Diversity, Creativity, and my Bouch
One thing that I've noticed at Institute is that diversity comes in many shapes and forms. I was worried about my color and my political tendencies going into the Delta. But being here, I've realized that even we white liberals come in a myriad of forms. I'm used to being around people who think and speak like me. To my surprise (honestly) most of the people here don't. I have come across many more religious people and Southerners than I did at Cornell.
Teach for America, in their relentless drive for diversity awareness and sensitivity, created "Affinity Groups" -- basically support groups of like-minded people that corps members could choose to attend. I really considered going to the "Agnostic" one. The other groups I fit in (women and Caucasians) just didn't feel as minority, seeing as the majority of people here (although not by much) are women, and white. As a note, there is a "Jewish" group, a "Non-Western faith" group, and a "Christian" group. I guess just about anyone can feel like a minority. To use a $10 TFA word, it all depends on your schema.
I don't have a problem with people who take their faith seriously, nor do I have a problem with Southerners. I am just not used to either group. I'm the one who talks funny here. I'm the one without minister parents. I'm the one who doesn't go to church on Sunday. Every Sunday morning, I still wonder in my sleep-fogged brain: why are Andrew and Lawton dressed up? Why did Elizabeth set her alarm so early? As it says in one of my pre-made lesson plans, the first step to learning is to know what you know and know what you don't know. And I'm learning I don't know more than I thought I didn't know.
It's even worse with the whole creativity thing. I am quoted on the quote list my roommates and I kept (by the way, what happened to that?) as saying "I'm itchy for a craft project." I used to think of myself as fairly creative and crafty. But tonight I went to Institute Learning Team, which is basically where we break into little groups and go around the room to hear veteran TFA teachers give us their best ideas on whatever topics. They taught us math songs and calendar math systems and diagnostic ideas I never would have come up with, and it seemed so natural.
All of the veteran teacher that are here try so hard to give us ideas to use in our own classrooms in the fall, and to save us from some of the pitfalls that they made. In that way, they remind me of my father, who tries to help me avoid the mistakes he feels he made or nearly made as he entered adulthood. Although I try to soak up as much of what they say as I can (we go at breakneck speed, so it's very difficult), I think it will behoove me to remember that to truly become the best that I can be, I have to try all of my ideas as well, even those that have not been reccommended to me. After all, you have to take the risk to win big.
Classroom stories of the day:
K-- came into class today with a big smile. "Ms. H--," she said, with a big smile, "I passed my reading TAKS!" (The standardized test she needed to pass to get into 5th grade). I can't take any credit, but I loved seeing how proud she was. She showed off her pride in her accomplishments later in the day again when my collaborative handed out our week 1 progress reports. "Look Ms. D--," she said to her regular classroom teacher, "I got one good and four excellents!" (for conduct throughout the week.)
M--, who is very difficult to get to participate or even engage, gave me a sly grin in Math/Lit hour (small group guided practice) when I asked what he did over the weekend. He claimed that he drove his mother's car 10 miles, with his friend in the front seat and his mother in the back, almost hitting a cop car.
Mr. P--, one of my collaborative members, taught writing today. He was covering the structure of a sentence. Evidently, there are 5 important parts (subject, verb, makes sense, capital letter, punctuation), and he made up a rap, put on some rad sunglasses, and got the class clapping and rapping along.
I'm teaching reading this week. It is much harder than science! I'm teaching the main idea and supporting details all week long. Tomorrow we are doing "Fourth of July Day," because I found some good reproducibles about main points. I'm going to try to incorporate scaffolded questions and a song, since that seems to go over well... My faculty advisor recommended mapping the parts of the main point on a hand, so we'll try that. Woo hoo!
The highlight of my day wasn't in the classroom. It was getting home and getting my mail -- cookies, a letter, and bills that I've already paid online. The cookies were perfect. Last night, late late late, I went downstairs to buy myself a pick-me-up candy bar and the vending machine was OUT. I have been chocolate starved. These cookies are a mixture of magic cookie bars (SO good) and chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmmmm. I made several friends in the elevator on the way to my room -- people peered into my box, flashed me huge smiles, and introduced themselves. So the mail was good. Unfortunately, I didn't get the title to my car. The MA government still needs to send that to me so that I can send it to the insurance company so that they can sue the other insurance company so that they will pay me so that I can buy a new car. Hopefully, this will all happen soon. I'm 100% healed, though!
Although I'm totally healed from the accident, I may be getting sick again. I haven't been getting enough sleep (clearly) and the sleep I do get is rather poor due to the uncomfortableness of my bouch (rhymes with couch, means matress that pulls in and out of the wall about a foot so it's a couch during the day and a bed at night.)
Here it is:
Teach for America, in their relentless drive for diversity awareness and sensitivity, created "Affinity Groups" -- basically support groups of like-minded people that corps members could choose to attend. I really considered going to the "Agnostic" one. The other groups I fit in (women and Caucasians) just didn't feel as minority, seeing as the majority of people here (although not by much) are women, and white. As a note, there is a "Jewish" group, a "Non-Western faith" group, and a "Christian" group. I guess just about anyone can feel like a minority. To use a $10 TFA word, it all depends on your schema.
I don't have a problem with people who take their faith seriously, nor do I have a problem with Southerners. I am just not used to either group. I'm the one who talks funny here. I'm the one without minister parents. I'm the one who doesn't go to church on Sunday. Every Sunday morning, I still wonder in my sleep-fogged brain: why are Andrew and Lawton dressed up? Why did Elizabeth set her alarm so early? As it says in one of my pre-made lesson plans, the first step to learning is to know what you know and know what you don't know. And I'm learning I don't know more than I thought I didn't know.
It's even worse with the whole creativity thing. I am quoted on the quote list my roommates and I kept (by the way, what happened to that?) as saying "I'm itchy for a craft project." I used to think of myself as fairly creative and crafty. But tonight I went to Institute Learning Team, which is basically where we break into little groups and go around the room to hear veteran TFA teachers give us their best ideas on whatever topics. They taught us math songs and calendar math systems and diagnostic ideas I never would have come up with, and it seemed so natural.
All of the veteran teacher that are here try so hard to give us ideas to use in our own classrooms in the fall, and to save us from some of the pitfalls that they made. In that way, they remind me of my father, who tries to help me avoid the mistakes he feels he made or nearly made as he entered adulthood. Although I try to soak up as much of what they say as I can (we go at breakneck speed, so it's very difficult), I think it will behoove me to remember that to truly become the best that I can be, I have to try all of my ideas as well, even those that have not been reccommended to me. After all, you have to take the risk to win big.
Classroom stories of the day:
K-- came into class today with a big smile. "Ms. H--," she said, with a big smile, "I passed my reading TAKS!" (The standardized test she needed to pass to get into 5th grade). I can't take any credit, but I loved seeing how proud she was. She showed off her pride in her accomplishments later in the day again when my collaborative handed out our week 1 progress reports. "Look Ms. D--," she said to her regular classroom teacher, "I got one good and four excellents!" (for conduct throughout the week.)
M--, who is very difficult to get to participate or even engage, gave me a sly grin in Math/Lit hour (small group guided practice) when I asked what he did over the weekend. He claimed that he drove his mother's car 10 miles, with his friend in the front seat and his mother in the back, almost hitting a cop car.
Mr. P--, one of my collaborative members, taught writing today. He was covering the structure of a sentence. Evidently, there are 5 important parts (subject, verb, makes sense, capital letter, punctuation), and he made up a rap, put on some rad sunglasses, and got the class clapping and rapping along.
I'm teaching reading this week. It is much harder than science! I'm teaching the main idea and supporting details all week long. Tomorrow we are doing "Fourth of July Day," because I found some good reproducibles about main points. I'm going to try to incorporate scaffolded questions and a song, since that seems to go over well... My faculty advisor recommended mapping the parts of the main point on a hand, so we'll try that. Woo hoo!
The highlight of my day wasn't in the classroom. It was getting home and getting my mail -- cookies, a letter, and bills that I've already paid online. The cookies were perfect. Last night, late late late, I went downstairs to buy myself a pick-me-up candy bar and the vending machine was OUT. I have been chocolate starved. These cookies are a mixture of magic cookie bars (SO good) and chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmmmm. I made several friends in the elevator on the way to my room -- people peered into my box, flashed me huge smiles, and introduced themselves. So the mail was good. Unfortunately, I didn't get the title to my car. The MA government still needs to send that to me so that I can send it to the insurance company so that they can sue the other insurance company so that they will pay me so that I can buy a new car. Hopefully, this will all happen soon. I'm 100% healed, though!
Although I'm totally healed from the accident, I may be getting sick again. I haven't been getting enough sleep (clearly) and the sleep I do get is rather poor due to the uncomfortableness of my bouch (rhymes with couch, means matress that pulls in and out of the wall about a foot so it's a couch during the day and a bed at night.)
Here it is:
posted by Jessica at 5:50 PM
2 Comments:
I like your new look -- very fancy . . . but I do miss the link to Lin's blog, even though he hardly ever wrote in it.
what's "scaffolded questions"?
Is the problem with the bouch that it sinks in the middle? Maybe you could drag it to the floor every night.
take some vitamin C (do you need some?)
Oh, the new look was put up in about half anhour last night in an attempt for Grandma H. to be able to read it. I did add the background (a map of Mississippi) myself, though! Hopefully I can figure out the html and customize it even more.
The problem with the bouch is that it's a thin plastic mattress on a metal bed frame. And you can't tell in the picture, but during the day, when the bouches are pushed in, there is about a bouch width between my bed and Elizabeth's bed. (To imagine the whole room, take my side and make the opposite wall look exactly the same.) At night, when our bouches are pulled out, there is about 2 feet between our beds. Not really enough room to put a mattress on the floor, even if I wanted to.
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