best
The best of whatever you are
kids: the best of whatever you are.
(Yes, it is that repetitive :))
I'm going to try and recap as much as possible in a short amount of time. Institute is still "intense." Every Tuesday we have two lesson plans due (for Thursday and Friday of that week). Every Thursday we have three lesson plans due (for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of the next week). Therefore, those nights are semi-packed. Maybe I don't spend enough time on my lesson plans, but I basically pound them out. They really are rough drafts, I turn them in, get feedback from my Faculty Advisor and Corps Member Advisor, then sometime before the lesson day I thoroughly go through and revise them to make sure they flow smoothly and are satisfying the objective. I, however, do not stay up until all hours of the night working on them. In fact, in the last two weeks I haven't been to bed past midnight. Some people STRESS out around here and go to bed at midnight and get up at 2 a.m. to keep working. Um, no thank you. I like my sleep. Plus, there is no way you can function in front of your class the next day with only two hours of sleep.
So....interesting events in Houston. Well, the first weekend we went out for a night of "Delta debotchery" I didn't name it. We went to some bar, some place in Houston. We parked in a parking lot close to the place and tried to use a machine to pay. The machine practically ate our card, so we said, "whatever." Well, we come back out a few hours later to find out that the car is towed. It was my friend Tamara's, not mine. BUT, it was her birthday. So, we get a cab to take us to wherever they took our car, only to find out it costs $200 to get it back. To make a long story short, the place we had to pay "claimed" that they were just contracted out, they didn't own the tow trucks, or the lot, all of this garbage. They refuse to tell you who does own it. They finally give us a phone number to call (Tamara was pissed because we honestly tried to pay). Well, we called the number before leaving and it turns out a lady inside the impound lot answers. Really mister? I thought you told us you weren't responsible for the lot or the tow trucks? He was such a joke. So, the moral of the story. There's a huge scam in which someone in that join owns the lot and the tow trucks and they just haul away ALL cars that park there ALL night and make 200 bones off everyone. I obvs. didn't learn this management technique in all of my classes through the business department.
Last weekend I took an afternoon off and went to the U of Houston pool, it's a block away, so convenient. They have this amazing little water park, it's so fun, going there every weekend from here on out! Although....and this is hard for even me to admit....It was hard to sit outside all afternoon in 104 degree heat. Don't tell Randy Vargason, he thinks I can endure through any kind of heat/humidity!
Side note, I have these ANNOYING birds that sit on the ledge outside of my window. They are pigeons...one was always there and would always puff out their feathers and make this annoying noise. I named it Bert. Then, I realized the Bert layed two eggs there and that is why he/she doesn't leave. NOW, there have been this polka-dotted pigeon that sits outside of my window. One day I came back and they were mating. I would throw things out the window at them, but wait, U of Houston does not have windows that open. So I'm forced to either close the blinds or have pigeons perched continuously outside of my window. Bert the bird is no longer my friend...although I do come home from school and look to see if the eggs have hatched. They better get a move on, I'm only here for a couple more weeks!
OH, on to the good news, I am PRETTY sure that I will be teaching in Mississippi next fall! Well, the Delta region extends into Arkansas and for several reasons, I really did not want to be in AR. However, people got slips in their PO's today saying they had to be fingerprinted as a law in AR. YAY! However, in less than 24 hours I WILL know my placement! They said we would find out on Wednesday. So, I get home from school at about 4:30, and I BETTER have a letter waiting for me :)
My last subject before bed...teaching. Last week I taught the science lessons each week. They went really well, I love doing experiments and teaching the kids about fun stuff like that. However, I was NEVER observed. Tons of people can/will come and observe you. Your corps member advisor, other corps members, the school director, your faculty advisor, the literacy or curriculum teachers, regional people, national people...I had no one. Wait, I take that back, I had a couple of my peers in for 10 minutes each. Anyway, Monday morning, my first day of reading/writing (which is also a 100 minute session, almost twice the length of science), I'm sooo nervous because I have no idea what I'm doing...and I have my CMA, literacy advisor, and faculty advisor all in my room watching me BLOW that lesson! Okay, it wasn't horrible, but the kids didn't understand my objectives, they couldn't sit still, I never had complete control of the class...it was one to brush off the shoulders, that's for sure! I had a little meeting with my CMA last night about it, just going over her notes...I attribute most of the bombshell to be my lack of confidence about teaching phonics and where the kids should be at and specific objectives they need to be meeting right now. We talked about a few strategies and today..my lesson was A-MAZING :) No observers though, go fig. Oh well, tomorrow should be okay. I met with my faculty advisor (who is the regular teacher for my classroom) and she helped me out a TON. Obvs. she knows all of the kids in the room, what they should be learning, and how I can effectively teach them in a non-TFA military style lesson! She rocks, my kids are awesome, and I'm just doing my Browning Best.
My apologies that this got so long again!
I'll leave you with a little "chant" aka "shout" the kids do in the morning:
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
Be the best
kids: be the best
the best
kids: the best
the best
kids: the best
The best of whatever you are
kids: the best of whatever you are.
(Yes, it is that repetitive :))
Thursday, June 12, 2008
First week mayhem
Days at the institute seem like eternity. It is only Thursday and already I feel like I have been here for two weeks. Maybe because that is the amount of information they cram into a few short days, who knows. Whatever the case, I'm here, I'm alive, we're still moving forward.
Let me explain institute for a few minutes...basically, they teach you how to teach. This doesn't sound thattttt hard, except there is a certain Teach For America way that they teach you how to do things. The program has been around since 1991, it is revamped constantly, it works. Because we just got here and aren't quite ready to teach yet, we spend ALL of our time in sessions. We have literacy sessions, curriculum sessions, sessions with our corp member advisor and sessions with everyone at our school teaching roughly the same grade levels. I am teaching Kindergarten at Browning Elementary this summer and have a phenominal CMA (corp member advisor), Elizabeth Ballard from the Mississippi Delta. When we leave the school at 4:15, we have been coming back to Moody towers, our home away from home. Then, each night this week we had more meetings or training sessions to be at. Mind you, this still doesn't sound so bad...but when all you are doing is sitting in sessions ALL day (after getting up at 5:30 a.m.), this is a challenge.
Last night was our biggest challenge, almost everyone here had their first two lesson plans due. I am an activity-driven person....but that is not good for lesson planning. We had to fill out templates for every objective that we need to accomplish during the lesson, then fill out the key points, how we will do the assessment, what the new content knowledge is, how we will show guided learning, what the students will do for individual practice, and type up our opening and closing. The place was a madhouse. I met up with a group of people in the lobby...and it was hard to find a seat. Going to print your lessons was another story....the computer lab was pure, utter insanity. Not only does it take 5 minutes to log on, but people are printing like crazy. Most of the printers in the computer labs stopped working for one reason or another. It was "intense" like everything else around here.
However, I worked with a group and we all are instructing Kindergarten science, so we did our unit plans for the entire summer school session and then worked on the lesson plans. It was time consuming, but really not that hard. I don't think that is what I would ever want to be working on at midnight the night before giving the lesson!
So, needless to say, with computer lab drama, I didn't get nearly as much sleep as needed and 5:30 a.m. came reallllly quickly this morning. However, tonight is the FIRST night that we don't have anything else going on in the evening...therefore, praxis practice time....
Better jet, my bus leaves at exactly 6:40 a.m. If you are not on it, it will leave you. Hey, at least I get to watch the sunrise over downtown Houston on my way to school :)
Let me explain institute for a few minutes...basically, they teach you how to teach. This doesn't sound thattttt hard, except there is a certain Teach For America way that they teach you how to do things. The program has been around since 1991, it is revamped constantly, it works. Because we just got here and aren't quite ready to teach yet, we spend ALL of our time in sessions. We have literacy sessions, curriculum sessions, sessions with our corp member advisor and sessions with everyone at our school teaching roughly the same grade levels. I am teaching Kindergarten at Browning Elementary this summer and have a phenominal CMA (corp member advisor), Elizabeth Ballard from the Mississippi Delta. When we leave the school at 4:15, we have been coming back to Moody towers, our home away from home. Then, each night this week we had more meetings or training sessions to be at. Mind you, this still doesn't sound so bad...but when all you are doing is sitting in sessions ALL day (after getting up at 5:30 a.m.), this is a challenge.
Last night was our biggest challenge, almost everyone here had their first two lesson plans due. I am an activity-driven person....but that is not good for lesson planning. We had to fill out templates for every objective that we need to accomplish during the lesson, then fill out the key points, how we will do the assessment, what the new content knowledge is, how we will show guided learning, what the students will do for individual practice, and type up our opening and closing. The place was a madhouse. I met up with a group of people in the lobby...and it was hard to find a seat. Going to print your lessons was another story....the computer lab was pure, utter insanity. Not only does it take 5 minutes to log on, but people are printing like crazy. Most of the printers in the computer labs stopped working for one reason or another. It was "intense" like everything else around here.
However, I worked with a group and we all are instructing Kindergarten science, so we did our unit plans for the entire summer school session and then worked on the lesson plans. It was time consuming, but really not that hard. I don't think that is what I would ever want to be working on at midnight the night before giving the lesson!
So, needless to say, with computer lab drama, I didn't get nearly as much sleep as needed and 5:30 a.m. came reallllly quickly this morning. However, tonight is the FIRST night that we don't have anything else going on in the evening...therefore, praxis practice time....
Better jet, my bus leaves at exactly 6:40 a.m. If you are not on it, it will leave you. Hey, at least I get to watch the sunrise over downtown Houston on my way to school :)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
3 days, 25 hours, 8 states
Well, I did it. I actually said goodbye to Winona. Some thought it would never be done and I was a lifer, but I proved them wrong I guess! Don't worry, saying goodbye wasn't easy. I cried. Three days in a row. Although I thought I had myself prepared enough with the pre-institute homework and packing...my goal was to spend everyday at the golf course...that really didn't happen. However, I did get to climb the rock again with Sara, Dominic, Ambjor and Cassie. Many thanks go out to the high school potheads for leaving when we got up there. Oh, there is a GREAT video of blowing on grass on the top of the rock, mine always sounded like a kazoo.
Anyway, the Wellington's party was interesting. Saying goodbye sucked. But really, it wasn't the first time I cried in the bar! It was probably the realization that I wouldn't see many of those people for several months and phone/e-mail contact is probably limited. However, I woke up at 5 a.m. on Friday with knots in my stomach but ready to start this adventure. Hard to believe it was my last night in Heffron, I mean I've only been there for something 1000+ days. Thank goodness Cassie helped me move/clean. Trust me, my apartment looked much better than it did when I moved in. After more tearful goodbyes, I left Saint Mary's. Well, I spent 10 minutes in the parking lot trying to get the GPS to take me in the direction that I wanted it to!
I spent all of Friday driving to St. Louis. It was a pretty simple trip, minus the fact my cell phone didn't work during several large chunks of Iowa AND it was 40 mph wind gusts. Joan Bernard passed me on I-90, that was crazy, but great at the same time. And, it stopped me from crying :) Good thing Katie and her aunt met me in St. Louis because their house is WICKED hard to get to. Who labels roads with Z and N? Pat and Meade were so gracious to us and it was so nice to have a place to stay that was on the way.
Saturday, we ventured out on our journey. The jeep, PACKED. The luggage rack looked rockin' on the top...we had the GPS, an atlas and Meade's directions. Our first mistake, stopping in Miner, Missouri for gas. We pulled into some random little place, I had to give them my license to fill up, everyone in the place was smoking cigarettes, and as I was standing in line I looked around and realized I was in a liquor store. We bought gas from a liquor store. They even sold Mr. Pibb. Welcome to 1994.
We went through many more adventures. Including Arkansas, a state neither of us had ever been in. It wasn't that exciting. In Memphis, we decided we should find a restroom and fill up with gas again. Not our best idea of the day. We stopped at 3 places on Hwy 61 on the south side of Memphis...all were SKETCH. We finally braved a convenience store bathroom and filled up with gas and got the heck out of there. Gretchen later informed me that it wasn't the best choice of places to stop.
The Delta awaited us! We found the storage site basically on accident, it is behind some guys house. He came out and helped us with the garage door...then tried to sell us more stuff. I wanted to say, "really mister? This vehicle is packed to the brim, I don't think I need anything else." But didn't. The only time we got lost was leaving the storage site that was located in the middle of no-wheres-ville. The map wasn't clear, we weren't sure where we were, the GPS isn't always trustworthy, so we ended up making about 3 or 4 different turns. One was into a 4 lane road in which there wasn't a single car in sight! Welcome to the Delta! Did I mention that it was 95 degrees and 5 p.m. in the afternoon? So, we drove through a chunk of the Delta, and I found various places that I assured Katie I would be fishing at in the next year. After following an older gentleman in a van (he was speeding so we followed closely) we finally reached Madison, Mississippi. Gretchen and Mike's directions were perfect, until we got to their street and couldn't find house numbers on the actual houses. No worries, we made a u-turn and THEN realized the numbers are on the mailboxes! By this time, Gretchen had seen us drive by (the luggage rack MIGHT have given it away) and came out to greet us. SOOOO wonderful to see them again. They were having a little party and we were greeted very warmly. It was fun chatting with them about the culture in that area. By the time I went to bed that night, I was SOOO excited to be there and to be closer to them. Kind of reminds me of the Lelo and Stitch quote, "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten."
And now we are onto today. We departed Madison at 7:30 a.m. to head south through the remainder of MS onto Louisiana and into Texas. We experienced Baton Rouge, and listened to the song 3 times on the way through :) We hit road construction, saw three cop cars on the side of the road with someone pulled over. I thought the girl had her hands on her head, but she MIGHT have been fixing her hair. That is still unsure. There are some really crazy things that we saw or experienced on our way down. Toward the end of our trip we finally created a list. Partly to laugh about them again and partly to keep ourselves entertained. Luckily Katie is such an easy going person, we had plenty to talk about. Heck, we even listened to rap for about two hours to acclimate her to STL! Go fig that our exit would be closed in Houston, so we did a little downtown tour before ending up at the University of Houston. We pulled into a turn-around by our building. A handful of people were out there and unloaded ALL of our stuff and put it where it under the breezeway where we would collect it later. Check-in was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. I went to the first table, started telling her my name, and she shreaked with excitement. I thought I had done something wrong or forgot to turn something in or sign up or something crazy. But, then she told me that she was my literacy advisor (more info about that when I figure out what it means) and that someone had been checking all day to see if I was there yet. Soon enough, I found out that Catherine, a girl I had talked to right before making my decision was there and waiting to meet me. She seems really nice and I almost feel as if she is my orientation leader, I could probably ask her about anything. She's a teacher in the Delta and is at institute to serve as an advisor of some sort.
So, Moody towers is two buildings connected on the lowest level. I find out I am in the south tower, floor....17. WTF. At least they had an elevator, although you had to wait for awhile to catch it. I had a cart FULL of stuff...and then another big trip with random stuff that I had forgotten outside. I get up to my room, open the door...and realize I was in a single room. Are they kidding? I'm on the top floor of this building and I don't even get a roommate? Who is going to wake me up if I oversleep? Then I started freaking out about the Praxis II again...and at that point I was like, "maybe I don't want to be here." But it lasted for about 5 minutes...the girls on my floor are really great. The girl next door to me shares the same birthday, WHAT?! Rock on. AND...another girl is the same age as I am....so I'm not with a bunch of people who JUST graduated college...even better!
Because we are the only region that did not meet prior to institute, we had supper together and then had a meeting. They made all 100 of us stand up and say where we are from and that kind of original introduction. Turns out, there are at least half a dozen people from the Minnesota area and quite a few from the Midwest, represent.
We did the necessity stuff tonight after the meeting....set up our internet, unpack, shower (Bridget failed to mention to me that the shower is like a BULLET of water...it almost hurts!), I think the shower got warmer when people flushed the toilet...which is kind of funny.
Okay...so far I have learned that I have far too many clothes. That I left all of my clothes hangers in MS and for that I'm an idiot because I really didn't need to buy any more. The ants bite and you shouldn't put your feet in the grass. And, that I have no idea how this whole process is going to work, but I'm excited to get back to Mississippi and get moved in, wherever that may be.
This was the longest post I have ever written, go fig since it was only the 2nd one I have ever written! I won't bore you with any more information....if you made it to the end I will be thoroughly impressed. I have to get up at 5:30 a.m....Sara GRACIOUSLY told me "welcome to the real world." Living in a jail cell-like dorm room is not my idea of the real world. Welcome to institute.
Anyway, the Wellington's party was interesting. Saying goodbye sucked. But really, it wasn't the first time I cried in the bar! It was probably the realization that I wouldn't see many of those people for several months and phone/e-mail contact is probably limited. However, I woke up at 5 a.m. on Friday with knots in my stomach but ready to start this adventure. Hard to believe it was my last night in Heffron, I mean I've only been there for something 1000+ days. Thank goodness Cassie helped me move/clean. Trust me, my apartment looked much better than it did when I moved in. After more tearful goodbyes, I left Saint Mary's. Well, I spent 10 minutes in the parking lot trying to get the GPS to take me in the direction that I wanted it to!
I spent all of Friday driving to St. Louis. It was a pretty simple trip, minus the fact my cell phone didn't work during several large chunks of Iowa AND it was 40 mph wind gusts. Joan Bernard passed me on I-90, that was crazy, but great at the same time. And, it stopped me from crying :) Good thing Katie and her aunt met me in St. Louis because their house is WICKED hard to get to. Who labels roads with Z and N? Pat and Meade were so gracious to us and it was so nice to have a place to stay that was on the way.
Saturday, we ventured out on our journey. The jeep, PACKED. The luggage rack looked rockin' on the top...we had the GPS, an atlas and Meade's directions. Our first mistake, stopping in Miner, Missouri for gas. We pulled into some random little place, I had to give them my license to fill up, everyone in the place was smoking cigarettes, and as I was standing in line I looked around and realized I was in a liquor store. We bought gas from a liquor store. They even sold Mr. Pibb. Welcome to 1994.
We went through many more adventures. Including Arkansas, a state neither of us had ever been in. It wasn't that exciting. In Memphis, we decided we should find a restroom and fill up with gas again. Not our best idea of the day. We stopped at 3 places on Hwy 61 on the south side of Memphis...all were SKETCH. We finally braved a convenience store bathroom and filled up with gas and got the heck out of there. Gretchen later informed me that it wasn't the best choice of places to stop.
The Delta awaited us! We found the storage site basically on accident, it is behind some guys house. He came out and helped us with the garage door...then tried to sell us more stuff. I wanted to say, "really mister? This vehicle is packed to the brim, I don't think I need anything else." But didn't. The only time we got lost was leaving the storage site that was located in the middle of no-wheres-ville. The map wasn't clear, we weren't sure where we were, the GPS isn't always trustworthy, so we ended up making about 3 or 4 different turns. One was into a 4 lane road in which there wasn't a single car in sight! Welcome to the Delta! Did I mention that it was 95 degrees and 5 p.m. in the afternoon? So, we drove through a chunk of the Delta, and I found various places that I assured Katie I would be fishing at in the next year. After following an older gentleman in a van (he was speeding so we followed closely) we finally reached Madison, Mississippi. Gretchen and Mike's directions were perfect, until we got to their street and couldn't find house numbers on the actual houses. No worries, we made a u-turn and THEN realized the numbers are on the mailboxes! By this time, Gretchen had seen us drive by (the luggage rack MIGHT have given it away) and came out to greet us. SOOOO wonderful to see them again. They were having a little party and we were greeted very warmly. It was fun chatting with them about the culture in that area. By the time I went to bed that night, I was SOOO excited to be there and to be closer to them. Kind of reminds me of the Lelo and Stitch quote, "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten."
And now we are onto today. We departed Madison at 7:30 a.m. to head south through the remainder of MS onto Louisiana and into Texas. We experienced Baton Rouge, and listened to the song 3 times on the way through :) We hit road construction, saw three cop cars on the side of the road with someone pulled over. I thought the girl had her hands on her head, but she MIGHT have been fixing her hair. That is still unsure. There are some really crazy things that we saw or experienced on our way down. Toward the end of our trip we finally created a list. Partly to laugh about them again and partly to keep ourselves entertained. Luckily Katie is such an easy going person, we had plenty to talk about. Heck, we even listened to rap for about two hours to acclimate her to STL! Go fig that our exit would be closed in Houston, so we did a little downtown tour before ending up at the University of Houston. We pulled into a turn-around by our building. A handful of people were out there and unloaded ALL of our stuff and put it where it under the breezeway where we would collect it later. Check-in was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. I went to the first table, started telling her my name, and she shreaked with excitement. I thought I had done something wrong or forgot to turn something in or sign up or something crazy. But, then she told me that she was my literacy advisor (more info about that when I figure out what it means) and that someone had been checking all day to see if I was there yet. Soon enough, I found out that Catherine, a girl I had talked to right before making my decision was there and waiting to meet me. She seems really nice and I almost feel as if she is my orientation leader, I could probably ask her about anything. She's a teacher in the Delta and is at institute to serve as an advisor of some sort.
So, Moody towers is two buildings connected on the lowest level. I find out I am in the south tower, floor....17. WTF. At least they had an elevator, although you had to wait for awhile to catch it. I had a cart FULL of stuff...and then another big trip with random stuff that I had forgotten outside. I get up to my room, open the door...and realize I was in a single room. Are they kidding? I'm on the top floor of this building and I don't even get a roommate? Who is going to wake me up if I oversleep? Then I started freaking out about the Praxis II again...and at that point I was like, "maybe I don't want to be here." But it lasted for about 5 minutes...the girls on my floor are really great. The girl next door to me shares the same birthday, WHAT?! Rock on. AND...another girl is the same age as I am....so I'm not with a bunch of people who JUST graduated college...even better!
Because we are the only region that did not meet prior to institute, we had supper together and then had a meeting. They made all 100 of us stand up and say where we are from and that kind of original introduction. Turns out, there are at least half a dozen people from the Minnesota area and quite a few from the Midwest, represent.
We did the necessity stuff tonight after the meeting....set up our internet, unpack, shower (Bridget failed to mention to me that the shower is like a BULLET of water...it almost hurts!), I think the shower got warmer when people flushed the toilet...which is kind of funny.
Okay...so far I have learned that I have far too many clothes. That I left all of my clothes hangers in MS and for that I'm an idiot because I really didn't need to buy any more. The ants bite and you shouldn't put your feet in the grass. And, that I have no idea how this whole process is going to work, but I'm excited to get back to Mississippi and get moved in, wherever that may be.
This was the longest post I have ever written, go fig since it was only the 2nd one I have ever written! I won't bore you with any more information....if you made it to the end I will be thoroughly impressed. I have to get up at 5:30 a.m....Sara GRACIOUSLY told me "welcome to the real world." Living in a jail cell-like dorm room is not my idea of the real world. Welcome to institute.
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