1. What were my expectations for the day?
2. What are the high points of the day?
3. What are the low points of the day?
4. What is one experience that caused me to grow today?
5. What am I excited about for tomorrow?
1. My expectations for the day were high. It is Friday, and I knew even if the day was long, everyone would be energized by the thought of a couple of days off. Not that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed every day that we've been in training, just that the days have been loooong. I haven't been in a school this continuously since student teaching, and then I got to be the person who knows lots of things instead of the person who is just a goon trying to learn things. I expected the day to be similar to the others in that I got a TON out of the sessions. Not too many expectations beyond that.
2. High point that we got to talk for an hour and a half about literacy! We got to talk about our favorite books, what kind of literature we grew up reading, why we read what we do, etc. It was AWESOME and I could have talked about it for the rest of the day no problem. It reminded me of an activity we did yesterday which was reader's theatre where a group of us read a scene from Roald Dahl's The BFG, a line from which graces the title of this post. I love reading and I don't care who knows it! Secretly praying that I get to be a literacy tutor this year.
High point that we also learned about youth development today, which was SO PERTINENT to what we will be doing. We learned about what children need at different ages and how best to reach them in certain stages. For example, a child from 11-15 needs to feel like they belong more than anything, so you cannot call them out in front of their friends unless you really want to have an unhappy kid and a possible scene on your hands. I had learned about this stuff in Ed classes at Purdue, but coming at it from the perspective of helping kids who are struggling in emotional areas as well as academic, the lesson took on another layer of meaning. I love when lessons do that.
High point that I got to go deeper into getting to know people today. During our reflection time, another corps member and I revisited our life maps and basically just had a conversation about where we came from. We also had an exercise where we did an Ubuntu walk with a stranger where we try to find how we are tied to them and what we have in common. I love getting to know people on a deeper level. I was talking to my best friend from home yesterday, and we both said how frustrating it is to start from ground zero with new friends when you have quality friends from before. I long so much to have close friends in San Antonio, and I know that I will eventually. I'm just stuck in the purgatory that is trying to make friends. Okay, step back, that was super dramatic. I am not having a hard time making friends; I just can't wait until I get passed the point where I'm worried that they think I'm crazy. I want to get to the point where they know I'm crazy and they're okay with it. :)
High point that our Crazy Team got super emotional today during reflection time. I love Crazy Team Traveler so much, and even though I'll miss them when we get placed in our school teams, I am so thankful that I've had a chance to know these people. They're all pretty awesome and we are going to be a force for CYSA this year. We'll most definitely take you there.
3. Low point that I was randomly super tired today. Friday syndrome? Idk, just felt like my eyelids were heavier than usual. I'm sure a weekend off will lighten those babies up.
4. I grew today when I reflected on what I believe about education and how it should be done. We've talked a lot about education and civic policy and how it will affect our job as corps members. We talked a lot today about our relationship with our teacher and how important that is. I truly believe that City Year is a positive force in the classroom. We're doing what is proven to help kids succeed. We're helping teachers help kids, and that's a beautiful thing. I also wanted to share a quote that Dr. Drennon shared with us during her lecture earlier in the week but I forgot to post.
"There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people." Thomas Jefferson
This is so true. A lot of people get caught up in the "What's fair?" in education when things like Robin Hood laws get put in place and Title 1 gives poor schools more money. I'm just going to tell you: City Year does not treat all students equally. I will be serving a small group of students who have been show to struggle in attendance, behavior, our course work in math or English. While it's not "equal," these kids were not born equal to some of their peers. There is no reason for us to get tangled up in who deserves what for what they or their family has or hasn't done. It's not worth it. These kids need my help so that's what I'm going to give them.
5. I am excited to find our our school placement on Monday. Besides my dread of leaving Team Traveler, I am SO READY to know where I will be all year and who I will be working with. Just for the record, my hope for this placement is that I'll be a ELA (English/Language Arts) tutor in a high school. But you guys know that I'll will serve to my utmost wherever I am placed. :)
2. What are the high points of the day?
3. What are the low points of the day?
4. What is one experience that caused me to grow today?
5. What am I excited about for tomorrow?
1. My expectations for the day were high. It is Friday, and I knew even if the day was long, everyone would be energized by the thought of a couple of days off. Not that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed every day that we've been in training, just that the days have been loooong. I haven't been in a school this continuously since student teaching, and then I got to be the person who knows lots of things instead of the person who is just a goon trying to learn things. I expected the day to be similar to the others in that I got a TON out of the sessions. Not too many expectations beyond that.
2. High point that we got to talk for an hour and a half about literacy! We got to talk about our favorite books, what kind of literature we grew up reading, why we read what we do, etc. It was AWESOME and I could have talked about it for the rest of the day no problem. It reminded me of an activity we did yesterday which was reader's theatre where a group of us read a scene from Roald Dahl's The BFG, a line from which graces the title of this post. I love reading and I don't care who knows it! Secretly praying that I get to be a literacy tutor this year.
High point that we also learned about youth development today, which was SO PERTINENT to what we will be doing. We learned about what children need at different ages and how best to reach them in certain stages. For example, a child from 11-15 needs to feel like they belong more than anything, so you cannot call them out in front of their friends unless you really want to have an unhappy kid and a possible scene on your hands. I had learned about this stuff in Ed classes at Purdue, but coming at it from the perspective of helping kids who are struggling in emotional areas as well as academic, the lesson took on another layer of meaning. I love when lessons do that.
High point that I got to go deeper into getting to know people today. During our reflection time, another corps member and I revisited our life maps and basically just had a conversation about where we came from. We also had an exercise where we did an Ubuntu walk with a stranger where we try to find how we are tied to them and what we have in common. I love getting to know people on a deeper level. I was talking to my best friend from home yesterday, and we both said how frustrating it is to start from ground zero with new friends when you have quality friends from before. I long so much to have close friends in San Antonio, and I know that I will eventually. I'm just stuck in the purgatory that is trying to make friends. Okay, step back, that was super dramatic. I am not having a hard time making friends; I just can't wait until I get passed the point where I'm worried that they think I'm crazy. I want to get to the point where they know I'm crazy and they're okay with it. :)
High point that our Crazy Team got super emotional today during reflection time. I love Crazy Team Traveler so much, and even though I'll miss them when we get placed in our school teams, I am so thankful that I've had a chance to know these people. They're all pretty awesome and we are going to be a force for CYSA this year. We'll most definitely take you there.
3. Low point that I was randomly super tired today. Friday syndrome? Idk, just felt like my eyelids were heavier than usual. I'm sure a weekend off will lighten those babies up.
4. I grew today when I reflected on what I believe about education and how it should be done. We've talked a lot about education and civic policy and how it will affect our job as corps members. We talked a lot today about our relationship with our teacher and how important that is. I truly believe that City Year is a positive force in the classroom. We're doing what is proven to help kids succeed. We're helping teachers help kids, and that's a beautiful thing. I also wanted to share a quote that Dr. Drennon shared with us during her lecture earlier in the week but I forgot to post.
"There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people." Thomas Jefferson
This is so true. A lot of people get caught up in the "What's fair?" in education when things like Robin Hood laws get put in place and Title 1 gives poor schools more money. I'm just going to tell you: City Year does not treat all students equally. I will be serving a small group of students who have been show to struggle in attendance, behavior, our course work in math or English. While it's not "equal," these kids were not born equal to some of their peers. There is no reason for us to get tangled up in who deserves what for what they or their family has or hasn't done. It's not worth it. These kids need my help so that's what I'm going to give them.
5. I am excited to find our our school placement on Monday. Besides my dread of leaving Team Traveler, I am SO READY to know where I will be all year and who I will be working with. Just for the record, my hope for this placement is that I'll be a ELA (English/Language Arts) tutor in a high school. But you guys know that I'll will serve to my utmost wherever I am placed. :)
I think comment #4 is profound. It about sums it up. We aren't talking about statistics here, these are real kids who need a lot of love. You will give them that love!
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