Instead of returning to my placement school for next year, I will be joining City Year Orlando (more on that later). Instead of renewing my contract for next year, which usually happens pretty much automatically, I was told by my school that I could reapply as a new applicant to the district and find out…

So… life got busy!  After the first week of school, things picked up so quickly that blogging was not a priority.  In the blink of an eye, the first year was over.  And what a year it was! Some thoughts… My students are incredible.  They will change the world.  I am excited to see what…

My principal asked us to fill out a form specifying our grade level preferences for next year, and my number one preference is to loop up with my class. I don’t that it’s been done much in TFA or at my school, but all the research indicates that looping up with kids maximizes instructional time,…

1. I am observing a teacher at another school as part of my certification program. I am scheduled to go visit the other school next Wednesday. This afternoon, I was told that the district-wide math interim test would be next Wednesday, also. Not only is this one week before the end of the quarter, but…

Is this the end or just the start of Something really, really beautiful? ^This Voxtrot lyric is capturing my thoughts pretty well right now. I can’t believe that I have only three months left as an undergrad before I pack up and head to Atlanta for Institute and life as an elementary school teacher. While…

I have always, always, always stressed out about what I wanted to do when I “grow up.” I remember having a mental break down (or a 5th grade version of a mental break down) when I realized I couldn’t feasibly be a journalist AND a veterinarian. According to adults, I would have plenty of time…

There have been a few situations in the last few weeks when some of my students have been bullying another student….one student for being “from Africa” and one student for being “so gay.” The counselor, the other teachers, and I have hopefully dealt with these situations in a way that will stop these particular students…

Until this year, I had never really failed at anything. I was always pretty good at most of the stuff that I did and the few things I wasn’t good at (all sports, for example) I decided weren’t for me and I moved on to other more interesting things. In school and in all of…

As I student, I never misbehaved. I was in an environment where everyone else was mostly doing what they should be doing, so I guess I just got in the habit of doing what my teachers asked me to do. Since this kept working out very well for me, it never even occurred to me…

At the high school my students will attend in two-years if (by an act of god) they pass 7th and 8th grade, there are currently three seniors who have just earned full ride scholarships to Ivy League schools for being extremely high-achieving first-generation college students (one of these students has passed 18 AP classes, for…