As I prepare for my second week of teaching, I find myself directly at the midpoint of this roller-coaster of a journey. One week of induction in Miami, one week of getting acclimated to Tulsa, and my first week of teaching down- I have done a LOT of reflecting. This time, however, not by choice.
Everything I really want to say boils down to this- my past experiences have really made this 'training' episode doable. Much more than doable, I must say, If I were to compare the experience I'm having to those around me who are having one hellish time here.
Without coming from the neighborhood I came from, I would not have the internal drive to align myself to this mission. Regardless of all the training and sessions they do to help prepare corps members for this kind of a culture shock, they won't know how to deal with it until they have experienced it first hand. I must say, I am definitely going to pray for some people. That's really all I can do. Lord, help them.
Without my absolutely loving family to serve as my solid backbone, I just don't know what would happen. To be honest, I can't picture a reality without them being completely loving and supportive, even if they don't fully comprehend the work that I'm doing. I can be in the next room or several states away, but the strength of the bond my family has is magical and I know it's what fuels me everyday. I am blessed and completely grateful for them.
And last but most certainly not least, without this past year working for Breakthrough, I would not have been prepared for this culture of fast-paced deadlines, BT/TFA language, and the all encompassing organism that is TFA. I'm am SO grateful of the long hours I spent day in and day out, weekend after weekend, trying to make every single action intentional and 'worth it'. Somewhere along the way, it didn't take long, I absolutely grew to love my students and their families. But I can't thank enough the people I worked alongside with, for they became my family and I needed their support as much as they needed mine.
If I hadn't of had that experience of pouring as much heart and soul out of my sleep depraved body for my BT students, then I'd probably be having a hellish time here too. But since I had almost a year of creating meaningful relationships, this is almost like a mini-let's-pretend-you're-an-undergrad-again vacay.
Let me be clear, I am not sitting completely pretty. I, too, feel the pressures of the deadlines. Being observed does cause me to be a tad bit more alert, especially when my students were acting like angels 10 seconds before my observer walked in the door, and lesson planning is still very new to me, but I have kept a clear and level head and have been able to stay on top of things, if not just a tad bit ahead. (Otherwise how would I have time to write this?)
So far, I know that I am on the right path; I feel as if i'm doing what was planned for me to do in life. While I'm still 99.9% confident that I will not be in education once the dust settles, sorry Cooper, I do know that what I'm doing now will not only leave a long lasting affect on my students but on me as well.
Until next time,
RTIII
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Induction into the 305
After spending 10 days in Miami, Florida, I know two things to be true.
1. Sometimes "Winging it" is the only way to accomplish things.
2. Southern hospitality is really only in the south.
Two Tuesdays ago, I left Texas on a plane headed to Florida. I did not have anyone waiting for me at 1am when I arrived at the FLL airport nor did I have any lodging arrangements. I didn't even fly into the city I needed to be in. My only goal was to simply arrive in Florida. Even though this sounds like an a-type personality's worst nightmare, I was really calm about the entire situation. I was not concerned or worried at all, although that was not the case for my close friends and dear mother. She was quite the opposite of calm. However, much to her dismay, I continued on my unknown and unplanned journey; I figured it would all unfold and work out, somehow.
I arrived at the airport and requested a shuttle to take me to Miami, for this was the cheapest transportation option available at 1:30am. A taxi would have cost me $80 and a fancy sedan would have cost me close to $120. After thirty minutes of waiting, and making friends with the dispatcher, a sedan pulls up and he tells me to get in. Before I could protest that I would absolutely not pay the extra money, he said that he would give it to me for the price of the shuttle. I was in the sedan before he could change his mind. Win.
Not only did I get a ride to Miami in style, my sedan driver acted as a mini tour guide giving me the native ins and outs of the city. It was great! After exploring the beautiful Miami at night, I arrived at the hotel. Now, this was the hotel I was supposed to stay at, only the hotel didn't know that. It was my job to convince them of this small but necessary truth. Upon entering, I prepared myself for the serious yet stern conversation that I anticipated having with the concierge. It must have been my night. That or 2 am is the prime time of the day that my appearance is at it's best, either way the conversation was far from stern. I made friends with the front desk easily and they gave me the keys to the hotel room, no problem. "They'll settle it in the morning!" he said. My room was awesome. I had it all to myself and the balcony overlooked the scenic pool surrounded by palm trees. Double Win.
The rest of the week seemed to follow in this fashion. I passed both teaching certification exams, was the first out of 181 teachers to register, moved into the dorms first, moved out of the dorms first, and secured housing for the year when I return after institute- All without really planning on it. I met some really fun people with big personalities that will be my colleagues and tfa family for the next two years.
I'm now at the airport heading to institute, which I hear is like teacher boot camp. I'm interested to see how the next 5 weeks will play out.
Until next time,
RTIII
1. Sometimes "Winging it" is the only way to accomplish things.
2. Southern hospitality is really only in the south.
Two Tuesdays ago, I left Texas on a plane headed to Florida. I did not have anyone waiting for me at 1am when I arrived at the FLL airport nor did I have any lodging arrangements. I didn't even fly into the city I needed to be in. My only goal was to simply arrive in Florida. Even though this sounds like an a-type personality's worst nightmare, I was really calm about the entire situation. I was not concerned or worried at all, although that was not the case for my close friends and dear mother. She was quite the opposite of calm. However, much to her dismay, I continued on my unknown and unplanned journey; I figured it would all unfold and work out, somehow.
I arrived at the airport and requested a shuttle to take me to Miami, for this was the cheapest transportation option available at 1:30am. A taxi would have cost me $80 and a fancy sedan would have cost me close to $120. After thirty minutes of waiting, and making friends with the dispatcher, a sedan pulls up and he tells me to get in. Before I could protest that I would absolutely not pay the extra money, he said that he would give it to me for the price of the shuttle. I was in the sedan before he could change his mind. Win.
Not only did I get a ride to Miami in style, my sedan driver acted as a mini tour guide giving me the native ins and outs of the city. It was great! After exploring the beautiful Miami at night, I arrived at the hotel. Now, this was the hotel I was supposed to stay at, only the hotel didn't know that. It was my job to convince them of this small but necessary truth. Upon entering, I prepared myself for the serious yet stern conversation that I anticipated having with the concierge. It must have been my night. That or 2 am is the prime time of the day that my appearance is at it's best, either way the conversation was far from stern. I made friends with the front desk easily and they gave me the keys to the hotel room, no problem. "They'll settle it in the morning!" he said. My room was awesome. I had it all to myself and the balcony overlooked the scenic pool surrounded by palm trees. Double Win.
The rest of the week seemed to follow in this fashion. I passed both teaching certification exams, was the first out of 181 teachers to register, moved into the dorms first, moved out of the dorms first, and secured housing for the year when I return after institute- All without really planning on it. I met some really fun people with big personalities that will be my colleagues and tfa family for the next two years.
I'm now at the airport heading to institute, which I hear is like teacher boot camp. I'm interested to see how the next 5 weeks will play out.
Until next time,
RTIII
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