Do it with passion or not at all

I have been at Institute for two weeks now at Rice University in Houston, Texas. As someone put it, “Houston is like waking face first into a blow dryer.” I couldn’t agree more, it is about 110 with a 30% humidity at least! And I thought Phoenix was bad…

With anything you do, the beginning is always the toughest. I’ve learned to be more flexible than I ever thought possible. From changing lesson plans last minute to learning more acronyms than I know words. Waking up at noon has unfortunately now become a foreign concept. It’s now a 5 am wake up call… or 5:30 if you press snooze three times like me. However, to say the least I can already tell how immensely I’ve grown as a leader and as a future teacher as a result of this experience.

I am teaching first grade this summer at Piney Point Elementary. My students are incredible and to see them grow each day is truly inspiring and motivating. While other Corps Members have had to deal with cursing and school fights, I feel fortunate that some of the biggest scolding I had to do was with a few of my students that thought it would be funny to fart at the reading circle… I quickly corrected that mistake.

My Corps Member Advisor (CMA- I promise I’ll try to avoid all the acronyms) has been so helpful and comforting throughout the process. She has taught me so much and will go on to be a principle of her own school this next year. One thing in particular she showed us was this video below. If you ever have 5 minutes, watch this. It completely inspired me to “do it with passion” and give my 100% each day, especially in regard to being a strong advocate for higher education.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAMLOnSNwzA

Fortunately Teach for America recognizes the countless hours that go into our work at Institute and has had quite a few social events for us. This past week, we had “TFA day” where the Corps Members from each school dressed up spirited, had chants and challenged each other in several competitions (capture the flag, karaoke, sand volleyball, etc.) Still can’t picture what I’m talking about? Just think of a giant cheer camp full of passionate teachers all wanting to rep their school… yep, pure TFA insanity. The best kind.

(Amanda and I at TFA Institute kick off)

(TFA Induction dinner in Dallas, hosted by the Mayor)

(TFA Alumni Bar Crawl, discovering our new nightlife in Uptown Dallas)

It takes change to make change.

“Help those you think you cannot. Whatever you are attached to, let it go. Go places that scare you.”

Wow. What an incredible, inspirational week at Teach for America Induction in Dallas. To say the least, it has definitely been a roller coaster of emotions (and by roller coaster, I don’t mean the navigation of the million Dallas highways).

I began my first day feeling immensely overwhelmed. Once my Dad got in the cab to the airport, I burst into tears… for the first time in my life, I felt completely scared and alone. I came to the DFW Corps knowing not one single person, feeling separated and isolated from my family and close friends. Not to mention being exhausted from the long hours and emotional exhaustion. This foreign feeling of “homesick” crept up on me, making me realize how much my life is about to change.

It wasn’t until one of our school visits that I finally realized that this overwhelming feeling of change was the first challenge I would have to overcome in order to implement what I came here to change.  The school principle read a quote that has truly resonated with me and reminded me why I am passionate about this work, “Help those you think you cannot. Whatever you are attached to, let it go. Go places that scare you.” This quote is something that I am going to relish for the remainder of my TFA journey and of my life.

The next day I was able to visit the school that I will be teaching at in the fall, KIPP Destiny Elementary. Our school is still in the process of being built, and it has come so far! I am so incredibly blessed and honored to serve as a founding kindergarten teacher for the school and to lay the foundation for many years to come. The educators apart of this school are each immensely talented and relentless individuals and I know that working with them is undoubtedly going to grow me and challenge me as a teacher leader.

Not only do I feel proud to be teaching at KIPP, which was founded by two Teach for America Alum, but I am also blessed that I have been placed in the Dallas-Fort Worth TFA region. The movement in this region is vastly supported by the community and several DFW school districts and charters. The Dallas Mayor even came to one of our banquet dinners to speak about the movement and it’s progress since the region opened in 2009.

While many of the sessions were engaging and inspiring, one of my favorite Induction memories was hearing some of the “TFA touched” students speak at the Dallas Zoo Banquet dinner. It was truly moving to hear their personal stories and the confidence and curiosity that they have cultivated through their educational experience with TFA teachers. I hope that my students will one day be up there speaking about their future visions and how education has transformed their life by enabling them to see the vitality within them self.

After signing my lease in Dallas and becoming a resident in uptown, it was time to head to TFA institute to join the rest of the Texas TFA Corps Members in Houston…