Gulfton

I realized that I haven't really given any information about where exactly I am teaching this summer, so here is my ode to Gulfton!

I currently reside in the safe bubble that is Rice University. The houses surrounding the college are large & beautiful - this area seems fairly safe & wealthy. Six miles down the road lies an area called Gulfton, home of Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School, where I teach summer school.

Gulfton, also known as the "Gulfton Ghetto," used to be home to successful, middle-class professionals until the 1980s, when the region hit an economic decline. From then on, the area became populated with immigrants, most particularly from Mexico & Central America. The population is 97% Hispanic. Home to various gangs & acts of crime, Gulfton contrasts starkly to the Rice University area.

It blows my mind that such differing living conditions exist not even 10 miles from each other.

I am collaborating with three other TFA Corps Members to teach a class of 8 boys (together, we are called a "collab"). Last week, my collab talked to our class about how they might encounter obstacles while trying to reach their goals. A TFA teacher asked the class, "what are some obstacles someone might face when trying to reach their goal?" This was a student's response:

"Well, people need to cross the river from Mexico to get to the United States - so the river is an obstacle."

WOW. How do you respond to that? This finally makes the discussion of immigration real to me.

Despite the obstacles my students face living in Gulfton, or dealing with immigration laws, these boys don't show any of this while learning in the classroom. The majority of these boys are in summer school to get ahead so that they can be fully prepared to go to 5th grade. They want to learn.

A FEW DAYS IN PHOTOS:

How I feel, generally every day.

Rosa, a member of my collab...so tired, she misspelled excellence. She gave our group a good laugh :)

Shout out to my grandma, who turned 89 this week!

I felt like this picture captures my long days at institute - a blur.

Thanks CMA for suggesting Baby Barnaby's for lunch, it was yum!

 The Dallas-Fort Worth staff visited us in Houston and brought the region duck hats...DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!!!

DFW region wearing their duck hats.

QUACK.

Exhaustion

I now know why Teach For America Institute is called teacher boot camp.

5:30 a.m. - wake up
7:15 a.m. - arrive at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary
7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Teach, lesson plan & attend workshops
5:30 p.m. - 11 or later...LESSON PLAN

I am exhausted. It's almost 9 p.m., & I am getting ready for bed. My average of 4-5 hours of sleep each night is rough.

On the bus ride home, some random chick fell asleep on me...#TFAproblems

The good news: I made it through my first week of teaching! I taught reading for the past week, & my class is a group of 8 wonderfully smart & generally well-behaved boys. I lucked out, because I've heard a lot of horror stories from other TFA corp members about their classes - students cussing, throwing stuff, etc.

Next week I teach math - improper fractions, mixed numbers, multiplication & division. I love math, so I'm really excited. Here's to hoping I learn how to be an even better teacher next week!

Sam Houston statue in Houston!

Day 1 of teaching: message from my Corp Member Adviser (CMA). Note the time...

Horned Frogs teaching for America - GO FROGS!

Coffee is my only friend nowadays.

First day of teaching notes from CMA

Johnathan's writing assignment today. He's quite the character :)

Nerves

I teach my first lesson tomorrow...

4th grade reading lesson plan

CUE THE NERVES!!!

Ducks Fly Together

I am proud to say that I survived my first week of institute! My days go from about 5:40 a.m. - 11 p.m. (if I'm lucky), so needless to say, I am exhausted. 

I have been at school attending workshops from 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and then the rest of the day is spent lesson planning or working in groups on our assigned "homework."

***Dallas-Forth Worth region's mascot is a duck - hence, the title :)

Here is some of my week, in photos:

First day of institute! I was ready to go at 6:45 a.m., with my lunch box in hand. Looking ROUGH!

We take a bus every morning to get to our school - I am at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary.

 

The library at Rodriguez. There are about 40 TFA 2012 corp members at my site as well.

I found out I was placed in a group led by a corp member adviser (CMA). Here's my CMA, & the note he wrote to me!

 

A note I got from a student at Rodriguez :)

Houston at 4:30 p.m. I sat on the back of the bus this day, and everyone was asleep back there except me, haha.

The entrance to Rice. Seeing this sign reminds me that my day is halfway over...

On the first day institute, the Dallas-Fort Worth, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Eastern North Carolina regions were welcomed to Rice at an opening ceremony. Naturally, we had to show DFW pride, so my region made a cheer to shout out.

DFW about to practice the cheer.

Mariachis greeted us at the ceremony.

Young mariachis!

Program for opening ceremony

Getting to work when the sun is rising!

My lunch box! Lunchtime is my fav.

 I start teaching my summer school class on Monday, so my group and I made a few signs to tape up around our classroom :)

Classroom signs

Our CMA has "office hours" after we finish at the school, where he helps us write lesson plans & such. Our nights are pretty late, considering how early we have to wake up...

Midnight work session

My favorite "monument" at Rice.

I am back in DFW for the weekend for a friend's wedding - shout out to JB & Taylor, CONGRATS!!! Truth be told, I am glad to have a slight break from training. I slept about 11 hours last night, and already feel re-energized and ready to go...oh, and the pizooki helped, too!

One Week Down, Five More to go

I AM HIRED!!!

I will be teaching bilingual elementary (either 4th or 5th grade) at T.A. Sims in Fort Worth, so exciting! I was hired Wednesday, June 6th in a REALLY odd way...by "speed interviewing!" I interviewed in both English and Spanish with about four principals - it was an exhausting process.

A TFA rule is that we must accept the first job offered to us - so I gladly accepted when Principal Andrea Harper offered a position :) There are quite a few corp members already at T.A. Sims, so I know that I will have a great support system.

A text received from Principal Harper, as well as the other TFA members joining T. A. Sims

Induction at SMU - a beautiful campus

Final induction dinner at Parkland Hospital

I am now at Institute at Rice - Houston, TX! I drove the 4.5 hours by myself. I forgot how beautiful Texas country is!

Houston city

If I had toured Rice University as a high school senior, I would have immediately applied. I am IN LOVE with this campus! I'm glad TCU worked out though.

There are about 900 people training at Rice from Houston, DFW, Rio Grande Vally, & North Carolina. I have literally been running around today like a chicken with its head cut off - driving, moving, unpacking, etc. These next few weeks will be chaos, but I am so excited to start. Apologies if the blog posts slow down!

Rice University is SO amazing.

My schedule. I have to catch the bus at 6:50 a.m. each morning to teach at PRIDE Academy...

My dorm room

Rice food is DELICIOUS.

The copy room - where all 900 of us will be printing throughout the 5 weeks.

Inspiration

The resource room filled with books and people.

"One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education."

Today is the Day!

Induction at SMU started TODAY, & I am here with a happy heart & full of excitement! Also, the fact that I passed my TExES exam helped make the day even better =]

Although my morning started out a bit rough, I made it to Dallas on time at 9 a.m. As soon as I arrived at SMU, I found past & present TFA corps members parading around campus with signs, greeting all the new members...felt like I was starting freshman year all over again!

After check-in, I moved into my dorm room. I think Milton Daniel at TCU spoiled me a bit, because McElvaney Hall at SMU is just not as cool :P

My room! But my roommate was a no-show :(

I think I have a handicap room, it's enormous!

HUGE closet

This binder holds my life schedule for the week

I made some friends, ate some yummy food, & learned more about Teach for America's mission and involvement in DFW.

Our "lecture" room

Tomorrow I meet with Fort Worth ISD principals & have the possibility of finding out where I'll be teaching - *fingers crossed!*

"Milk & cookies" with our mentors for the evening

"If not you, who? If not now, when?"

"YOU are the movement."