Funnies

After being immersed with 800+ Teach For America corps members, facilitators, etc for 5+ weeks, I've noticed certain "buzzwords" used during sessions & conversations that never fail to make an appearance.

Fundamentally. Transformational. Push back. Action plan. Vision. Resonate. Reflect. Truly. Really. Transparent.

Here is a video that knocks some of the TFA lingo. It's important to note that not EVERYONE speaks like this, of course! This video is a bit of an exaggeration, but I got some good laughs from it.

For some more laughs, check out this Tumblr blog called "#whatshouldTFAcallme." The blog description is pretty accurate: A blog to keep TFA corps members from losing their minds along with all their free time.

End of the Beginning

Today was the end of Institute, a place where I grew as a student, teacher & leader. A place where I met so many wonderful people & teachers. A place where my heart will forever reside, because this is where I truly learned what Teach For America was really all about - and became part of the cause.

Today was the end of the beginning.

THURSDAY:

My empty classroom. Bye, summer school.

My collab. Thank you Paco, Rosa & Melissa for being such wonderful friends & teachers!

 After the last day of school on Thursday, my roommate Cindy & I celebrated at the pub on-campus. Cheers!

Representing DFW with our duck hats.

Teach For America then had closing ceremonies, filled with inspirational speeches, from 7:30 - 9 p.m. It was the last time all of the Houston, San Antonio, DFW, Rio Grande Valley & Eastern North Carolina 2012 Corps Members were united in the same room.

Program for the night.

 The ceremony also had some really cool acts - specifically a drumline from YES Prep North Central & a shuffling act by Kreativity has Spoken. Check out these videos:

FRIDAY:

My CMA, Leland, had an emergency stash of chocolate pandas for our cohort. The rule was that if you were about to have/were having a mental breakdown, you could open the box & eat a few pandas. Luckily, the box was left sealed until the final day. We celebrated by eating the pandas together :)

Holy pandas.

Cheers to no breakdowns!

My cohort. My family. Y'all are amazing.

Last day of school

Today is my final day as Ms. Castro at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School. I am excited to move to the next chapter of this TFA journey, but I am sad to say goodbye to my first class of students. I told them they would all have a special place in my heart, & they laughed at me...but it's true!

Pre-assessment versus post-assessment test grades

My collab received the results from the tests our class took, & were filled with mixed emotions. Generally everyone improved, but some students' grades actually decreased. How does that happen? The defeats definitely impacted us more than the triumphs. We all have a lot of growing to do as teachers.

Zumba time

 Yesterday, all teachers & students spent 1.5 hours doing Zumba. I don't know why we had to dance for that long, but I was pretty exhausted after 1 hour! I felt ridiculous & it was weird all around, but definitely made some good memories during it all. We actually danced to Shakira's "Waka Waka," which was great because I already knew the dance (don't judge).

Screenshot of my end of Institute Survey

 TFA has us complete surveys ALL THE TIME. & get this - they are not anonymous. They send each corp member a personal link with an individual password to track each CM. Also, we have to take the surveys at school, where facilitators we "judge" are. Personal opinion - there is no way these surveys can yield very good data, because they are completely skewed by so many factors. With facilitators roaming the rooms during survey time, I think CMs feel pressured to censure their opinions. Who knows.

 Other random happenings:

Today's bus ride to school felt like I was in a horror movie - thunder, rain, lightening, etc.

A prize we are giving away to a student today. I think it's creepy, but I hope 10 year-old boys think otherwise...

Mr. Lara with the bat.

Summer Jam

Institute ends THIS Friday. YES.

My excitement to finally have a "summer" is mixed with some sadness - I will have to say goodbye to my students, to my friends from other regions (Houston, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Eastern North Carolina), & the faculty when I depart from Houston.

These past few weeks have been absolutely exhausting. I am at week 5, & feel completely drained; I can't remember the last time I've been this tired! As a result, I've chosen sleeping over blogging :P

Last week ended on a high note - my collab group got to take 3 of our students to Rice University to show them what college was all about (the program was called Summer Jam). I have so many wonderful pictures of my students, but since they are minors I am not allowed to post them online :/ so here is what I have instead!

Mr. Goins (middle) and Mr. Lara with a student.

Horned Frogs!

Some more horned frog hands

 

Before the afternoon Summer Jam celebration started, students & staff started dancing to "The Wobble."

An awful picture of our guest speaker, Vince Young, at Summer Jam.

Last nights events - TFA Prom - I had to skip to finish homework...

A Teacher's Life

"Ms. Castro, can I go to the bathroom?"

"No Luis, we only have 3 minutes of class left."

"But it's number 2!" (holding up 2 fingers).

Blank stare..."GO."