Latest posts from English

Jun 19 2013

Driving Around the Delta

My husband came to visit me at institute this past weekend. It was so great to see him after being away from him for 3 weeks. My momma and our family friend also joined him during his visit. I finally got my car back after buying it a few months ago (it is a yellow…

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Jun 18 2013

Institute Week 2

Last week was a whirlwind of sessions and preparations for our first days in class. I have never felt so overwhelmed in my life (and I have lived/moved to another country). It was really strange for me to go to sessions after being a teacher and learning about all of the TFA teacher stuff. I…

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Jun 16 2013

Biking and building and… teaching?

Last summer, I rode a bike from Charleston, SC to Santa Cruz, CA for affordable housing through a program called Bike and Build. It was one of the hardest and most amazing experiences of my life, and I am finding that my summer spent with Teach for America is quite similar to it in a…

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Jun 11 2013

Shout outs!

This will be brief but everything is going well! Shout out to Service Master for providing all Corps Members in Memphis with a $25 Amazon gift card to help us get our classrooms started. It is sincerely appreciated. Trying to decide how to make the best use out of mine at the moment… I spent…

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Jun 09 2013

Impending… Induction.

In nine days, I start Induction in Newark, NJ.  So many feelings. In all honesty, this is the first time I’m moving away from home in any permanent sort of way.  Going to college only a 20 minute drive from my family was incredibly convenient.  Even though I didn’t go home every weekend like some…

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Jun 09 2013

Acclimating

Some things I still need to get used to: Being (and introducing myself as) “Miss Mason.” Being asked permission to go to the bathroom The spontaneous barrages of personal questions (and determining whether or not I should answer them) [EDIT: I started writing this blog post in February, and realized I left it as a…

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Jun 09 2013

Summer Limbo

Summer vacation has begun and I find myself in a curious state of limbo.  A school year didsn’t come to a nice, tidy ending.  It kind of sputtered out toward the finish.  Towards the end, the kids were a little more feisty.  They knew we were out of disciplinary options.  There wasn’t Saturday School anymore.…

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Jun 09 2013

Wise Words from Mississippi

It has been surreal to be at and finishing induction this week. After a whirlwind of traveling from China, I finally made it to Mississippi. I am so happy to be here. The first few days were hard as I battled saying goodbye to my family and jet-lag. However, I am growing into my position…

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Jun 06 2013

Taught, Teach, Will Teach

Well, I made it through Year One. Our students finished school about two weeks back, we had a week of inservices to make up for snow days, and then I packed up and headed out for the summer. I don’t really want to spend too much time on my personal struggles during my 2nd semester,…

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Jun 06 2013

Personal Philsophy of Education

Keeping my head up. There are many update to be had, particularly about: Recent required three day professional development about common core The first official LEAD 21 Walton Leader Scholar seminar last weekend (AKA re-introduction to grad school) The major game-changers that have happened for my job Instructions to get involved in the revamped, revised,…

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