Let's see, where was I?

Close readers of my blog, and I know you are many, may have noticed a bit of a lull in the action. Well, I tell ya. I was coasting on fumes towards the end of Institute and, as much as I was looking forward to the final day, like Christmas, it arrived and passed so quickly I hardly noticed.

Suddenly, the collaborative I had been teaching with for five weeks were gone, off to Connecticut and Chicago, respectively. The "CMA" group, a dozen other teachers with whom I spent most of my time, scattered to the winds. Only two of us stay in Philadelphia. Poof.

So, now another chapter begins. There's really no need for me to rehash how difficult Institute was. Think boot camp. Enough said. What's next then? Well, they unceremoniously kick us off Temple's campus 24 hours after Institute ends and I had yet to find a place to live. I was waiting for the perfect situation to arrive and it just wasn't presenting itself. I'll also spare you all (and myself) those details.

The 3x5 card summary is: I moved into some friends' place for a few days until I found a place. I'll move the rest of my things tomorrow. I'm staying with four other TFA-ers, all of whom are "oh-fives," as we say. It will be great living with a group of guys who have already been in the trenches for a year (don't you just love all the military metaphores?). The house is nice enough though I really would have liked to live by myself after three years of sharing a warehouse with seven other people. Still, the rent is low and I'm only a couple miles from my school.

After two days of gluttony, I've made the most of the rest of this week, my last vestige of free time before school starts. I got my PA license and registered my car here, too. I figured I would go legit. Insurance is switched over, yadda yadda yadda. That all took an entire day of phone calls and waiting in line and running around. Tomorrow I need to pick up some stuff for my room -- I sold everything before I came out here and have been sleeping on my Therm-A-Rest (Gabe-style) in an empty room since I left Temple. Dresser by Tupperware. It's all good.

I start school at the end of August. I'm hoping to visit Mariana Bracetti Academy tomorrow or Friday to meet all the important people, get the low-down on the curriculum, and see my classroom. MY classroom. How cool is that? Between now and the start of school, I have more TFA training, a week of UPenn orientation/classes and a week of training at the school itself. I've been using as much of my time as possible lately to work on classroom management/investment strategies, parent/guardian letters (in two languages), and the myriad of other things that need to be in place by September 1.

The five weeks I spent teaching summer school were probably the most difficult five weeks of my life. Certainly in recent memory. I haven't met with a great deal of failure in my life, but I felt like I was beating my head against a wall...and even that didn't help (go figure). On our last day, I pulled one of my students aside to say goodbye. Kristy had been obstinate all summer. We were told by another teacher that she was diagnosed with something that sounds a lot like being a kid. Her reading and writing skills are far below grade level (which, sadly, doesn't put her in the minority). Still, towards the last week or so of class, she seemed to focus a little more; she called out answers that no one else was getting and was spot on in her assessment (even if she forgot to raise her hand). I told her I was proud of how hard she was working. And, when I told her she had the second highest writing score in the class, her face lit up (I've read about students' faces lighting up, but never knew what that looked like until that moment). She said, "I did!?" and I saw her eyes water up, as if no one had ever told her she did well. And, after digging as deep as I could to summon up my own motivation to get up every morning and beat my head against the wall some more, I suddenly wished Institute lasted a little longer.

It wasn't all a success. Neither Andy nor John showed up on the last day. I'm not sure I could blame them considering the fact that we already took the final test two days earlier. And, maybe they knew something I was only about to discover for myself, which is: summer school doesn't matter. Every one of my students was passed on to the fifth grade (a decision made far above my head) despite the fact that most of them had learned very little. One of the students on our roster didn't show up to a single day of class. She was graduated, too.

John and Andy were the two biggest instigators in our classroom. John joined us part way through the summer after physically threatening a student in a neighboring classroom. He had been held back twice, I'm guessing for behavior issues. He performed somewhere in the middle of the group academically-speaking. But he just couldn't pass up being the cooler, older kid in the class. The big fish in a small pond. His goal is to become a SWAT officer here in Philadelphia. I called the team and was informed that less that one percent of all PPD officers become SWAT; and, I told John he had to demonstrate positive leadership skills to even be considered. I think it was too abstract. I'm not sure I got through.

And there was Andrew who was very soft-spoken, but must have been at summer school just because. He was easily fifth grade material. Karl was doing algebra and had one of the highest writing scores, even though he's technically ESL. We lost two students part way through the summer to the ESL teacher -- they just didn't understand English well enough to learn in the standard classroom. And I suspect that at least two others should have been in ESL, too, but they didn't have any more space. You know, it's so easy to think of these kids as "not quite as smart," but when you think of it, they're becoming bilingual and I can hardly speak English without confusing the people around me, let alone converse in a second language.

Those and a hundred other successes and failures, small and large. I wonder where our 16 summer school students will wind up. I don't feel like the system was designed in a way to help us be as successful as possible with our summer school kids. They'll always be my first students, but I spent such little time with them, I wonder how long it will be before I can't quite remember Mark's name or Jane's face.

All I can do is move forward I suppose. Use those successes and failures to build my own confidence and reinforce my determination to do better.

Thanks to Holly for reminding me to write.

Week 4

I'm pleased to say that it's 11:30 pm and I'm nearly ready for bed. The truth is, I'll never be ready for bed. There's always more I could be doing. We just finished around of assessments and my kids aren't doing well. Which means I'm not doing well. I'll be the first (and third and sixth and tenth) to point out the numerous structural challenges that are thrust upon us by Teach For America that get in the way of us making big strides with our students. But those are fixed and there's more that we can be doing within those limits. I hate that our learning process happens at the expense of the kids in my class. I suppose it's not unlike a teaching hospital -- the patients are getting supervised care, but maybe not the best care in the world. Then again, maybe I'm being too hard on myself.

I'm staring Week 4 in the face. Last week was hell week and there were honestly times when I didn't think I'd make it. It's been a long time since I've felt that way about anything. And I know there are challenges around the corner; some I know very well, others that will leap out of dark alleys and catch me unaware.

We just got a new student late last week. He was moved out of his classroom next door and dropped off in ours a day later by the security guard. This student made written threats of violence towards his classmate so they felt it best that he be moved. Funny thing is, they neglected to tell us. We had to ask to find out what the deal was. Nice. I'm doing everything I can to get this kid on my side. He's older and bigger than the rest of the kids because he's been held back a couple times. He says he wants to be a SWAT team member, so I'm using that as a hook to redirect his poor choices. If I can get him on board, the rest of the class will be easy to manage. They implicitly look up to him. He's the lynchpin.

So, onwards and upwards to Week 4. Time's running out and I feel like I've never quite done enough. But, off to bed nonetheless.

My Dearest Friday,

Friday. Dear Friday. You've been with me every step of the way. Every seven days, no matter what's happening in my life. You're there. Dependable. The thing is, I haven't appreciated you until now. It took 19-hour days with only 90 minutes off to eat dinner for me to realize how important you really are to me. When you're not here, I think of you every other day (except Saturday and most of Sunday...but I know you understand). It pains me that you are so far away right now. Five days to be more exact. Five long days full of teaching crazy 4th graders and sitting through endless workshops and writing lesson plan after lesson plan. And just when I think I can't take no more, there you are. Waiting for me. Just like always. I don't know what I would do without you.

Day Two

Day two was far better than day one. I feel more rested. I'm more oriented. The sessions are a little more meaningful. There are still some frustrating issues surround time boundaries and such, but there's no need to rehash them here. I did a little yoga tonight, too, and feel a lot better, though I still need some real exercise. I'm hoping to get my bikes here this weekend.

I went to the gym here to check out the "martial arts" room they have. Turns out, it's pretty much a parkay floor, big mirror and a bunch of equipment storage. Ohh, how thrilling. I haven't trained in weeks and I'm jonesing. I can't even find a good place to swing my bokken around here. I might head over to Donovan Waite's place Saturday.

That's about it; same basic routine here on day two.

Welcome

It's 9:38 pm as I sit down to write this. My day began at 5am when the alarm on my wrist watch went off. I made a half-hearted attempt at doing some yoga in at attempt to awaken the spirit, especially since the rest of me was still fast asleep. I was pleased to see it was already beginning to get light out – I was afraid it would be dark in the mornings. By seven, we were on a humid, sticky, cramped, overcrowded yellow school bus on our way to Marîn Middle School, a short drive north of Temple.

I feel silly saying things like, "today was long" and "boy, I'm tired." No kidding. Everyone is tired. I do, however, have some frustrations over the focus of our day. Despite doing hour upon hour of pre-reading for the Institute, we spent much of today going over things at a very cursory level, essentially reviewing things we already read. We leapt from one two-minute activity to the next, each instructor modeling a thousand different ways of doing things. It was just too much; and, we never examined anything in any kind of meaningful depth. It's just day one and there is a staggering amount of information we have to cover, so I'm trying to be patient.

After dinner, we went to the Welcoming Ceremonies. There were several speakers, most of whom were fairly engaging and inspiring. Wendy Kopp, the founder and president of Teach For America, spoke for about 30 minutes. She's not the most exciting public speaker, but her message is clear and no on can argue with the quality of the organization she created. It's really quite amazing.

I'm hoping to get a good night's rest tonight and correct a few of today's mistakes: I'll sleep in a little longer than 5 am; I bought snacks to get me through the thin parts of the day (especially considering the small size of our boxed lunches). I've tried, without much luck, to get into the rec facility. They supposedly have a "martial arts room," which could be just about anything. I walked in what appeared to be the front doors tonight only for the security guy to inform me I was using the wrong door. But I can't seem to find any other entrance to the facility. I'm boggled. But I need to get some exercise soon or I'm going to go start raving mad. Well, madder.

Part of me wants to go right to bed and get some rest; the other part wants to hang out with new friends, explore the area, be social. The whole weat side of me says it would be wise to catch up on sleep and get off to a healthy start. The frosted side says, "hey, you only live once."

Home Sweet (temporary) Home

After five days of "Induction," I've moved from the Embassy Suites hotel to my new, though temporary, home here at Temple University. The suite-style dorm I'm in is pretty swank. We have a full kitchen and the rooms are generous by dorm room standards. I have one immediate roomate and two other suitemates. The four of us share two bathrooms.

Teach For America is *big* on reflection and feedback and my goal with this blog has been to do just that, though the last several months have been focused primarily on random life events as I prepared to move out here. I have to say, I'm feeling pretty good right now. Everything I brought with me is now in this room, except my two bikes which are still at Victor's place (Scott's friend). They have a bike storage room on my hall but apparently they're not allowing anyone to use them during the summer.

I have just about everything I need. I'm connected to the net. Have bedding and toiletries. My clothes are hanging up in a clsoet rather than folded into a garment bag in the trunk of my car. In the parlance of our times: it's all good.

I've been a little worried about the age difference between me and most of the people around me. I'm used to being a supervisor to "kids" (am I allowed to use that term now?) their age, so being their peer is awkward. I'm trying not to be the crotchety old man, but I'd feel better if the whole college party scene leftovers would dissipate. You've graduated folks, move on.

Luckily , everyone I've met is really cool. Those of us from the interview weekend bonded a lot and I'm looking forward to building more/deeper friendships with them all.

It's been a two month oddysey getting here. I moved out of San Diego June 1 and stayed with my parents a couple of days before spending four days in the Bay Area, then a day in Yosemite before flying to Philly for a week, Minnesota for ten days, then back to mom & dad's for a day before starting an eight-day cross-country road trip. Oh, then I moved into a friend of a friend's house for four days, the Hampton Inn for a day, the Embassy Suites for four days and, finally, Temple University. Home for five weeks.

And what a five weeks it will be. My days will begin at 5 am when I will wake up, eat breakfast and get ready to ride a bus to the school where I'll be teaching summer classes. I'll be team teaching with three other corps members and we'll all be working with various supervisors/mentors. At the end of the day, we'll head back to Temple where we'll have roughly one hour to eat dinner and relax, work out or whatever we choose before evening workshops begin. Our days officially end around 10 pm, though we'll have some group and individual work to finish to prepare for the following day. Needless to say, maintaining balance will be difficult.

I'm excited about diving into the process. At each step, I'm more and more impressed by Teach For America's approach, professionalism and forethought. I'm as interested in the company as I am about teaching. It's pretty awesome. At the same time, I'm concerned about the lack of free time. It's not like I need to sit on my butt and watch TV or something, but I'm used to training four hours a day and as it is, I don't think I'll get much more than a couple hours a week, and that will be on the weekends. It will be a good test of my organizational skills to carve out that time whenever I can.

A few of us were developing a training regimen for our hour off. It begins with changing into workout clothes in 32 seconds then running to the cafeteria and jogging in place while in line getting food. You can't sit down while you eat; rather, you should be doing lunges or stretching as you munch on carrots and such. Maybe a few jumping jacks. Loading up your tray will be like using free weights. Then, you run back to your room and shower in 46 seconds, get dressed again in professional attire, and get back to the program.

This summer is going to be a challenge, but there is tremendous energy and excitement and talent here and I'm looking forward to seeing us all apply everything that we are to this endeavor.

Maintaining this blog will be a challenge, too. I think taking 15 minutes each night or so to reflect on the day will be helpful in many ways, and will help keep the blog up to date. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be up in six and a half hours!

Flowers for Zoe

I've learned that many of my pop culture references are lost on a majority of '06 corps members. To them, Ozzy is just some dude on another reality show on MTV. Luckily, The Simpsons transcends generations, much like Zeppelin and umm Barry Manilow.

Nevertheless, one of my favorite Lenny Kravitz songs is "Flowers for Zoe." That Zoe was Lenny's daughter; the Zoe in this picture is an '06 Philly corps member. She and Matt and about 15 or 20 others were with me in May at the Philly hiring weekend and we all bonded pretty closely, especially since we got back to Philly and started Induction.

She has a sharp wit and a dry sense of humor, so even if she doesn't get my outdated pop culture references, she appreciates the spirit in which they were made. Phew.

Ms. Crooke

Matt's cover letter from UPenn was addressed to "Ms. Crooke." He lasted about three minutes until he just couldn't stand to leave it uncorrected any longer and changed the "s" into an "r." Matt is from just outside of Philadelphia, from a place called New Hope (wasn't that the name of Episode 4 of Star Wars?). This picture was taken on the way to see the house that he and a couple others are renting. I've been invited to take the fourth room and I'm really interested (in the house and the people) but I'm not too keen on the neighborhood. It doesn't grab my soul, so to speak, and it's fairly far away from where I'll be teaching. But, we'll see.

Yeah, that's a good one

La La La Luuuuuuke....

Another brief stop was Sandusky, Ohio. I looked for the plant where Tommy Boy works but all I found was a giant amusement park. Oh well. I pretty much included this entry so I could make that joke so uhhhhhh I'm gonna go now.

Sandusky was my final stop before getting in to Philadelphia. I can't believe the trip is already over!