1. How did today differ from how I expected it to be?
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. I started today with a pretty terrible attitude. Friday was a rough day because I was worried about Grandma all day, so I was all out of sorts and such. So this morning I wasn't really excited to go to school because I thought I might feel the same. Also, this week we're being more active in our teachers' classrooms, which I'm always nervous about because I don't want to offend teachers by overstepping my bounds as a corps member. But I arrived at school and I felt much better as my team started to arrive and the day went much better than I expected! I asked the teacher first thing if it was alright if I walked around and I showed her the list of "tasks" that we're supposed to complete in class this week (things like "refocus a student during class" and "model appropriate student behavior") and she was totally fine with it and encouraged us to move around the classroom and do what we needed to do. It was great and I felt back in my element as I FINALLY interacted with students in the classroom!
2. High point was definitely interacting with students in class today. One student asked me how to spell the word "character," so I told him, acknowledging that the "h" makes it tricky to spell. He thanked me, and then proceeded with his work until his tablemate asked him how to spell "character," which he proceeded to spell for him, with emphasis on the "h". :)
Also, there was a Teach for America informational meeting after our sessions this afternoon and it was super helpful! I am definitely going to apply, and even if I don't get in to the location that Pat and I have been talking about (secret! unless you ask me, haha) the meeting totally solidified that I want to teach in a high needs area after this year. I am already ready to apply everything I've learned about high need students in my own classroom with my own students!!
3. Well, this is embarrassing. So, when we got back to Region 20 for our sessions, I read the schedule and went to the room and promptly sat "front most, center most" in the classroom.
ONE HOUR LATER
I realized that no one else from my school was in there and I had actually been in the wrong room the entire time! I turned to Calaia and said, "My team isn't in here!" It was humiliating and awesome and I actually contemplated putting this in the high points section. I have absolutely no excuse for not noticing I didn't belong in there except that it's Monday. So during the break, I found my team and explained to them what happened. On my way to the next section, people who weren't in either section told me they heard I'd been in the wrong section. Word travels fast! I was embarrassed, but it was pretty funny and I'm glad everyone could have a few laughs at my expense.
A real low-light has been my walk to school from the bus stop. There is SO much garbage on the curb and in the grass. It's not like freshly-thrown garbage either, it's been there awhile. Every time I walk by it, I hear Coach Shockney whisper in my ear, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." So next time I'm at the store, I'm gonna pick up some gloves and trash bags and put myself to work. I guess there is a reason my bus get's to school 30 minutes early!
4. I think I grew today when I realized that my attitude was pretty poor. This is the first time I've really felt negatively about anything related to City Year, and it's interesting that it happened right after a weekend. It's like I couldn't remember how much I did in fact like being with my team at my school because I was so out of it on Friday and had had two days off. So I was sitting there waiting for my team to arrived in a really depressed state, and I could actually feel myself lift out of it as I interacted with my team again. It's really kind of creepy to be self-aware sometimes.
5. Tomorrow I am excited to sit in on a faculty meeting at our school! It does involve a significant amount of travel time because a few of us have to return to Region 20 to practice our speaking for the big shin-dig (Opening Day Ceremony) on Wednesday, but it will be cool to see how the teachers interact with each other and with the administration at our school.
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. I started today with a pretty terrible attitude. Friday was a rough day because I was worried about Grandma all day, so I was all out of sorts and such. So this morning I wasn't really excited to go to school because I thought I might feel the same. Also, this week we're being more active in our teachers' classrooms, which I'm always nervous about because I don't want to offend teachers by overstepping my bounds as a corps member. But I arrived at school and I felt much better as my team started to arrive and the day went much better than I expected! I asked the teacher first thing if it was alright if I walked around and I showed her the list of "tasks" that we're supposed to complete in class this week (things like "refocus a student during class" and "model appropriate student behavior") and she was totally fine with it and encouraged us to move around the classroom and do what we needed to do. It was great and I felt back in my element as I FINALLY interacted with students in the classroom!
2. High point was definitely interacting with students in class today. One student asked me how to spell the word "character," so I told him, acknowledging that the "h" makes it tricky to spell. He thanked me, and then proceeded with his work until his tablemate asked him how to spell "character," which he proceeded to spell for him, with emphasis on the "h". :)
Also, there was a Teach for America informational meeting after our sessions this afternoon and it was super helpful! I am definitely going to apply, and even if I don't get in to the location that Pat and I have been talking about (secret! unless you ask me, haha) the meeting totally solidified that I want to teach in a high needs area after this year. I am already ready to apply everything I've learned about high need students in my own classroom with my own students!!
3. Well, this is embarrassing. So, when we got back to Region 20 for our sessions, I read the schedule and went to the room and promptly sat "front most, center most" in the classroom.
ONE HOUR LATER
I realized that no one else from my school was in there and I had actually been in the wrong room the entire time! I turned to Calaia and said, "My team isn't in here!" It was humiliating and awesome and I actually contemplated putting this in the high points section. I have absolutely no excuse for not noticing I didn't belong in there except that it's Monday. So during the break, I found my team and explained to them what happened. On my way to the next section, people who weren't in either section told me they heard I'd been in the wrong section. Word travels fast! I was embarrassed, but it was pretty funny and I'm glad everyone could have a few laughs at my expense.
A real low-light has been my walk to school from the bus stop. There is SO much garbage on the curb and in the grass. It's not like freshly-thrown garbage either, it's been there awhile. Every time I walk by it, I hear Coach Shockney whisper in my ear, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." So next time I'm at the store, I'm gonna pick up some gloves and trash bags and put myself to work. I guess there is a reason my bus get's to school 30 minutes early!
4. I think I grew today when I realized that my attitude was pretty poor. This is the first time I've really felt negatively about anything related to City Year, and it's interesting that it happened right after a weekend. It's like I couldn't remember how much I did in fact like being with my team at my school because I was so out of it on Friday and had had two days off. So I was sitting there waiting for my team to arrived in a really depressed state, and I could actually feel myself lift out of it as I interacted with my team again. It's really kind of creepy to be self-aware sometimes.
5. Tomorrow I am excited to sit in on a faculty meeting at our school! It does involve a significant amount of travel time because a few of us have to return to Region 20 to practice our speaking for the big shin-dig (Opening Day Ceremony) on Wednesday, but it will be cool to see how the teachers interact with each other and with the administration at our school.
Hey...
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about having negative feeling about City Year. I get those feelings about going to work just like I did today. I didn't want to show up to work this morning and found myself getting snarky with the kids. I had to snap myself outta it by second period. It just happens sometimes, and you said it. You were self-aware about this and understood were the negative feelings were coming from.
I'm glad to hear you're embarrassing yourself! That is the Mae that I know ;) I'm just kidding, you are not an embarrassment. You are my role model on how I should behave around other students and professionals alike. I'm glad you were able to get some good interaction with your students today and that you had no problems with your teacher!
I love you a lot and am already counting down to Thanksgiving!!! It's hard to think about how long that is, but I'm gonna hold on!!!! I love you tons.
Pat