Teach For America teacher blogs are on Teach For Us

Prop them up, or let them fall?

alwaysawildcat — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 02:32:29 +0100

We completely ran out of paper at my school today, requiring me to ration the small stockpile I had throughout the day to make sure I had enough lesson packets for my students. This is far from the first time this has happened. But when I saw the principal this morning he seemed completely puzzled by the paper shortage, which is unusual. There was a rumor going around that he thought a disgruntled former employee had stolen the boxes after they were delivered and sitting outside. Stranger things have happened at this school. During a discussion in my grad class last night, a colleague made the comment that many corps members in our region are propping up struggling schools, like mine, that might be meant to fall. Despite the millions of comments and observations on charter schools I've read and heard in the past two years, this stuck out. We are working in chaotic, unstructured environments where there's never enough of anything, and kids don't get the help they need- not to mention the fact that employees get treated like crap, and teacher turnover is, of course, ridiculously high. Most of the time I reassure myself that my crazy-long workdays help keep my school running. But what if that's not really in everyone's best interest? There are plenty of public school options for my students. They're not perfect, I'm sure, but they have supplies. Libraries. Gymnasiums. Substitute teachers. Maybe even behavior management systems or reliable schedules. Paper. What would happen if the teachers who shoulder all the extra responsibilities in charter schools (those who do incredible amounts more than me, and of course not just TFAers) stepped back? And would it be better for everyone in the long run?

Back to School Cookies

alwaysawildcat — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:30:38 +0100

It's amazing how well-behaved and friendly students can be after a long winter break. Though I'd like to think they missed me terribly, it probably had more to do with the fact that I brought in a huge tray of my grandma's leftover Christmas cookies. M: "Wait, is that fudge? I never knew I liked fudge until now!" M: "Can I have another piece? Mine is on the ground." Me: "Why is it on the ground?" M: "I put it in my mouth and then I didn't like it so I spit it out." Me: "These have nuts in them." S: "Ms. S, did you know that the last time I ate a nut, my eyes popped out of my head?"

The Crayonmaker

alwaysawildcat — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:59:54 +0100

Ms. S, what is that? What IS that? What is that box? Why is that here? Why is it called a Crayonmaker? Can we do science now? ------------------------- Is it going to melt the crayons? Can we eat what it makes? Can I have a crayon? Can I? How about me? Not fair! ---------------------- It's melting the crayons! Can I touch it? Can I touch it now? How hot is it? Can I touch it? Somebody touched it! But I don't know who it was. ------------------------- Ms. S, where did you get this? How much was it? Your parents still had it from when you were a kid? Was that a million years ago? Please tell me how much it was. $80? $100? It belonged to your mom? How old is your mom? Seriously Ms. S, how much WAS this thing?! Wait, how old are you? I bet your mom is really old. How old are you? Are you 80? Are you 30? Are you 20? You guys, you can't ask her that! The worst question you can ask a woman is how old she is. Also, her weight. ------------------------ Ms. S. is going to take the new crayons out! Can I have one? How about me? Can just the good kids have one? I don't mind that they're sticky. I like sticky things.

Hell Week

alwaysawildcat — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:49:31 +0100

Last Monday, three of my kids were caught stealing from the Holiday gas station next to my school when they were supposed to be boarding their buses. On Tuesday, one of my kids was suspended for throwing a paperback book at me while I was teaching. On Wednesday and Thursday, everyone was back in action and behavior was so terribly atrocious (refusing to do work, screaming at each other and at me, ripping books, throwing objects constantly) that I left work each day exhausted and hoarse. It was almost as bad as last year, except for the fact that the kids weren't really getting away with anything- I was keeping track of every single last thrown paper airplane and doling out the appropriate consequences. They were just choosing to continue anyway. On Friday, I was done. I got to school 30 minutes early and rearranged the entire classroom. My three main instigators were isolated, as far apart from each other and their classmates as physically possible. Then, I took EVERY item out of every desk and dumped it in a huge pile on my centers table. Every textbook, notebook, paperback, loose paper and random item. Everything. The kids walked in at 7:25 and thought I'd lost my mind, which was entirely possible. For the whole day, they were allowed to have nothing on or in their desk except for the paper we were currently working on. Halfway through the day, I passed out one binder to each student. Every paper from the day had to go inside of it immediately after we were finished. No one was allowed to have their own writing utensil; I passed out 22 capless pens at the start of every subject and collected them at the end. It was extremely tedious to manage, but we got through it, got our work done and seriously cut back on behavior issues. I reminded the kids every hour that they had no excuses left- no missing materials, no one "stealing" their favorite pencil, no loose objects to throw around- nothing. So any misbehavior that was still going on would be directly reported to the discipline dean and their parents, every day, regardless of severity. Since last Friday, I've gradually allowed back tiny freedoms. A few students are allowed to use their own pencils. Each student has 2 textbooks back in their desks. Most are allowed to have free reading books. This is what works for my classroom right now. I'm making tons of parent phone calls every day, it's exhausting to manage, it removes responsibilities from the students and it's not the happiest environment. But learning happens, meaningful work sometimes happens, and children aren't harming each other. I've read a few ed reform articles lately that touched on the idea of whether we should support schools that we wouldn't send our own children to. I'm far away from having my own kids, but I still can't imagine sending these hypothetical future children to my school or my own classroom. Does that matter, though? The parents at my monocultural school value strict, quiet, no-nonsense educational environments. The students respond better to this as well. Even when my classroom isn't on total lockdown, I run a tight ship. In the past, when I struggled to implement partnered and group learning activities, the kind that I remember constantly doing in school, administration advised me that silent independent work was better. Urban schools, especially many of the successful charter networks, tend to be no-nonsense operations. Strict behavior expectations, silent lunches, the works. Clearly, this method can work. I just don't know if it's right for me to run a classroom and work at a school that I would never want my own children to experience.

Yes to Obama, No to Star Wars

alwaysawildcat — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 18:09:45 +0100

Here are some happy quotes, because this week has been rough. All are from answers to this week's current events questions: Who do you think is going to win the election? Why? Obama because a lot of people are voting for him. Obama because I like his ideas better Barack Obama he won't let us leave Obama because he had more votes. Obama because he won an election before. Mitt Romney because he's white. I want Obama to win because he made lots of good changes. Obama will win. Because he will make healthcare better. Are you glad that there will be new Star Wars movies? Why or why not? No, because Star Wars I don't watch. I'm tired of my siblings watching it. Yes because we get to watch more movies. No because it's boring. No!!! I'm a girl. Yes because it's been awhile Yes because I'll watch them. No, because I hate Star Wars. Yes because it'll be nice to have another movie. No because I don't like Star Wars. Yes because it will help the economy.

Eid Mubarak!

alwaysawildcat — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:35:15 +0100

Today was the last day of first quarter and the day before the Eid holiday. The days leading up to and after Eid are probably the easiest to make small talk with absolutely any child in school, because they ALL want to tell you about their Eid plans. Girls start coming to school early in the week with elaborate henna designs on their wrists and hands. Several students were absent from each class today to prep for the holiday, including getting their Eid outfits. Some of the older kids choose to fast the day before. The student council also organized a Middle School Carnival today to celebrate the end of the quarter, complete with Bouncy Castle. One of my boys won a fistful of candy and sought me out in the cafeteria to brag: "I'm fasting today, but look how much candy I won! I'm literally dying to eat it!!" And then, the actual day-of-Eid plans: the majority are going to Mall of America to ride the Nickelodeon rides all day, but some are checking out Valley Scare, the halloween-themed amusement park. Plus, a couple are going to Old Country Buffet. My favorite part of Eid is assigning a "What I Did for Eid" narrative essay the Monday after, and receiving 20-some breathless accounts of the FASTEST roller coasters EVER that they rode over and over until they felt like puking, seeing EVERYONE THEY KNOW at the mall, and eating 17+ plates of food even though OMG they were already so full!!! ........................................ My class was at their usual pre-holiday behavior level today, which means bouncing off the walls insane. They are no longer surprised when I ask, "did you happen to eat a bowl of sugar for breakfast?" Unfortunately, about 1/3 of the middle school had lost too many behavior points to actually attend the carnival. So, of course, I was "the meanest teacher ever." Fair. On the bright side, M.O. asked to spend his free time adding extra details to his city-state diorama. One of the sixth graders in the other class gave me two of his carnival tickets so that I could play against K. in the ring toss game. A. got all riled up when the class instigator declared that she was too shy to read us the student council announcements, and then she delivered them beautifully, with confidence. And I got all my grades done, prepped for Monday and left school so ready to get on a plane to Chicago tomorrow morning.

Comparatively awesome.

alwaysawildcat — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 03:00:49 +0100

I just read a post by another second year about how year 2 of TFA is just so much more "even." That captured my feelings about the past 6 weeks so perfectly that I finally worked up the motivation to write a decent-length post about Year 2 so far. Ridiculous things are still happening at my school, yes, but I have enough experience now to smile knowingly and move on with my day. I don't know if I'd go far enough to say I feel competent at my job, but I don't dread going to school anymore, and that in itself is a pleasant change. I don't sit in my car early in the morning and wait as long as possible before walking into the building (unless there' s a really, really good song on the radio!). I don't feel stressed out and sick on Sunday nights. I don't panic about what I'm teaching tomorrow and stay up late throwing together lessons, or sacrifice sleep to throw something resembling an academic paper together for grad school classes. I don't panic when a student throws a completely new challenge my way. When the principal comes into my classroom unannounced, the schedule changes for the millionth time, when my prep period gets taken away or when -surprise!- I have another new student, I suck it up and move on. For the most part, I sucked it up and moved on last year, because I didn't have much of a choice. But I wasn't coping very well. And I wasn't sleeping, or eating very much. And even though I loved my kids, I really, really hated my job. I vividly remember thinking last fall that I was spending every last ounce of my mental and physical energy just trying to survive my job, and that if the tiniest little thing happened to go wrong in my personal life (or god forbid, a less-than-tiny thing), that would probably be the last straw. Luckily, I made it through last year without any major crises, so I never had the chance to test my theory. Last Sunday night my car window was smashed and I was up half the night dealing with the police, but I was still at school Monday and got through the day just fine. I don't know if that's really a victory worth bragging about, but I'll take it. Not to mention that now I'm always prepped for the next day, usually ahead of schedule, or at least I know specifically what I need to accomplish during my prep period and after school. My to-do list is long and never gets quite finished, but it's realistic. I even occasionally do the reading assignments for my grad class. (Emphasis on occasionally). What hasn't changed? Like always, I love my kids. It's amazing how quickly you can get attached to a room full of 22 eleven-year-olds, despite their clashing personalities and raging hormones. Yep, I have some difficult ones, and some new behavior challenges that I haven't quite figured out yet. I've already given several super-serious lectures and had to lay down some serious consequences (no locker privileges, gasp!). But for the most part, students do the work that I ask them to. They're kinda-sorta invested and I'd bet most of them wouldn't even tell you that they hate me. So yeah, second year is just in general a lot better. My work/life balance is still far from sustainable, but I'm good with this for now. And yeah, I know I'm probably terribly jinxing myself and something atrocious will happen at school tomorrow. I think I'll also take this opportunity to introduce the cast of characters you'll likely be hearing a lot about in this space:

H. wrote his "Best Day of Summer" essay about egging houses and almost getting arrested. (Best line- "I never knew before that it was wrong to throw eggs at houses!')
A., who's moved on to 7th grade, but caught my attention earlier this week by screaming profanities about somebody's momma on the gym bus. ("But Ms. S, what was I supposed to do when he said something about my mom? Just sit down and be quiet?!?")
A., who asked a great clarifying question after I made it exceedingly clear that I don't want to hear your momma jokes in my classroom ("What if I say 'Jo momma?'")
I., who cried when I told her that stealing Skittles from my desk was just as bad as breaking into a car and stealing stuff (ok yeah, I get a little dramatic sometimes...)
M., who dramatically confessed to me that he has never learned long division, and has also informed me that he's never learned more than in my class :)
More to come.

Is this real life?

alwaysawildcat — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:57:27 +0100

After telling myself all weekend that I would avoid going into work, I drove to my school late last night to make copies for Monday morning. (Like usual, several other CMs were there, too). I walked out to my car in the school parking lot about an hour later to find that someone had thrown a huge rock through one of the back car windows. He then proceeded to loot through my glove compartment and throw the contents all over the car. I have a pretty nice GPS unit, but that wasn't good enough for this intruder. Nope, he decided to take only the jumbo bag of Skittles, which I had planned on using at school this week for a science lab on observations. Seriously?! Seriously. I made sure to include the Skittles in the police report.

Zombies: America's next achievement gap?

alwaysawildcat — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 20:33:17 +0100

I'm in D.C. this weekend at a Bellwether Education conference for teacher bloggers. According to the current presenter, I should not annoy my readers by using "trolling" headlines like the one above. Whoops. In all seriousness, I've been learning a ton of great stuff about blogging in general, and specifically for teachers who want to blog about ed reform issues. It's made me realize more than ever that current teachers have an incredible opportunity to use their perspective and voice to make significant contributions to the ed reform debate. People involved in education are often frustrated with politicians who make/support education laws, but don't have much insight into the daily struggles of students and teachers. This is even more reason for us to share our stories- even if they're just random snippets of our days or amusing student quotes. Also, it's been very cool to see that current CMs and TFA alums are well-represented at the conference.

Ready.Set.INDUCTION!

ollieoats830 — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 04:43:03 +0100

Hello again! I am writing to you now after a glorious week of meeting the amazing TFA Twin Cities Staff, my fellow 2012 Corps Members, the 2011 Corps Members, and some TFA alum in the area. I honestly believe that Induction was transformational and necessary for me. I don't want to sound cheesy but Induction brought me a sense of closeness with my Corp (probably because it's one of the smaller Corps with only 40 members), with my Staff, and with what I will soon be proud to call my community and my home. I know I have a lot left to learn about the area, about the kids, and about being an educator but after this week I know that I am making the right choice and that this is where I need to be. I know Institute is going to try me and I will have plenty of moments where I feel like just pulling out the tiny bit of hair I have on my head but Induction has brought me this new confidence and fire that assures me that I can do this. I am not perfect. I've come a long way to get here and I have a long way yet to go but this part of the journey is necessary. I intentionally spared you the details of Induction but I will give you a very stripped down version of what occured. There was session after session from 8:30a till about 5p each day with a lunch break in between. I spent plenty of time getting to learn a bit more about my Corps and Twin Cities Staff , the specifics of the achievement gap in the Twin Cities and the forces in the community striving to break the achievement gap and end inequality in the Twin Cities. We spent time with the 2011s and gained vast knowledge and insights from them. I may even have already found a place to live! Now I am up, a little tired after a long day of hanging out with the 2011s and looking at a possible apartment. We decided as a Corp to split up into groups by car and all travel down to Chicago around the same time (about 7 am). Right now: I am tired. I am excited. I am a little nervous. I am pumped to spend approx 8 hrs in a car getting to know 3 of my fellow Corps Members. I am ready to go to Institute! Only lord knows when next I'll post and what my attitude on this whole thing will be but thanks for reading and until next time. Cheers! Olamide