About this Blog
a big apple in the city of brotherly love
It’s been a while. Here’s a short list of some of the things that happened during my first year in the classroom.
I feel in love with a 4th grader that never learned to read.
I made lots and lots and lots of copies.
I cried.
I re-learned how to play hand slap games and sing multiplication songs.
I sweated. A lot. Enough said.
I had three lock downs.
I had one student be expelled.
I watched as students and teachers alike came and left and came and left.
I saw how thoughtful young children can be.
I saw ten year-olds devour books like they hadn’t eaten in years.
I watched as students screamed, kicked, cursed and cried.
I rubbed twenty-nine backs every, single day.
I saw students brutally fight each other. With words and fists.
I met a nine year old in the 1st grade.
I had “the talk” with my girls.
I was gifted a robot made of a shoebox, salad tongs and mini…
Geez, I cant’ even believe so much time has passed! Since the last time I wrote, I got married, moved to Philadelphia, survived Institute, began training with my placement school and am now getting ready for my students before their first day on Tuesday! It’s a lot, I know. And I’m sure you don’t want…
read more »Yahoo! I just got word that I’ll officially (or “tentatively” as TFA insists on telling me) be teaching elementary education at one of Philadelphia’s Renaissance schools come fall- specifically that I was hired by Young Scholars Charter School!! I am beyond thrilled about the news, especially as Young Scholars was actually my top choice after…
read more »While I anxiously wait to hear how my interviews went last weekend (we should hear of any offers by tomorrow), I’ve been eagerly gobbling up any little bit of information about Philadelphia’s education issues/events, reform and schools. One of the sites that has proved invaluable for me in learning more about the process and climate…
read more »This past weekend I took the $10 Chinatown bus on over to Philly for a Friday evening interview prep night and a full day of interviews on Saturday. All and all I think my interviews went really well. I got to meet and speak with some of the Charter schools really making a difference in…
read more »It’s getting really close now and I’ve been running around getting a ton of stuff done. Friday I did a classroom observation at Achievement First in Brownsville… It was truly an inspiring experience and I’ll reflect on it some more when I have a chance to come up for air, but in a nutshell the…
read more »And in the thick of it! My pre-institute work arrived and I’ve been heavily involved in reading all the necessary work. Since I requested the “largely soft copy” it’s a bit more difficult as I get most of my reading done on the commute to and from work- but I’ve been making it happen. I’m…
read more »While I wait for my pre-institute work to arrive, and since I’ve been done with classes since December, I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on relating to TFA, education inequality, first year stories of teaching, etc, etc. So far I’ve read and would recommend the following books: *Wendy Kopp’s One Day, All…
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