The Long Lost Blogger Returns!

Well folks, sorry about that hiatus. I got a lil' busy with something I like to call TFA BOOT CAMP.

Some of you might be doubting my "I'm busy" excuse, but this is a level of "I'm busy" I have never experienced. Let me share with you how my day works:

5 a.m. - Wake up to shower/get ready (the roosters are still sleeping, I checked)
6 a.m. - Head to cafeteria to pack my daily lunch (lunch box and all) and eat breakfast
6:35 - Load onto busses and head to schools
7 - 8:30 - Classroom prep time
8:30 - 9:30 - Academic Intervention Hour (we work with our class on reading, word games, testing questions to help build their reading fluency and accuracy)
9: 45 - 11:20 - My teaching time!!!! Every other day I get to teach and the days I don't teach, I observe my teaching partner.
11:20 - Walk students to lunchroom.
11:30 - 12 - LUNCH. Favorite part of the day. Especially since I've been awake for six hours at that point.
12 - 4:30 - Various teaching sessions. We meet with curriculum specialist or literacy specialist to learn about a smattering of topics: classroom management, implementing reading strategies, how to check for understanding, etc. (all interesting!)
4:30 - 5 - Bus ride home. Some of my lucky friends or families get windy phone calls during this time
5 - 6 - work out. It was a personal goal of mine to work out a couple of times a week to reduce stress. So far, so good. You should see my killer biceps!
6 - 7 - Dinner at the cafeteria
7 - 11 - PLANNING... lesson planning, investment planning, management planning...are you catching the pattern?
11ish - BED, my second favorite part of the day!

So who do I spend my day with? And where do I go?

Atlanta Institute has TFA corps members from Hawaii, LA, Greater New Orleans, Memphis (represent!), Nashville and Atlanta. We are distributed to a variety of elementary, middle and high schools to learn how to teach and then teach summer school at our prospective school. I'm at Long Middle School.

Meet my fabulous teaching team! Jean and I (bottom row) teach fiction in the mornings and Caitlin and Danny (top row) teach non-fiction in the afternoons. If I was introducing us to students, I would say, "This is Ms. Wilson-Stayton, Ms. Potter, Ms. Yates and Mr. Currie."



Now that you know a little more about what I'm doing in HOTlanta until July 10, here is my Quick List for you to enjoy:

1. "We're all in this together" - To quote the beloved High School Musical song, I have found that one of the redeeming parts of this hellish schedule is that EVERYONE is experiencing it. Every TFAer here is going through the same stress, pressure, lack of sleep, etc. which makes for therapeutic meal time conversations in which we de-stress by sharing about our days (and maybe sometimes thinking, "Sheesh, my day wasn't so bad compared to that!"). It helps to have support and encouragement, too!

2. Have you thanked your parents lately? Or former teachers? - During one of the most profound sessions I have experienced was a literacy session where we discussed the scary rates of illiteracy in our country. Did you know about 44 million Americans cannot read a simple children's story? Isn't that nauseating? It is a vicious and dangerous cycle. Many of the students I have read with over the past weeks can read, but not comprehend; they cannot predict, summarize, interpret or even describe basic details of a text they read only minutes prior to my questioning. Some of the basic skills we have while reading (making inferences, visualizing, summarizing) are things I'm trying to teach my 8th graders.

3. Developing a Strong Teacher Voice - "I need silence and eyes on me in 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1." Now say that in a strong teacher voice. We actually spent an afternoon practicing our strong voices. It is a delicate balance of care and concern, confidence and firmness. Maybe one day, you will do something to provoke this teacher voice. I'm guessing Caitlin (my sis) will be the first to test that out.

4. Quotes and Questions - Every once in awhile, I get questions or here things that make me smile. Naturally, I record them. So enjoy a couple.

Ahmad: "Did you go to lots of college parties?"
Me: "I don't know what those are?"
Students: "Yes you DO! We know about them too, don't worry."
----
Ahmad: "Are you going to be a teacher?"
Me: "Ahmad, I am a teacher. What do you think I'm doing here?"
Brice: "Babysittin"

5. TFA Lingo - From attending CS sessions and LS sessions, to working with our CMA and Collab, to perfecting our INM, GP, CFU and IP in our LCs, Teach for America is full of abbreviations. I won't take time to explain because it is all too much to explain...just know there are a lot!

On that note, I will leave you all with promise to blog again soon: TTYL!

And so it begins...

I'll start this blog with the cliche first-time blogger phrase: "Well, I've never blogged before and thought I would give it a shot."

It's true though. I have never blogged. And I want to give it a whirl. With all the "newness" in my life that I would like to share with friends and family, I thought a blog would help spread the word. My promise to you: I will avoid lengthy paragraphs and opt inside for my go-to format of list making. So I hope you come back periodically to view the "Quick List" in my life...o, and pictures coming soon!

Today's Quick List:

1. Induction in Memphis: Last week, I stayed at Rhodes College in Memphis for Induction. TFA training consisted of meetings and panels to discuss TFA mission and core values, our leadership development, hiring process, Memphis city and culture, etc. It is all extremely informative and I tried to become a sponge to soak in the information. More importantly though, it has hightened in me a desire to excel next year to provide my future students with an incredible educator and education.

2. My Memphis Corps: This year, Memphis has 106 first-year corps members, which is double the size of last year! It is such an eclectic group. We represent a variety of states (Utah, Alaskan, New York, KANSAS, Arizona, etc.) and a variety of backgrounds and majors (grad students, authors, journalists, lawyers, etc.). I think I have 80% of the names down and I'm determined to know all my corps by first names soon!

3. "Speed Dating" of hiring: Last Thursday, I attended a "meet and greet" for principals and teachers where I had to stop at a variety of tables and sign up for job interviews with principals. I basically introduced myself, handed over a resume and waited to see if they wanted to continue "dating" aka interview me. The next day, our Memphis group went to the interview fair and the principals interviewed us more in depth. I landed a teaching position at Wooddale High School, teaching high school English (not sure yet what grade). I'm excited to revisit some of my fav high school novels - Animal Farm here I come!

4. National Civil Rights Museum: During our Induction, we visited this museum, which encompasses the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Because many of the students that TFA teachers instruct are black, the National Civil Rights Museum brought into focus how our fight for educational equality (no matter the race) is today's civil rights issue. It was humbling to see the long history of discrimination, segregation and racism and to know my work will directly impact a huge issue (lack of quality teachers) that many under-resourced schools face.

Posting about my arrival in Atlanta coming soon!

Testing this out!

Test post!