I realize I've been awfully quiet these past few weeks. Rest assured, dear readers, that I intend to give you a proper update soon. For now, I'll suffice at giving you a brief summary of what my days have been looking like:
I leave my apartment at 7:45 in the morning, in time to catch the train to the Bronx. An hour later I arrive at my university, just in time to settle in for 9.5 hours of class. I get home at around 7:30 at night, exhausted, hungry, and with about an hour's worth of homework to do. I usually spend an hour or so upon my arrival back at my apartment relaxing and stuffing face, after which I do my homework and any chores which need to be done, relax a little bit more and go to bed by 11pm. Ok so I've only actually hit my target 11pm bedtime once, but I'm working on it. I have high hopes for tonight.
Although the above probably makes me sound crabby and possibly even disillusioned, that's not the case. I'm actually really enjoying this whole process. Though the three hour classes are a bit of an endurance test, I find that I'm better able to appreciate school and being a student since I took this past year off from academia. I'm learning about the NYC school system and the mechanics of teaching at a kind of surprisingly rapid pace. I'm also meeting so many intriguing, kind, and wonderfully intelligent people. This morning, I actually looked forward to getting to class because I realized that I enjoy spending my day with my cohort. I'm not sure how many people can say that about their jobs.
That's even more than I'd intended to say in this post, but there you have it, a little snippet of my life. I'll get more detailed soon, when I have the time and energy to tell you more. For now, I'll leave you with a quote from my Fellow Advisor, who is herself a secondary science teacher and teaching fellow. To put it into context, this was said when relating how a stranger showed her some attitude the other day:
"Really?! Really. Do you know what I do for a living? Because I'm not afraid of you."
6.24.2009
6.02.2009
Tuesday, bloody Tuesday
Today I had an observation at a school right along the border of Brooklyn and Queens. I had quite the adventure getting there - I headed the wrong way off the train and ended up wandering further into Queens than I'd like to admit before I realized my error and headed back. I also decided to break in a new pair of dress shoes for the occasion, a move I regretted partway through my misguided trek when I realized I had rubbed my heels completely raw. Limping, I admitted defeat to the shoes and stopped briefly to change into the converse I'd stashed in my bag. Though I left with time to spare and began the day well dressed, I arrived at the school twenty minutes late and wearing slacks, a dress shirt, and sneakers. Fail.
Though my morning got off to a shaky start, my observation went well. My host, Ms. H, was a fantastic teacher, and I felt inspired by how well she engaged her students in the material and at the same time quelled any disruptions before they could become an issue. From my vantage point, I could see that my host had a great deal of respect for her students' abilities and time, and they in turn showed the same respect for her. The reason I mention time is there was an interesting dynamic happening, one which I later talked to Ms. H about during her break. Due to the approaching Regents exams, she's planned out each lesson for the next week to ensure all the necessary material gets covered. The trouble, if it can really be called that, is that her students are bright and inquisitive, and though their questions were insightful Ms. H had to limit open discussion and table questions that would normally be welcome and encouraged for the sake of time. She later commented that she felt she was cheating them out of learning material they were actually interested in so she could grind through topics they had to know for their exam. But what to do?
One of the first things Ms. H told me and the other observer (also a new Fellow) upon dismissing her class was that she's gotten loads of questions about the hiring freeze. Her advice was concise and honest: there are always an ample amount of Chemistry positions in the Bronx, but there's a reason for that, too. And another bit of advice: be glad you're not doing Math, as apparently those jobs are more scarce and they're more high stakes, as the Math Regents is a graduation requirement.
Since I started preparing for this program in earnest, and especially since I moved to the city, I feel that I've been taking a crash course in educational politics. It's interesting, and a little bizarre at times, but these little tidbits are all part of the same puzzle. I may be observing another class soon, and if so I'll report back on how that goes.
Though my morning got off to a shaky start, my observation went well. My host, Ms. H, was a fantastic teacher, and I felt inspired by how well she engaged her students in the material and at the same time quelled any disruptions before they could become an issue. From my vantage point, I could see that my host had a great deal of respect for her students' abilities and time, and they in turn showed the same respect for her. The reason I mention time is there was an interesting dynamic happening, one which I later talked to Ms. H about during her break. Due to the approaching Regents exams, she's planned out each lesson for the next week to ensure all the necessary material gets covered. The trouble, if it can really be called that, is that her students are bright and inquisitive, and though their questions were insightful Ms. H had to limit open discussion and table questions that would normally be welcome and encouraged for the sake of time. She later commented that she felt she was cheating them out of learning material they were actually interested in so she could grind through topics they had to know for their exam. But what to do?
One of the first things Ms. H told me and the other observer (also a new Fellow) upon dismissing her class was that she's gotten loads of questions about the hiring freeze. Her advice was concise and honest: there are always an ample amount of Chemistry positions in the Bronx, but there's a reason for that, too. And another bit of advice: be glad you're not doing Math, as apparently those jobs are more scarce and they're more high stakes, as the Math Regents is a graduation requirement.
Since I started preparing for this program in earnest, and especially since I moved to the city, I feel that I've been taking a crash course in educational politics. It's interesting, and a little bizarre at times, but these little tidbits are all part of the same puzzle. I may be observing another class soon, and if so I'll report back on how that goes.
6.01.2009
New York City
I realize I've been awfully quiet recently. About two weeks ago, moving took over my life and I'm just now settling down in my new home. Granted that I've been here a week now.. it's taken me that long to stop wandering the city every day like a star-crazed tourist.
Ok, I lied. I'm still doing that, but the urge is calming down a little. Aside from being consumed with the moving process and the new city adventuring process, there hasn't been much to update on the NYCTF front. I finally landed one classroom observation, and have another one in the works. I'm hoping to get at least one more in the next two weeks, as I'd like to get as much experience in while I have the downtime to do so. I'm so fortunate I was able to move here several weeks before pre-service training kicks off - I was right in my estimation that it would take me that long to get aquainted with life in the city and do any decent amount of networking in a place where I know hardly anyone.
The only other report I have is that Saturday I got to meet up with a few other Cohort 18 Fellows, including thirdgenteacher. We all got to share our concerns going into the program, swap snippets of advice we'd gleaned from others, and exchange email addresses so we can keep in touch in the future. As a friend of mine from Cohort 16 said, it's good to get to know people ahead of time, because come June 15th, if they're not in your concentration and at your university, you'll never see them again. I can't wait to hear how this process goes for the people I met Saturday, and I really do hope we'll keep in touch.
The math and science immersion Fellows start today, and I hope they have a great first day. We non-immersion folk start in two weeks, and in the next few days I'll be tying together some metaphorical loose ends that I left hanging around the time I sold all my furniture in Arkansas.
Oh, Arkansas. I kind of miss it sometimes, and I'm sure I'll miss it more in the weeks ahead, but for now I'm happy and excited to be where I am.
Ok, I lied. I'm still doing that, but the urge is calming down a little. Aside from being consumed with the moving process and the new city adventuring process, there hasn't been much to update on the NYCTF front. I finally landed one classroom observation, and have another one in the works. I'm hoping to get at least one more in the next two weeks, as I'd like to get as much experience in while I have the downtime to do so. I'm so fortunate I was able to move here several weeks before pre-service training kicks off - I was right in my estimation that it would take me that long to get aquainted with life in the city and do any decent amount of networking in a place where I know hardly anyone.
The only other report I have is that Saturday I got to meet up with a few other Cohort 18 Fellows, including thirdgenteacher. We all got to share our concerns going into the program, swap snippets of advice we'd gleaned from others, and exchange email addresses so we can keep in touch in the future. As a friend of mine from Cohort 16 said, it's good to get to know people ahead of time, because come June 15th, if they're not in your concentration and at your university, you'll never see them again. I can't wait to hear how this process goes for the people I met Saturday, and I really do hope we'll keep in touch.
The math and science immersion Fellows start today, and I hope they have a great first day. We non-immersion folk start in two weeks, and in the next few days I'll be tying together some metaphorical loose ends that I left hanging around the time I sold all my furniture in Arkansas.
Oh, Arkansas. I kind of miss it sometimes, and I'm sure I'll miss it more in the weeks ahead, but for now I'm happy and excited to be where I am.
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