Teach For America teacher blogs are on Teach For Us

Why, hello, 2013s!

biologybug — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:33:48 +0100

Hard to believe that a year ago I found out I had gotten into Teach for America. Actually, I think it was a year ago this week. I remember the criticism, the anger from my family that I would do this, the fear of not knowing what the classroom would hold. I would read critics about Teach for America and think, "What have a done?!?" I would search for blog posts from corps memebers to figure out what my life would be like. Nothing will EVER prepare you for the reality of teaching in an inner city. So here it goes, 2013s, a little advice: 1) Institute is wonderful. I mean, don't get me wrong, it sucks waking up early, eating the same PBJ every day, a chip, two cookies, and a drink. Water will be your new best friend. Philadelphia Institute, food is about 3/4 of a mile from your room. If you have a late bus, you get to sleep in but there may be no food. Don't worry, they will bring it to your school. But you get to learn about teaching and lesson plan ALL THE TIME. You teach for ONE hour a day. ONE hour - it is AMAZING. 2) Plan for your first day. Seriously, if you are a corps member, you KNOW you will be teaching. "I didn't know what grade" "I didn't get hired until the day before" blah blah blah. Just plan. Make it fun - science people do a lab like saving Sam. As a matter of fact, plan for your first week. 3) It is OK if you don't get to your exit ticket. But they will ask you when you don't "How are you going to assess?" Truth is your 4 to 5 classes you will teach move at various speeds. Some will breeze through your beautiful plan, some will play 20 questions to avoid work. 4) Answer the 20 questions. Not every day - they do need to learn the curriculum. But taking a day here and there to answer their questions builds a classroom culture where asking is acceptable. If you are science, you will teach about reproduction. It is the most fabulous and yet horrifying thing to teach EVER. No worries about engagement that day...I assure you =D. Bottom line, if kids are interested, they want to learn it. 5) The road to hell is paved with "great" lesson plans. They like cell phones, videos, labs, and things that allow them to get out of their seats. Worksheets and powerpoints every day won't cut it. Making them read papers every day probably won't either. Mix it up. Remember all those cheesy tips they give you at institute. You will need them. 6) By November, you WILL want to quit. I know you are thinking "not me, I'm going to STICK IT OUT NO MATTER WHAT". You will. We all do. You will be tired and cranky and hate going to work every day. You will call in slick at least once. You have to just suck it up and deal, buttercup. Cuz they need you, even if they are cursing you out. 7) You will get cursed out. No seriously. And if you are like me, the first time you will lock yourself in your room and cry. Fights will happen. Things will get thrown. Kids will be kids. And they will be annoying. And they won't buy your lesson plans and they are rude and they are looking for an adult they trust. 8) You will mess up. You will say the wrong thing and damage relationships. And you will have to fix them. Eat the crow because the truth is you won't start to become a decent teacher until February or March. Not good - decent. 9) Your school will not have: enough support, money, paper, pens, toner, copiers, textbooks, lab supplies, manipulatives, special educators, administrators, mentors, teachers, etc. My advice: Dollar Tree, Five Bellow, Wal-mart, Target, Goodwill, free bookstores, dollar bookstores, yard sales, rummage sales, your attic, closets, staples (teacher rewards), Barnes and Noble (educator discount). You knew going in that they are impoverished schools. That WILL affect you. You have to take lemons and make lemonade without water, sugar, a glass, pitchers, and a spoon. It is what it is. You just DEAL. 10) You have something to offer all of your students. Don't compare your childhood to theirs. Zip codes, race, gender, religions, and politics don't mean you completely understand. You aren't just there to relate or empathize with them. You are there to show them a diverse, wonderful world that they may or may not have experienced. When the furthest from Baltimore my students have been is northern Virginia, it doesn't matter that I grew up in a predominantly minotiry suburban community plagued by violence, gangs, and drugs. I've been to college, I've been to Europe, I've seen two oceans and several foreign seas. You aren't there to say HEY, LOOK AT ME, I'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS AND I'M GONNA SAVE YOU FROM POVERTY. You are there to HELP them get on a different track - a track where their zip code does not determine their income or education levels. They don't need to be saved - they need to be educated. And that is what you are - their teacher. Good luck to all of you. This career is a roller coaster and on the days you want to give in, that one kid will show you why you matter. Just keep looking for that kid.

The Reality of Teaching in City Schools

biologybug — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:33:38 +0100

TFA tells us to aim for 80% mastery and we can change the life of every student. And maybe we can. But the reality is, if I get 60% mastery, it is a great day. The reality is despite hours of conversations, time spent during school and after school talking to kids about making the right decisions, listening to what they have to say, and having them help you with science experiments, they still make their own decisions. And sometimes that decision is the wrong one. What has teaching taught me? It's taught me to toughen up. You cannot command a classroom on the verge of tears. They will cuss you out, they will tell you that you're wrong, their phone wasn't out, whatever they don't care anyways. But you know they are there so they must care a little. Then one day you will tell them a family member passed and you will be out for a funeral, and they will tell you how sorry they are and behave ok because they can. Because at the end of the day, they are teenagers. Loud, obnoxious teenagers, with hormones running wild and 8,000 questions about that elusive virus HIV. At the end of the day, sometimes the tangents in your lesson plans are the best form of engagement and they are always honest to a fault. You can't expect respect in your classroom, you have to demand it. And if you are a soon to be first year teacher, you will do it all wrong. Your first day, week, month will not go as planned. Kids will fight, someone will punch someone else while you are teaching, and then a stapler will be thrown. And you will cry thinking you're a failure. But 6 months later when one student tries to provoke another in your classroom and they don't stand up to fight? That's when you see the respect they are giving you. It isn't the perfect job. And some days it's a thankless job. But sometimes, you have the moments you realize just maybe you are making a difference. And THAT is the reality of your first year teaching in city schools.

Yes

aea107 — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:28:38 +0100

I don't update this blog often. A recent post on here questioning the relative silence of the 2012 corps and suggesting perhaps there is a rather insidious explanation (such as widespread mental breakdown) for this silence inspired me to write on here. I may be a 2011, not a 2012, but for posterity's sake, I felt I should post because I am NOT having a mental breakdown. If someone would have told me this time last year that I would be planning to stay in the teaching profession for longer than my commitment to TFA, I would have been quite certain that they were horribly mistaken. Though I came into TFA open to the idea of continuing to teach after the 2 years, I quickly decided that this was not going to be a viable path for me. I found teaching to be unpleasant and, quite frankly, depressing. Not even the act of teaching, per se, but navigating a hostile work environment and constantly telling small people what they should be doing, I just, I don't know, didn't like it very much. From August through March of last year, virtually every day was very, very, stiflingly DARK. In March of last year, some (though not all) of the cloud lifted as things began to fit together more easily. Every day was no longer a struggle. I had some entire weeks that by without any problems at all. My students EXCELLED. Things felt, if not good, at least sustainable. Again, if someone had told me at the beginning of last year that my students would do as well as they did at the end of the year, I don't think I would have believed it. Fast forward to now. I'm filling out job applications for kindergarten positions in different cities. I am pretty sure I am going to be teaching next year (and pretty sure I am going to relocate, at least to a different school, if not a different city). Quite frankly, I enjoy the community I work in, many of my coworkers, and the families and students who come through my class. Leaving my students from this year and last year will be very sad for me. But I need to be in an environment that cares more about early childhood and doesn't (literally) store trash in my classroom (a very blatant, very real metaphor for the level of importance my current administration places on early childhood). No, no. No more of that for me. It's going to be early learning centers from now on (fingers crossed). I've come to an impasse, though, in that I find myself half filling out applications for the burgeoning charter movement I've professed in the past to be decidedly opposed to. This is a level of hypocrisy that is so rotten to me that I haven't actually finished an application. I am not against these schools as individual entities (provided that they are actually successful schools, for children), but I am against the impact schools like these have on schools like the one I currently work at. I am also against a widespread movement to privatize a public service. It is difficult to frame the charter movement, to me, in a way other than this. As I tell my students when they tap me repeatedly, "I don't like that." What's a girl to do? I know I want to stay teaching in the inner city (if not Baltimore, then New York, or perhaps Philadelphia). I also want to work at a school that is not inadvertently (or even intentionally) disadvantaging the students who don't attend it, i.e. destroying inner city communities. I mean, I'm not saying that all charter schools are doing this. I quite liked the charter school I did my institute teaching at in West Philly. I guess I just know what it's like to be one of those CMs (or not) who teach at general enrollment public schools in cities enamored (and perhaps blinded) by the charter movement. It feels pretty bad, by the way. Anyway, just to weigh in on the question of why more new CMs don't post on here (if anyone is still reading my rambles!), I can say that I honestly don't post on here because I believe TFA keeps tabs on its members in a slightly creepy way and I am quite certain that people in our respective TFA offices read our blogs. Not that I have a problem with this exactly, but, I mean, we all know that TFA is not overwhelmingly receptive to, uh, dissent, either inside or outside of its movement. I voiced a lot of my complete and utter disappointment (and disgust) at how little support I received from TFA holistically last year and I guess I just don't care as much anymore because I never once obtained an adequate explanation (or apology?) for that. I know a lot of people seem to experience guilt and shame from the TFA staff they deal with (like people who choose to quit or who don't have sufficient/good data, etc). I didn't have this experience. Instead, I experienced being basically ignored by TFA from start to present. I don't even fill out those little surveys they give us anymore. Any support or help I received last year surely did not come from TFA, and I don't expect that to change much. My "need" for TFA has severely diminished. I am excited to finish my commitment and teach without any obligations to TFA anymore. I don't even harbor bitterness towards TFA for this. I don't know what else to say about it.

September/October Weekend Update

thebigpr — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:26:26 +0100

So I haven't posted in a while. However, I have had a draft from right after Labor Day just sitting here waiting to be released to the world! So I added a quick October update to it as well. This post is half-September and half-October recap. Let's get to it! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 6th, 2012 Labor Day weekend was glorious. As it comes to an end, I already feel the atmosphere around me slowly shifting towards serious, muted, diligent tones from the fun, lackadaisical, carefree aura of the weekend. I've now had a chance to remove myself a little further from the past week (my first full week of teaching) and reflect on how it went and what to focus on going forward. Overall, my week was solid. On a scale from horrendous to terrific, 'solid' is slightly above the middle. My students are hilarious and I have substantial evidence for which students will need to be engaged and tapped into before they become intense behavior problems. The greatest reassurance from the week was my interactions with the faculty and administration at my school. I feel very fortunate to have a deeply supportive and organized faculty with me and a school with tremendous resources. It is truly a blessing that not many of my friends and fellow corps members are afforded! The enormity and overwhelming nature of what I will be doing on a day-to-day basis has reared its head every once in a while, especially before I close my eyes. I do not know if that will subside or not, only time will tell! ________________________________________________________________________________________ November 4th, 2012 Oh man. Wow. Phew. October is over. First round of this 9-round boxing match was a tough one. I definitely was knocked down a couple of times. I'm still in the ring though. I'm still standing. Barely. But I have plenty left in the tank and water definitely feels good on my face.. I think I pretty much exhausted that metaphor, but I love it. I have 9 rounds. This first one didn't go so well. However, I have plenty of time to recover. Those students I mentioned above (the ones who need to be engaged and tapped into before their behaviors get out of hand?)...oh boy. I definitely had good foresight with that one, but not everything works the way you planned I guess. I have had some wins, no doubt. Both my 6th and 7th graders have performed above the district average on their county-wide benchmark assessments. That was a happy moment. However, their averages were a 60.5% and a 70%, respectively...not so good. I get to teach with AMAZING co-teachers who undoubtedly leave me humble and, frankly, optimistic about what I can potentially become. I'm not there yet, though. And that feeling pretty much exemplifies what October and probably November for a first-year teacher can be summed up as: "Not there yet".

A serious question

ellegee — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:47:01 +0100

How do you have a

conversation about gangs

with a six-year-old?

On the Strike

aea107 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:07:44 +0100

It's bad enough how much trouble the general public seems to have in grasping all the things that can be functioning poorly in a school district. The anti-union--actually, anti-teacher--rhetoric that virtually all major media outlets are outputting with regard to the current strike in Chicago is utterly despicable. But what is actually unfathomable to me is the other TEACHERS who think that coming down against those striking in Chicago at the moment makes them somehow morally superior, as though they care more about children, or are willing to sacrifice more for our nation's children. First things first. The school year in Chicago will almost certainly extend to cover the logistical cost of teachers striking for one or two weeks at the beginning of the year. So that argument can go completely out the window, in my opinion. But secondly, and more importantly, an issue that I, too, have experienced, when thinking about my school's (NCLB-mandated) obsession with good attendance: Who cares if the students are there, when they're not learning, either way.** What the teachers in Chicago are trying to tell the general public through the act of striking is that the conditions in their schools are so bad, so reprehensible, and so dangerous, that the teachers cannot do their jobs unless something changes. This is not a matter of "suck it up, deal with it, do your job, get over it." This is a matter of something drastic needing to change. Striking is a last resort. And I commend the Chicago Teachers Union and the teachers behind it who are trying to do something about it. Baltimore faces a lot of similar problems to Chicago, from what I've been able to glean from my own research into the strike. We don't have art teachers, nurses, or wraparound services. We have unqualified or completely absent "social workers" (and speech pathologists, and special educators, etc.) with 1,000 student caseloads per person. We have incredibly dangerous, dysfunctional, defunct working conditions. We have a city that is utterly enamored with the charter school movement, at the expense of its general enrollment schools (such as the one I work at). We have crappy, city-backed curricula. We have enormous class sizes and no paras. We have all kinds of problems. (We also have a superintendent whose driver makes more money than the governor, for example.) One divergence Baltimore can claim from Chicago is that we're not in a wage-war, per se, but the union has had to fight with the district headquarters about raise and AU denials already this year. And as for the issues in Chicago centered around teacher pay, and all the people naysaying the strike over it being a symptom of greed or gluttony on behalf of teachers: So what? Even if the strike were just about money, I would STILL support it, because there's no one in this entire country who honestly believes that public school teachers make TOO much money, right? It's easy to latch onto that issue and claim it as the only reason the teachers are "taking off work," but any casual research into the topic and Rahm Emanuel's history can clearly see that teacher wages are just a thin layer of the toxic school environments he has ensured through his governmental tenure. Yes, I agree that a strike--and all out closing of schools--would be a bit overkill if the issue were JUST over teacher compensation, but I vehemently disagree that teachers should not be permitted to protest our crappy salaries, especially in working conditions such as the ones Rahm Emanuel has provided for his employees. I could draw one thousand parallels, but suffice it to say, teachers have just as much of a right as anyone to protest the amount of money they make. At the moment, for what the job entails, it's not enough. What truly disturbs me about this strike is the way the general public, including much of the teacher population of the United States, has reacted to it. How dare these greedy teachers stand up and demand better working conditions, better salaries, and, I don't know, air conditioning? If you have worked inside a school, you can surely attest to the fact that things like access to nurses/social workers/special educators, safe hallways, air conditioning, and so on and so forth, have absolutely everything to do with the wellbeing of the children in the school. To criticize teachers for being selfish or greedy and not prioritizing the children is laughable. Like I said, if you force children to go to school in a place that doesn't meet their physical, intellectual, or emotional needs, then they are, honestly, just as well off at home, or on the street. And yes, even as someone who teaches pre-K on the westside of Baltimore, I truly believe this.** I stand in solidarity with the teachers of Chicago who have banded together to say: Enough is enough. I wish, wholeheartedly, that other school districts could stand with them in a true show of solidarity. To the public who is concerned with the lack of childcare, schooling, and support that the children of Chicago are currently being subjected to, I suggest you take this is a very clear, very loud message: America may hate its teachers (that much, based on political propaganda, from both sides, especially recently, is virtually guaranteed, at this point), but America also needs its teachers. If you are horrified at a glimpse into a week without public school teachers in your city, respond to it by fighting against your government, not your teachers. Your government created this mess in the first place. Your teachers are brave enough to stand up against it, in an effort to fight for the conditions that your children deserve. If you write off this strike, and all of the political baggage that has led up to it, as being a mere symptom of greed on behalf of the teachers, then you must think your students don't deserve the better conditions that the teachers are fighting for. And that is truly sad. And to the teachers of America, who are insulting this strike and degrading the teachers standing behind it: It must be nice to be you. You clearly work in environments where you have nurses, art teachers, safety protocol, ensured salaries/raises, and fair, equitable systems of teacher evaluation. Your job clearly isn't constantly being threatened by arbitrary, unfair evaluations, race-based teacher layoffs, and the burgeoning charter movement that threatens the very foundation of public services for Americans. That must be nice. But you may as well be on a different planet from inner city school teachers who don't have access to these things and security from the barrage of political tools and rhetoric that is always nipping at public school teachers' heels. **- Perhaps I should clarify this point. Yes, I think it is better for school-aged children to be in school rather than doing... whatever it is school-aged children do... all day, truant and without supervision. But I feel that people too often fall into the trap of assuming that school inherently MUST be a safer space for children in the inner city than their homes, or even their streets, are. I am here to say that this is not necessarily true. Students are subjected to bullying, poor supervision, little-to-no academic content, racism, sexism, homophobia, propaganda, violence, drugs, and a whole host of other horrible things in many inner city schools. Pretending that these schools are so-called "safe spaces" for anyone (or at least a better alternative than whatever else) can make governmental officials as well as teachers and parents fall into the trap of NOT fighting for better working/learning conditions because schools are at least "the lesser of two evils," right? Wrong. When a school doesn't even provide heating (such as mine) are you going to tell my pre-K students are physically more safe there than they would be at a head start program or community daycare service that provides heating and a safe physical environment for them? Ideally, yes, the children would be in school, obviously, hello, I AM A TEACHER, I BELIEVE IN SCHOOL, but if your city is not providing your children/students with the physical, emotional, and intellectual environment that is crucial to their physical/emotional safety and capacity to learn, then yes... there is a problem. A very, very big problem.

September 11

biologybug — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:30:08 +0100

Today one of my students said to me, "Hey, you know what tomorrow is, right? It's 9/11." Another pipped and said, "Yeah, can you take us to NY to see the site?" I didn't know what to say and it hit me. They were so young. 4, maybe 5 years old and they hear about 9/11 but they don't get it. They don't remember an America were jobs were seemingly abundant and the middle class was strong (we could argue this points but let's not). They don't know the feeling that they live in the greatest country ever and every one loves us. The don't understand the terror of not being able to get a hold of your loved ones and not knowing if everyone was alive. Sure, they have read about 9/11. Maybe they know someone who was killed or maybe they vaguely remember the video footage and chaos but they don't remember a world pre-attacks. I was 18 when 9/11 occurred. I had no clue what had happened and had just gotten out of class and tried to call my mother. Confused why my cell phone wouldn't go through, I shoved my phone in my pocket and proceeded to walk back to my dorm. I can remember the blue of the sky with the white, fluffy clouds and the cool touch of an Upstate NY fall like it was yesterday. I was happy and it was a BEAUTIFUL day. When I walked through my into my room, everything changed. "You need to call your parents. America's been attacked and they hit DC." Those words, spoken by my roommate, will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. I will never forgot the fear or desperation as I tried to call my family. I thought, for one hour, that I was an orphan. At this time, I didn't know the Pentagon had been hit. I didn't know about the WTC or the plane in Pennsylvania. All I knew was we were under attack. As the facts started to come, I learned my parents were ok. We spent the night watching the footage, staring in shock as people jumped form the towers, crying during Bush's address and living with the fear that more attacks would come tomorrow. I don't think our country has ever been the same since that day. For me and my generation, it was an end to our innocence. As reports started to pour in about friends and friends-of-friends who had been on one of the plans or in one of the buildings, we learned the fragility of life. How do I explain that Tuesday? As we approach this Tuesday September 11, how do you make your students understand? It wasn't just a sad day in American history or a site that's fun to visit. It was a day that shocked the country, changed the country, and started an economic downfall that they will inherit.

Year Two Highlights- So Far

ellegee — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:51:38 +0100

"School is so much fun!"

"You're the best teacher ever!"

"Did you just bite me?"

Grumpy

biologybug — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:56:30 +0100

In my last job, I got to work between 9:30 and 10:30 everyday. I woke up between 7 and 8 and hit the road around 9 or 9:30. Now I find myself leaving around 6:30 which means waking up at 5 so I can make it to New Teacher Institute on time. I know the school year is going to be no different. As a result? By lunch I'm completely grumpy. I realize this is something I need to get used to. I'm no longer the night owl I once was. I also no longer have to go into work on Saturdays and Sundays. I can work from home. But when I am already ripping my hair out and we start talking about something I am extremely educated on and the false methodologies are mistaken for accurate, I want to scream. I have a lot of opinions about things. But this blog isn't entirely about my opinions. I am trying to 1) save face and 2) recognize that what I say on here will forever be out in internet land. So the fact things are being said inaccurately isn't the problem here. The problems are: 1) I'm a perfectionist. I know biology and I know it very well. But THIS DOESN'T MEAN I CAN TEACH IT. So while I want to pipe up every time I hear someone saying something about science that is wrong, my job isn't to knit-pick their understandings. Right now my job is to take the information and processes they are giving me to become an excellent teacher. 2) I am stressing about things I don't need to stress about just yet. Last night someone told me I don't need to be a 5th year teacher on my first year. Right now it is trial and error. Of course, being grumpy, I completely bit his head off. But he is right. I AM NOT A FIFTH YEAR TEACHER. I am learning. 3) Understanding sharing and stealing resources doesn't mean I have to do it their way. For example, I want objectives. So I am going to write objectives and check them off one by one. Other people may find this mundane and a waste of time. But my brain works well looking at the small pieces and putting them together into large picture so that is how I am going to roll. It will help me organize my units if I can make the connections with the puzzle pieces in front of me. 4) I need more sleep. I went to bed last night at 9:30. I am hoping a couple weeks of 9:30 bedtimes and I will be a happy camper. Caffeine may also help. Note to self - more coffee may also help. So while this has been a useful week, it has also been stressful. However, to steal from Institute ;) , not everything is in my locus of control. I have to do this no matter how stressed it may make me. Additionally, I cannot control what others know or do. I can only control how I react to others. So while we may all be stressed, I need to not let it get to me. And although not everything has been amazing, there are definitely awesome tidbits of information coming out of this week....

Pinterest for teachers

ellegee — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:40:58 +0100

An overload of

polka dots and zebra stripes,

all in pink and green.