Evaluating the First Four Months of Teaching

So to my knowledge my kids (students) learned things galore last semester, especially considering I treat them exactly like I treat Dallas in terms of teaching them new things and helping them understand how to apply those things to their lives. That’s definitely one of the benefits of being a mommy and a teacher. Every day as my kids walk in, I greet them in a very high pitched, disturbing for sure “hello, hello, hello.” I think it has become my signature considering my kids sometimes say it before I do and other teachers are beginning to say it now too. As they file in I hug each of them and tell them how much I love them. My logic: What if I’m the only one who does it daily? So yes, that three to five minutes is so worth it.

Below is a list of skills I taught during the first semester. I think we did a pretty good job. We made this list in each class and the students received extra credit for taking it home, getting it signed, and getting a parent to write a one-sentence statement in response.

Test Terms

The Most Startling Conversation

I teach four classes and an enhancement class (8th Grade, 8th Grade Pre-AP, 7th Grade, and 7th Grade Pre-AP). With each of the four classes, I made it my business to have a conversation about the achievement gap. At first, I did not think it would really matter to a group of twelve-year-olds to fourteen-year-olds. Turns out I was wrong. I started the discussion with a simple stand and sit activity where I posed statements similar to this one: Stand up if you have a mom, dad, brother, or sister who is a teacher, doctor, lawyer, professor, principal, engineer, etc. We went through several professions that require at least a bachelor’s degree. In each class I had maybe a total of four or five students stand. Next, I displayed the following statistic courtesy of TeachForAmerica.org.

Achievement Gap

Students wrote individually what the photo meant to them and then we discussed what the photo meant to them as a group. Next, I showed the following video and asked my students what they thought of the content.

“A Tale of Two Schools”

I had many students who simply wanted to make it an issue of color, but I pushed them beyond just skin color to the more deeper issues like drive, commitment, motivation, and focus. It wasn’t until I got to my last class of the day, my 7th Grade Pre-AP class, that I realized the magnitude of the conversation I was having with my students. After the lesson was over, paragraphs had been written, and discussion had ended, I had one student raise her hand and ask: “So Ms. Beck, if a person lives in the projects, are they living in poverty?” I immediately thought about the question itself. It was in that moment I realized my students envisioned poverty as what they saw on television commercials with people raising money for children in foreign countries as opposed to a single parent with two children making less than $18,000 per year or a two parent household with two children making less than $23,000. As I was thinking, I could see curiosity peeking in the eyes of most of my students. Thoughts were rapid on my end too. I can remember asking myself, do I crush what these children know as their everyday lives or do I allow them to stay in the dark forever? I could not do it. I could not sell them a dream. So I responded with a simple, “yes.” Of course my response sparked another discussion with that particular class that carried well over into the next day.

I can honestly say I think they got it. I think that last class truly understands that poverty is a cyclical thing and education is the only way to end the cycle. Their work reflects their belief in themselves and their hunger to gain more education. My final verdict is that there have been some good days and there have been some not so good days, but I love my job, I love my kids, and I love everything about what I do every day. In January, I’m going to start with another achievement gap conversation and present a few other statistics to ensure that my kids truly understand why we do what we do every day.

Anywho, until next semester,

Fran

Reading Ninja

Y’all, I’m late on sharing this, but my first grader Dallas is reading like crazy. Literally everywhere we go now he’s sounding out syllables and connecting them to make words. For example, we were in Target and he was sounding out all the food labels and reading all the posted signage. We were walking through the doors of the store and we had to stop so he could read “Automatic Door.” The only words that give him issues as of right now are those weird phonics rules like ch, y, ph, etc. It’s super exciting to experience this with him. Being literate is such a precious gift. I’m not sure he understands that part just yet but, as long as he’s learning and reading, I’m happy.

Here’s a funny: We went to see Wreck-It Ralph last weekend and he asked me if I could tell them to slow the previews down so he could finish reading one before it went to the next one. Lol.

Sn: Wreck-It Ralph was soooo good. Go see it immediately. :-)

*Update* 25 Before 25

LoveFran.com has suffered tremendously due to my first three months of teaching. Yep, I’ve been teaching since August. Wow!! That’s still surreal to me. I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences so far and I’m happy to declare something that most people are not able to: I absolutely, positively love my job. Anywho, here’s an update to the infamous list. I’ll be 23 in January, so I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next couple of years. Sidenote: I’ve made four changes to the list, but only because my interest have changed and it’s my list. Lol.

Here’s to continuing this fabulous thing we like to call life and enjoying every bit of mommyhood, traveling, creating (without an ounce of creativity in my body), loving, and learning along the way.

THE LIST

1. Graduate from college AND enroll in graduate school AND start my teaching career.

2. Touch at least one of my student’s lives AND indulge in random acts of kindness–at least one per week. (Ongoing)

3. Become financially self-sufficient AND get Dallas involved in the sport of his choice (anything besides football).

4. Visit a castle OR visit an African country.

5. Start a stock portfolio. (Ongoing)

6. Attend a music festival.

7. Attend a Los Angeles Lakers game.

8. Learn to speak Spanish, fluently.

9. Finish a book every two months including a reread of some of my favorites like The Bible and The Giver AND read at least 10 banned books AND read The Hunger Games and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogies. (Ongoing)

10. Expand my cooking skill set. (Ongoing)

11. Visit London, Paris, and Italy (take gondola ride in Venice, preferably a romantic one).

12. Start a business or nonprofit. *Changed*

13. Teach Dallas to read fluently. *Changed* (Ongoing)

14. Develop and follow a workout plan. (Ongoing)

15. Take Dallas to Disney World in California and Florida AND visit New York and Vegas. (I have been to Vegas, but not as an adult.)

16. Maintain The Guide to Scholarships, my personal blog, AND launch Within Reach. (Ongoing)

17. Grow hair back fully and continue natural journey, meaning do NOT cut, color, or perm under any circumstances. (Ongoing)

18. Obtain my master’s degree. *Changed*

19. Write a short story OR write a collection of short stories OR write a picture book OR write a novel.

20. Buy a home. *Changed*

21. Try an exotic food I cannot pronounce.

22. See a Broadway musical AND visit an opera performance.

23. Spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square of New York City.

24. Drink out of a coconut in Hawaii.

25. Buy a piece of jewelry to later use as a meaningful family heirloom.

 

Be blessed and happy Sunday all!!

Classroom Successes in the Delta

I had the opportunity to meet my kids on Monday of this past week. Simply overwhelmed with happiness, joy, excitement, anxiousness. Yep, all of that. I’ve got 26 new babies. Yayy!!

So this week, we had been doing a lot of “Get to Know” each other type of activities, as well as establishing the rules, regulations, and expectations for our classroom. The theme of our classroom is S.T.A.R. Each of our kids are S.T.A.R. students:

  • Successful
  • Tenacious
  • Actionable
  • Responsible

You probably have recognized by now that I keep saying “we.” Well, this summer I have the wonderful pleasure of working with three other awesome teachers: two math and one other English. The math teachers have them for the first part of the day and then the English teacher take over in the latter part of the day. As mentioned in an earlier post, this week the English class covered the short story “Lamb to Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. The 26, as they will commonly be referred to, absolutely loved it. I remember one day, I stopped class and said, “Okay boys and girls, that’s all for today” and they literally all started shouting “No!” and “Are you serious?” and “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Although they broke all kinds of rules with their outbursts, I loved their excitement about actually finishing the text.

Success #1: One of my kids came up to me at the end of class on Friday and said, “Ms. Beck, imma be real with you. I already told you I don’t like school and I don’t like reading, but if I had a teacher like you a long time ago, I would have been loved coming to school because I’m learning stuff and I don’t even know I’m learning stuff. You sneak us. And then if I knew there were stories like this one (“Lamb to Slaughter”), I would have been loved reading too.”

Reaction: I just smiled uncontrollably and jumped for joy on the inside.

Success #2: We were having a group discussion during AIH (Academic Intervention Hour) about role models. One of my students shares that she’s never had anyone who told her she could go to college or that she is brilliant or that she could actually be anything that she wants as long as she works hard. Then she looked at me and said, “But I have that person now.”

Reaction: Once again, I wanted to cry. (You guys will realize soon that I’m a big cry baby.) All of my kids know, I’m planning to keep in contact with them even after institute ends.

Success #3: The top administrators for institute came to visit my classroom during a lesson. While he was visiting, engagement was at an all time high and my students were defining dramatic irony on their own and giving me examples from the text based on what we had discussed earlier in class.

Reaction: Geez, I felt like a winner, but more importantly, I felt like they really got it. I tell you. That is one amazing feeling.

Success #4: As of now, my students know that it’s okay to think something is stupid or to think a character is crazy, as long as they can tell me why and give me textual evidence supporting that why. And it’s just week two.

Reaction: It’s very refreshing to know that in only a week, their thinking has been shaped to expect questions like how and why upon answering classroom questions. They know that if they respond, Ms. Beck is going to ask why and how. And the next follow up question will consist of showing me where they found it in the text. They will joke now and say, “Man, you knew that was coming.” We laugh and then they give me textual evidence.

Now we’ve got to improve this speech and writing. I know they are capable of verbally giving me textual evidence, but we’ve got to start putting it into our writing. We’ve got three more weeks in the classroom, it can be done. They just need to be taught how to do it. Before I leave, they will have an expanded vocabulary, become familiar with code-switching, become more aware of subject-verb agreement, and learn more key writing tools.

Key vocabulary we learned this week:

  • Blissful
  • Trifle
  • Console
  • Cognizant

I dare anyone to ask them the meaning of these words and to use them in sentences. :-)

Not sure if you can tell, but I love, love, love what I do. I honestly wish I had more time to help develop these kids mentally, intellectually, and professionally.

 

He Can’t Read

My Teach For America experience started with induction at Birmingham Southern College. I met so many enthusiastic BamaCorps staff and corps members. Towards the end of induction in Birmingham, someone posed the following question to me: “Why TFA? Especially considering you are already certified.” My answer was pretty simple: “Well, I’ve always wanted to teach. If you asked me in elementary school what I wanted to do, it was always teach. I love and admire tremendously the focus and aim of the program and I don’t think a teacher can ever get too much professional development. Lastly, I think I need improvement in developing more reading strategies to use when I meet a child who is in the tenth grade, for example, and can’t read.”

Fast-forward a few weeks later, I’m in the Mississippi Delta. Just as a reminder, I’m teaching entering 9th grade English Language Arts at the Greene/McNair site. Some students in the lower grades started on Friday of week one, but all upper grades wouldn’t start until the following Monday. So before I actually met my kids I had the opportunity to observe and assist a sixth grade classroom. This was my first Friday at Institute, so two Fridays ago. I’m thinking this is so cool. We are doing many different activities in the class including group activities, introduction activities, and reading activities. I’m ecstatic just thinking about being able to do all this in my own classroom.

All is going well, until I look over to a table participating in guided reading. There is a young entering sixth grader who looks completely and utterly flustered. His expressions lead me to believe that he is angry and frustrated. I walk over and pull him from the table of six and ask him if he’d like to join me in reading simply because I have no one else to read with. He instantly smiles and decides to join me without a hint of reservation. We move to an empty space in the classroom. I ask him his name and a few things about himself. He tells me he like basketball, video games, and a few other things. He also expresses a love for reading, but openly admits that he struggles with it. I immediately reassure him that I’d help him. We open the book to where we left off in the group. We begin to read together. I quickly notice I’m having to feed him many, many words, including the most simplistic sight words.

Emotionally, I couldn’t really get my thoughts together quickly enough. I wanted to cry. I realized he couldn’t read. I didn’t know what to do. My mind filled with hundreds of questions, the main question being: How could he be eleven years old and entering the sixth grade and not know how to read? So I quickly reassured myself that he could read and he was simply nervous that a complete stranger had pulled him away from his peers to read with her. All a while, I’m thinking about the question that was posed to me at induction and my response to it. Thinking on my feet, I made him a list of twenty sight words; words that I could remember going over with Dallas, my six year old son, every night since he’s been out of school. This eleven year old, entering sixth grader could only identify three of those words: I, on, and off.

This was worse than I thought. I immediately fought back more tears, as this young fellow reminded me so much of my own son and Dallas’ peers too. So I started teaching him the words on the list: And, so, was. STOP! We were sounding out the word “was;” it was then that I realized he didn’t know all of the phonetic sounds. I quickly made a list of the letters of the alphabet. We went over each one together. I had him identify the letter and the sound. He knew twenty-one letters and fourteen sounds (missing five letters and twelve sounds). Again, I was fighting tears. How dare someone not see this? How dare someone not help this child? I’m shocked, angry, upset, frustrated, and smiling. The latter because I’m hiding so many emotions from this child. I took his number and told him if his parents said it was okay we’d read together on the weekends. He lit up with joy. And then we continued with the daily routine, lunch was next.

He has since become my summer reading buddy. It’s hard because I don’t teach entering 6th grade, so I don’t get to see him everyday, not to mention I’m leaving in a very short three weeks. The hour distance and bus rides are another issue, but that’s what weekends are for right?

I am now able to put a face to all the kids who can’t read and to this fight in general. This fight is real. It’s personal. He deserves to know how to read, as does the thousands, maybe even millions of others kids all over the nation who are in the same predicament as he is. I swear to never let a child pass through my classroom not knowing how to read. Sorry for the long post, but look out for updates on the kid I shall rename Johnny.

They don’t call me Ms. Beck just because.

Teach For America: Mississippi Delta Institute

It’s been almost two weeks since my arrival in the Mississippi Delta. I’m currently residing on the campus of Delta State University. Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of your most smartest and accomplished friends. Yeah, that’s me right now. I’ve met some pretty amazing and incredible people, all of whom have a passion to change the lives of those who experience the injustice of unequal access to a quality education. Geez! My mind is overwhelmed with emotions and feelings right now, so I thought I’d bring my thoughts to the place I imagined would be most tolerant of these thoughts: LoveFran.com.

What everyday looks like:
4:00am: Wake up.
Breakfast and lunch pick-up somewhere in between wake up and last call.
5:55am: Last call for the bus.
6:00am – 7:00am ish: An hour or so of nothing but bus.
8:00am – 12:45pm: Teaching my 26 beautiful entering 9th grade babies and daily sessions.
1:00pm – 4:30pm: Lunch, sessions, structured work time.
4:30pm – 5:45pm: Bus ride home.
6:00pm – 7:00pm: Dinner.
7:15pm – until: Lesson planning, collaborative meetings, sessions, print lab, copy room, music, sleep (occasionally).
Repeat.

My favorite things about Institute (so far):

  • My 26 beautiful babies.
  • I’m teaching again.
  • I get to share this experience with my best friend, Crystalline, who is going to be an amazing science teacher.
  • Copy room from 9:00pm – 11:00pm (I think). They play nothing but 90s music. I went in one night and heard a Blackstreet song followed by a Backstreet Boys song. Heaven.
  • The aggressive mentality of those around me to change the freaking world.
  • The energy of all the staff at Green/McNair. That’s my school site by the way.
  • My CMA group.
  • The Delta communities.

My not so favorite things about Institute (so far):

  • The thought of having to leave the 26 in only a few more weeks. :-(
  • Mosquitoes.
  • The humidity. Yep, I’ve only straightened my hair once since I’ve been here.
  • 4:00am wake-up. Not the least bit my friend.
  • Dinning Halls closing early. The University of Alabama spoiled me rotten.

As far as my classroom goes, if you missed the memo, I’m currently teaching 26 brilliant entering 9th grade kids who come from all over the Delta. I met them for the first time this past Monday and my goodness, they’ve blown me away. Friday, we completed a short story entitled “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl who also authored Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. This text is for you if you’re looking for a text to: A) read because you haven’t had a good read lately, B) help foster a love for reading in your kids, or C) teach inference skills, irony, dramatic irony, or characterization. Thank me later. Well, anywho, more post to come about my experience so far. Hope you’ve enjoyed this one.

Sorry about the blurry photo.

So I Graduated From College


May 4, 2012. The day my life changed. The day that I worked so hard to see. The day I did what most people said I wouldn’t. The day I graduated college. After four years of blood, sweat, and tears, I now hold a Bachelor’s of Science in Education. Thank you to everyone who supported me over the years, especially my son, my momma, my aunt Shundra, my grandmothers, and my host of brothers and sisters whom I believe are my biggest fans, my best friend Crystalline whom I got to share another milestone in this thing called life with, and of course my line sisters who have a separate post coming, so stay tuned. Here are just a few pictures from my special day. Enjoy!

 

I feel like I just accepted an award. Lol, but yep, I was pretty overwhelmed with joy that day and that feeling has yet to go away. Thank you God for seeing me through. Remember, never allow anyone to dictate what you can and cannot do in life. :-)

Have an amazing day.

*MAJOR UPDATE: 25 Before 25*

Bonjour!! Buongiorno!! Ciao!!

Wait. I mean hello there. Excusez-moi. Mi scuci. See, there it goes again. My native language and time clock are off tremendously since I’ve returned from Europe. Once again, it has been a while since my last post and I do apologize for the major delay. I was busy graduating from college and traveling the world, but now I’m back in the states and so ready to start the next chapter of my life. I am so grateful to God for everything I have accomplished so far (which isn’t much yet). Each day that goes by I am realizing just how great and amazing my God is; I am extremely blessed. So here is an update on THE LIST:

THE LIST

1. Graduate from college AND enroll in graduate school AND start my teaching career.

2. Change at least one of my student’s lives AND indulge in random acts of kindness–at least one per week. (ONGOING)

3. Become financially self-sufficient AND get Dallas involved in the sport of his choice (anything besides football).

4. Visit a castle OR visit an African country.

5. Start a stock portfolio. (ONGOING)

6. Attend a music festival.

7. Attend a Los Angeles Lakers game.

8. Learn to speak Spanish, fluently.

9. Finish a book every two months including a reread of some of my favorites like The Bible and The Giver AND read at least 10 banned books AND read The Hunger Games and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogies. (ONGOING)

10. Expand my cooking skill set. (ONGOING)

11. Visit London, Paris, and Italy.

12. Start a business. **Changed**

13. Run a marathon.

14. Develop and follow a workout plan. (ONGOING)

15. Take Dallas to Disney World in California and Florida AND visit New York and Vegas. (I’ve been to Vegas, but not as an adult.)

16. Maintain The Guide to Scholarships AND my personal blog.

17. Grow hair back fully and continue natural journey. (ONGOING)

18. Start a nonprofit OR be invited to join a nonprofit board.

19. Write a short story OR write a collection of short stories OR write a picture book OR write a novel.

20. Figure out what type of wine I actually like.

21. Try an exotic food I cannot pronounce.

22. See a Broadway musical AND visit an opera performance OR play.

23. Obtain my master’s degree. **Changed**

24. Drink out of a coconut in Hawaii.

25. Buy a piece of jewelry to later use as a meaningful family heirloom.

Progress has indeed been made since I started this journey FOUR months ago. Geez!! I think it may be time to either start a new list or make some additions to this one. Okay, just kidding. One list at a time. Notice that I did change two of the items on my list to reflect things that I actually want to accomplish before 25: #’s 12 and 23.

Lastly, I hope I’ve inspired a few of you to actually start a list of some sort or at least just jot down some goals. Wouldn’t be right if I didn’t thank my original inspiration: Tatiana Richards Hanebutte. She’s pretty amazing, so follow her blog at www.tatianainflux.com and follow her on twitter at @tatianarichards.

Be blessed and have a great day all.

*UPDATE: 25 Before 25*

Greetings!!

It has indeed been a very, very long time since my last post. Goodness, I was starting to think I would never again have time to spend with LoveFran, BUT, internship has almost reached an end. This week marks the final week. Thank God. I love my kids to death, but I have this burning desire to have my own classroom and to do things my way. The sad part about that desire is I cannot pack all of them up and take them with me, so it’s definitely going to be a bittersweet Friday.

So here is an update on THE LIST (if an item is not listed, that means I do not currently have an update):

1. Graduate from college AND enroll in graduate school AND start my teaching career.
I have yet to graduate from college, but I will in exactly twelve days. Yes, you read that correctly. I will have my B.S. in Education in TWELVE DAYS!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. As far as enrolling in graduate school, I have applied for a master’s program, but I cannot officially enroll until I have my teacher’s certificate in hand, but I am eagerly anticipating furthering my knowledge of educational pedagogy. Gosh, I love what I do. Speaking of what I do, of course I do not have my own classroom just yet, but I am very much so actively pursuing having my own classroom. In my current placement, I have taught everything you can think of this semester including but not limited to the life and times of some of the greatest writers imaginable like Earnest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and F. Scott Fitzgerald just to name a few. My kids have been beyond great and they have taught me so much in terms of classroom management, creating the perfect classroom atmosphere, and selecting appropriate classroom materials. Every single day is different. This experience will be one in which I cherish for the rest of my life. With this being the last week I get to spend with them, I must remind myself to carry Kleenex everywhere. As far as having my own classroom goes, I have started my search and I think it’s going pretty well so far. I’ve interviewed with districts in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, and Houston (that last one is strange, I know). I’ll pretty much be happy anywhere, as long as I’m in a position where I can make a positive difference. :-)

2. Change at least one of my student’s lives AND indulge in random acts of kindness–at least one per week.
I’m not sure if I have had the opportunity to change a student’s life just yet, but I am sure that I have made a heck of an impression on several of my kids. Here is a note to me from one of my students (The kids tell her we favor so she thinks she’s my sister. I would never tell her my first name so she made one up for me. Lastly, she gave me a book to start my classroom library; she said it was her way of imprinting herself in my classroom):

“To Ms. Juanita,
OMG! You’re the best sister from an unknown parent EVER! I wish we could keep in touch, but you won’t give me your contact information! *shaking my head* That’s fine! You’re truly amazing! I’m being so serious right now! You’ve taught me more than you will ever know and that’s not just about ALL of the classroom stuff you assign us. You expect the best from me and it’s like I HAVE to be the best in your classroom. I wish you much success on becoming a teacher. Your students are going to LOVE you! WOOOO!! My hand is hurting! So…. You’re leaving on 4/27/12? :-( WHYYYYYY?? Can you babysit me sometime? Lol! I enjoyed you teacher intern! Don’t forget about me. Be blessed. *insert huge heart*

Love,
Mary Joe Ann (Yeah, I made up a name to call her too.)

3. Become financially self-sufficient AND get Dallas involved in the sport of his choice (anything besides football).
Yeah, I’m sure this will happen post 05.04.2012. Dallas still wants to play basketball. If I  can get him in a league of some sort that hosts all sports, that would be great, but that’s going to weigh heavily on where I’m living post-college. Yep, I have no idea at this point.

8. Learn to speak Spanish, fluently.
I have refocused some of my time and energy into developing my foreign language skills. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m definitely still in the beginning stages of recalling what I remember from my two years of Spanish in high school and the two years in college. I’m getting better though. I can hold a beginner conversation again.

9. Finish a book every two months including a reread of some of my favorites like The Bible and The Giver AND read at least 10 banned books AND read The Hunger Games and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogies.
Reading, reading, reading. I honestly feel like that’s pretty much all I have been doing this semester and I have been loving every second of it. I have read novels, short stories, poems galore. Some of the pieces on my list include, but of course, are not limited to: my Bible, The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Hunger Games by Susan Collins, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and “My Dungeon Shook” by James Baldwin (which I encourage everyone to read). Right now, I am currently reading The Wealth Cure by Hill Harper.

10. Expand my cooking skill set.
This semester I have been forced to cook more often than I ever have in the past. It’s been challenging, but when you have to eat and there is no fast food option, it’s amazing how something always comes of nothing. I’ve been experimenting with many meats, vegetables, and desserts. I think I have done a good job teaching myself some things I do not know. I think it will be helpful to record what I do in the kitchen more often though.

11. Visit London, Paris, and Italy (take gondola ride in Venice, preferably a romantic one).
*GOOD NEWS*: I am going to Europe this summer. I’ll be visiting London, Paris, Rome, and Vatican City. I’ll be sure to take tons and tons of pictures and visit as many places as possible to get the most out of my experience. Yayy!!

12. Own a very expensive pair of shoes.
Eh. I honestly cannot remember the last time I went shopping. This really isn’t even a goal for me anymore. Is it too late to change it? Wait, this is my blog. Yeah, I’m going to change this one, but I cannot think of anything to change it to right now. More than likely, it will revolve around having my own business. I’ll let you guys know soon.

14. Develop and follow a workout plan.
Well… Ummmm… There has been absolutely no consistency in my workouts, but I try to do lunges and squats everyday.

17. Grow hair back out fully and continue natural journey, meaning do NOT cut, color, or perm under any circumstances.
Oh, I colored my hair. I like it though. I’ve also had box braids too. I only had them for about three or four weeks, but I think they took some of my hair out. I’ve developed a full regimen that I follow which included washing my hair weekly and using certain products, but I will share that information in a separate post.

22. See a Broadway musical AND visit an opera performance OR play.
*MORE GOOD NEWS*: I’m going to New York this summer. Actually, it’s more like I’m walking across the stage and my feet will be landing on a flight to New York, no joke. Definitely will keep you posted with more information and photos.

I say all this to say, get excited. Life’s coming and it’s coming quickly. I’m tremendously blessed and I have so much to be grateful for in terms of where my life and career are headed. EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!! I’m really about to graduate from college. Be on the look out for more post to come. Thanks for visiting and as always I love y’all.

LoveFran Neglect Better Known As Internship

First, let me apologize for the neglect of my precious blog, lovefran.com. I love, love, love being able to express my creativity, or the lack thereof, with you guys via this website. I have been pretty busy and unhappy for the past three weeks or so and I pretty much could not find the words to describe my level of stress and unhappiness, hence the lack of post and tweets lately. I started internship, which is required in order to receive my teaching certification in the state of Alabama. Turns out, internship is more stressful than anything I have every done in my entire life. Fortunately, I have finally found the words to describe what has been going on in my world.

As I stated, I started internship on Friday January 13, 2012. I was super excited. Here was my opportunity to try all the things that I had learned over the years and even better, here was my opportunity to learn so much more. If you actively read my blog, you that know that learning is one of my most favorite things to do. I am a firm believer that you can never learn too much and that the more you know, the less you know which translates to the more you have to learn. It’s crazy right? I know. Anywho, so I went in on the first day and met my students for the very first time. I have three classes and a prep period, all eleventh graders: one Advanced American Studies 11 class and two regular English 11 classes. The students were probably more excited than I was to have someone joining their class for the course of the semester. Everything was perfect.

But then…… Maybe by the second week, I realized that internship was NOT going to be what I thought it would be. I realized that I was joining a structure that already existed. My biggest problem was with the difference of opinions on many aspects of the classroom including classroom management and philosophies of teaching and learning. After a couple weeks of trying to survive in an environment where I did not agree with so much, I pretty much just burst into pieces. I could not take the frustrations of all that had been going on around me. After a few meetings with my cooperating teacher though, we reached a pretty decent compromise.

With that being said, Friday was a much better day. I arrived bright and early at 7:00am and I actually taught all day. I did not leave until 5:00pm due to the normal afternoon routine where we prepare for the next day.

Here are the positives about my current placement:

  1. I’m being exposed to both advanced and regular classes.
  2. The class sizes are the smallest I have ever seen in my life. Most of my classes have fewer than 25 students.
  3. The rigor of the English department as a whole is something that is new to me. The students are expected to reach certain milestones in order to prepare for the upcoming year. There are certain things that teachers at every level are responsible for teaching in order for the students to be successful at the next level. Excuses do not work well in the department from teachers or from students.
  4. The environment is a great. Students are respectful, friendly, and in most cases, eager to learn. The teachers are excited about sharing their knowledge with us.

Here are some things that I have found to be true in terms of internship and teaching:

1. The first three months of internship/teaching are pretty similar to the first trimester of pregnancy.

  • Morning sickness
  • Extreme tiredness and fatigue
  • Mood swings
  • Weight gain/loss

2. Anyone who thinks that teachers do not do anything during the day or that we are just glorified babysitters should be laughed at on the spot!! Most of the people I know would not last a full day in any classroom. [i.e. Alabama Senator Shadrack McGill (R-Woodville)]

3. The belief that teachers work 8:00am – 3:00pm is a myth. Everyday I have to be at the school at 7:30am and on most days, I do not leave until after 4:30 or 5:00pm. And then even when I do finally leave, I still take home papers that require grading and lesson ideas that require planning. The work never ends. This is not a joke.

4. As someone in the field of education, there are some things that school programs do not prepare you for. As a teacher, you are indeed a teacher, but you are also a counselor, mom, planner, friend, facilitator, referee, and whatever else the students in your classes need you to be for them. It does indeed take a special person to do this job.

5. In your first year, you will get sick. It just happens and it happens a lot in the first semester. It’s tragic!

6. High school students act very similar to the middle school students, the students are just a bit smarter. Lol

7. Pacing is everything. There is so much that you have to cover on a daily basis in order to accomplish all that you have to accomplish for the school year, but time is so limited. This is probably the thing I have to work on most with my current placement.

8. Classroom management is everything. Without it, you will spend the entire year or semester disciplining your students. Therefore, you have to be clear and consistent with all of your expectations from the very beginning of the school year. A plan is essential.

9. Organization is everything. Here again, developing a plan will make your life much easier.

10. Students will do anything to ensure that you are human. I have to come to the conclusion that it’s okay to let them know you are human, but it is vital to know where that fine line exist so that you won’t ever cross it.

11. Lastly, the teacher death stare will get you a long way in life.

As you can see, I am learning a lot, but it is making me more and more anxious for my first year out on my own. I have come to the startling realization that absolutely nothing in the world, outside of my son, makes me happier than being a teacher. Being in front of those students and realizing that you have the power to make a difference in their lives is a phenomenal feeling. From here on out, I’m going to try to do a weekly reflection as well as try my best to post more on progress. Look for more Fran Culture too.

Happy Saturday!!