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.
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)
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