Okay, okay, I sent out the blog and then didn't post for weeks....I'll make this one short since Nigel is lazy and refuses to read anything too long!
WE ARE NO LONGER HOMELESS!!! R.O.C.K. O.N.! Lois and I are seriously the last people in the Delta to find housing. Really, it only took us 9 days, but in the delta that is close to an eternity. We went through so many different plans of roommates/towns that we were going to live in/houses that we liked. FINALLY, last night we talked with our future landlord of a cute and quaint little house in Ruleville, Mississippi. We call it the cypress house because it's cypress wood, obvs. It's HILARIOUS. This house totally looks like a postcard that would say "welcome to rullleeeville." Our landlord won't let us paint over the 1984 floral wallpaper in the kitchen and bathrooms OR let us have a cat. We are going to try and work around both of those things :)
Jeannie, Cassie and Trevor were here this past weekend. It was great to see them, but kind of hectic being I was still housing-hunting. They brought the rest of my belongings down (I now know I have WAYYYY to much stuff). Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Mike took us to the crawdad hole in Jackson....we ALL ate crawdads...welcome to Mississippi! They weren't bad after you got used to the idea of ripping their heads off and whatnot! I'm not sure if I'll ever acquire the love of spice down here...everything is FAR too spicy (including the corn!) JEESH :)
Anyway, to make this short and sweet...we have a home and hopefully will be moving in next week. We love visitors and have plenty of space, hint, hint!! The mosquitoes and other bugs down here eat you alive even in your sleep and we are soaking our feet in vinegar rags. I recently realized that I will NEVER go in the water down here because they are infested with snakes, poisonous ones. AND we now live in a town of roughly 1000 people, no wal-mart, but we have a porch swing and we LOVE IT!
PS....I'm missing the Black Family Reunion AND bean bag tournament this weekend...which is lucky for Kayla so she can TRY to win it! Pretty sure I still have more pictures in the book, even without competing this summer ;)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Da da da DELTA!
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!
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 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 :)
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