Adventures in Chicago

2009-05-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe 4 months have come and gone so quickly. All I can say is this - I miss the 60610 terribly. I miss my cooperating teacher and her unconditional kindness and support, I miss my neighboring teachers and the laughs we often had, I miss my roommates and the nights we shared being unsociable loners [or caring, over-invested interns who consistently "took their work home with them"], I miss the city, and I miss my kids [all 34 of them]. It's good to be home, though...It truly is.

I could try to put into words the extent to which I appreciate my time in Chicago, but I'm thinking that attempt would fail miserably. I struggled, I fought, I failed, I cried, I cared, I succeeded, I marveled, I loved, and I've grown stronger. Chicago was nothing short of an incredible experience, one in which I'm certain the Lord guided.

Graduation has come and gone, leaving me back in Detroit preparing to embark on my 2nd and last student teaching experience in early childhood. Things are still a bit ambiguous at this point - I have yet to receive my start/end dates, or placement information - but I should be receiving information soon.

After the summer? Whew, this has been interesting. Simply put, I've learned to let go. It is in my nature to find a path [one which has meaning, intrigue, and a challenge] down which I can head with passion and reverence. For as long as I've wanted to be a teacher, my desired path lead me to New York City. Why New York? Culture? History? Diversity? A mild fascination? What attracted me most to this particular city were the little details under the umbrella of all these things, as well as [on a greater level] my desire to teach in an urban setting. I honestly do not have a straight answer here. What I've learned, however, is the importance of listening, rather than planning. I organize [I say this lightly, as I am fully aware of the mass of boxes in my living room that have yet to be unpacked]. I color-code. I list. I plan. With this said, it was quite difficult [quuuiitteee difficult] to relinquish that control and allow my life to head in a natural, God-guided direction. More details to come :)

So, I'm moving on to another blog. Hopefully I will be able to discipline myself enough to keep it updated!

http://betsymorton.blogspot.com/

8 More Days.

2009-05-02T10:27:00.001-07:00

Some student teachers who are, simply put, excited to teach :)

Student teachers at the final CS dinner. They gave away Mock Awards. We didn't win any, so we all went up to the mic unannounced to introduce ourselves and present awards to our supervisors . We gave them Golden Butter. It was awkward and great :)

p.h.o.t.o.g.r.a.p.h.s.

2009-03-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

The student teachers in our group (14 total, 7 in our group who teach on the North Side) took a day off school (!!!) and visited Andersonville.

I'd like you to meet our fearless leader and supervisor, Carole. It was St. Patty's Day.

Welcome to Room 105!

Our folktales are now hanging on the cloud board.

The flag to which we, every morning, pledge our allegiance. We also recite the Farnsworth pledge, sing the Star Spangled Banner, and the Farnsworth Fight Song. Old school? Nah.

I love the tall windows.

I had the little ones make Suns - Science and art integration.

They turned out incredibly cute!

My solar system bulletin board.

Every young scientist needs a Space Journal!

Our Concept/Question board on Courage. It's a work in progress.

Counting down the days until it looks like this :)

Sweden, Cupcakes, and Lead Paint

2009-03-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

SHORT Update.

Mid-Week 7 and I have yet to catch a bug!

Full-control officially begins next week. Some fear here, but by no means do I feel over-whelmed.

I was a chaperone for the first time last Friday - Adler Planetarium. I came home and slept for five hours. Great times were had!

We had the day off yesterday (Sunny with a high 0f 75) and visited a Swedish neighborhood (food, museum, walking tour, etc.). Afterwards, Leah and I decided to embrace the beauty of the day by talking a walking trip to Lincoln Park for cupcakes. The walk there was AMAZING.

Our ceiling is being stripped...finally! Put it this way - the ceiling has not been re-painted since the building was built....in 1924. They didn't cover anything so, needless to say, lead paint chips are everywhere. I've been teaching in the assembly hall, chalk board and all. The kids have loved the change. I, on the other hand, have not. Behavior hasn't really been an issue - it's just the whole idea of not having your materials and resources at your disposal when you need them most :/ It has been a great challenge, though.

It's hard to believe that this is the half-way point!

My roommates are gone.

2009-03-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

Kazimierz Pulaski: Polish soldier, member of the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta and politician who has been called "the father of American cavalry". A member of the Polish landed nobility, he was a military commander for the Bar Confederation and fought against Russian domination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he emigrated to North America, where he became a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. [AKA: No school tomorrow! Thank you, Mr. Pulaski]

Here are some photos of our apartment. Enjoy!

View #1

View #2 [my bus!]

View #3

Hello, table.

Our desk [and Scrabble].

View from the door.

The little girls' room.

This is where we, um, cook.

Mmm, rest :)

This would be me...in our living room...obviously hard at work :) [You can tell that this was taken early on!]

Perhaps we will get some updated photos soon - things around here are looking a bit more lived in nowadays :)

By the way, Leah and I have been attending the LaSalle Street Church on Sunday mornings. The information provided on the website is fairly comprehensive so check it out if you'd like. We're excited and thankful to have found a place - we appreciate the atmosphere and teachings, and are especially fond of the 2 minute walk :)

2009-02-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

End of Week 4 = hmph.

The week went fairly well. Here are the highlights (Compound Word! Ha.)

- I picked up reading (in addition to Math and Science).
- I had a 45 minute conversation with Jim the custodian while he swept our floor. 7 Mile, the German language, and smoking sausage on rooftops were among the topics discussed.
- The kids have NAILED congruence.
- I decided on a unit theme - Exploration and Discovery. The solar system will be our primary focus so I will have to work that into multiple subjects. My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Piz...aww no. My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Noodles. I like it.
- My relationships with my Cooperating Teacher, principle, and other core teachers are strengthening. They make me laugh...often :)
- Three words: School House Rock.
- One precious little boy - known for his comprehension and focus issues - completely grasped the weekly story! A huge success that had my CT and I floored, yet so incredibly proud.

I'm excited to see what next week brings - teaching all subjects for 3 out of 4 days!

I slept in today :)

2009-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

A big shout out to Mr. Lincoln and all our former (and current!) presidents for the two glorious days of rest that have been given to us all!

And so the updates begin...

Cooperating Teacher: I went into the experience knowing close to nothing about her. With this in mind, I tried to have as few expectations as possible. Thankfully, she is phenomenal. Teaching is her second career so she did her own student teaching just three years ago. She's kind, sweet-natured, incredibly caring, and insightful. She treats me like a person, not just a professional (a novice one at that), which I appreciate.

Farnsworth: The school is...interesting. The principle, although a bit elderly, is incredibly structured and firm. She refuses to turn down any student, regardless of ability level; therefore, the school has some solid services for students with special needs. As is expected, the building in a bit run-down, the technology is limited, and teacher morale is a not as high as I've seen in other schools; however, the kids are cared for, visitors are made to feel immensely welcome, and the core group of teachers that I work with are great.

Students: Aaah, the students :) 34 of the little ones in all: 12 English Language Learners (6 Hispanic, 1 Polish, 1 Philippian, 2 Middle Eastern, and 2 Asian). 6 of the students are Caucasian, 1 is African American, and the rest are Hispanic (English-speaking) or Multi-Racial. We also have a little one who is Visually Impaired. Reading levels range from 200 words per minute to 10. They're wonderful :) A wonderful challenge, but wonderful nonetheless.

In General: I'm feeling pretty good. My energy is up (so far!). I actually enjoy my commute (so long as I'm able to catch my first bus). The roommates are great. The students are great. My cooperating teacher is flexible and supportive. My ideas are a'flowin and I'm excited to go to school every day. I'm still nervous, perhaps a bit frightened, terrified maybe...but it's all coming out of my desire to do all I can for those kids.

I miss everyone very, very, very, very, very much. Very much. :)

3:45 and I already want to sleep

2009-01-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

So we are currently into our third day of orientation - what? The time has flown by. For the most part, orientation has consisted of a series of meetings to acquaint us with the city, ethnic restaurant excursions, mixer games, and trial and error rides with CTA (public transportation). The student teachers have also met a few times to go over the requirements and expectations for the upcoming days and weeks. The girls are absolutely wonderful, as are the ladies in charge of the student teaching program, and I feel excited that we're all together on the same journey, sharing the same passions.

We signed our lease today on our apartment! Myself along with two other girls are living on the second floor of an apartment building on LaSalle in the Gold Coast. It seems like a pretty great fit. Cat (another student teacher who is placed at Farnsworth with me) and I also ventured to the school this afternoon to familiarize ourselves with our route and travel times. Good Lord. A bus to the blue line, blue line to the bus depot, bus to the corner, walk to the school. It'll take an hour....each way. Good morning, Chicago!

Tomorrow I officially report to Farnsworth for the first time. It definitely doesn't feel real! I've been working for this for so long that it's hard to believe that the time is actually here. Falling asleep will NOT be an easy task.

Oh, oh dear.

2009-01-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Farnsworth Elementary

START TIME: 7:30 AM
END TIME: 1:45 PM

East Detroit started at 7:30 so it really isn't that scary, right? Perhaps if I didn't have an hour commute...

I like the 1:45 idea, though!

Whew!

2009-01-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

UPDATE

I have a roommate! The interns are typically encouraged to hold off on the roommate-choosing until arrival into the city; however, being the super-organized, non-procrastinator, early-planner, and oh-so-structured person that I am, I really, really, really wanted to have something secure ahead of time. Naw, I just knew it would take a huge load of stress off of my shoulders :)

So, when Leah [a fellow student teacher] messaged me today with similar concerns and her request, I simply could not refuse! We were able to meet at the student teacher visitation day and we seem to have quite a bit in common, which is absolutely wonderful. I cannot tell you how excited I am :) We do have to be flexible with housing and are anticipating the possibility of adding other roommates to our apartment, but it is just so nice to have something planned ahead of time :) Whew!

Halloween, 2nd Grade, and DayQuil

2008-12-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

Many updates!

#1: The ladies in charge of the student teaching program with Chicago Semester invited the Spring 2009 student teachers to Chicago for a day to meet, greet, visit, and get our questions answered. The visit day was on Halloween which in and of itself was amazing! We did three school visits, spoke with a few current student teachers, and became more familiar with our surroundings (the Chicago Semester offices and, of course, the city). It was a great day! The weather was perfect and it was so nice to meet some of the other student teachers ahead of time. I was pretty excited :)

#2: I've been placed! I will be student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom at Farnsworth Elementary on the north side of the city. I requested a K-3rd grade placement but secretly hoped for 2nd :) So far, I'm thinking Farnsworth will be a great fit :)

Big, eh? Here's the killer - I will have about an hour commute. Eeek! Apparently Google has a Public Transportation Directions Generator which, to my surprise, informed me that I will need to:

a) Walk to the bus stop.
b) Take the bus to the Blue Line.
c) Take the Blue Line to the designated stop.
d) Walk to my destination.

Yey? Naw, I'm looking forward to it. I like having time like this to just sit back and relax. I'm a people watcher, too, which should be fun :) My question is this: Exactly what time will I need to be there each morning? This could be an issue.

I've been working on my packing list. I'm organizing it with tables, bold, italicized, and underlined fonts, and, of course, colors. Ha! My mind would be exploding if I didn't do such things. Currently, the bulk of my list is surprisingly not in the food or clothing sections, but rather in the First Aid and Wellness sections. I know, crazy right? Cough Drops, Cold Ease, Tums, Sudafed, Zyrtec, Heating Pads, DayQuil, NyQuil, Vitamin Water, Tissues, GHA! My biggest fear, over everything else, is getting sick. I know that I won't want to miss any school, so I'm dreading the day that I have to teach closed-figured polygons and Homophones with a cold. I'm sure the kids wouldn't mind me teaching with a tissue lodged in my nose, but I'm not too sure I could survive what it would do for my reputation as an effective and professional educator. Maybe I'll keep that remedy for the comfort of my couch and stick to the DayQuil.

It's getting close :)

Call me impulsive.

2008-09-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today I had quite the change of plans. Initially, I was planning on completing my dual placement of 18 weeks (10 weeks in Elementary, 8 in Early Childhood) in Chicago through the program; however, after a round of phone tag and a chain of e-mails, I came to the decision to only do my elementary placement in Chicago. My stay with the program will be traditional, meaning I wouldn't need to come early and stay later than the other interns, housing will not be an issue, and I wouldn't miss the week-long orientation into the program. On the other hand, I will need to return to Michigan to complete my 8 week early childhood placement. Here's the killer: the placement coordinator at Spring Arbor suggested that I split my placement in two - 3 weeks at a Headstart program in the Detroit area in January before I leave for Chicago, and then the remaining 5 weeks after the program is over at a pre-school or Headstart program in Jackson. Whew! I am almost certain that I would be able to stay in the same apartment I'm in now when I return; however, that is still something I need to check into. If this works that would be great since I could begin my job search right after graduation, not to mention experiencing the pure bliss that comes with knowing that I would be completely done in May! We'll see how it all works out, I guess. I'm just so thankful that both placement coordinators (through Spring Arbor and the Chicago Semester) are so amazingly kind and determined to work things out to my best interest! I feel like I'm finally beginning to see the fruit of my hard work! It's about time.

On another note: I will be traveling to Chicago on Halloween for a visit with the other student teachers for the spring 2009 semester. We'll meet at the program offices downtown and then travel together to 3 different schools where current student teachers are working. I'm pretty sure we'll be ending the visit by going over and completing official applications from the Chicago Public Schools to student teach.

It still feels surreal. Whew!

Hi!

2008-09-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here it begins - October 17th. I should be keeping up with a countdown, I guess. That day will come, I'm sure of it!

I made the decision to begin blogging now for the following reasons:

1. Things are FINALLY beginning to come of all the hard work I've put into my preperations for the semester - finally. I am beyond excited and I would love to share the details with you all!
2. January will arive before we know it and I would like to get in the habit of updating before I am in too deep of a hole to remember! [Hey, I have to prepare myself!]
3. I, for once in my life, am finished with my homework early [yes, early.] and even had enough energy left to want to do something constructive with my time! [Or I have a few papers I could get started on but, of course, I fell into the charms of procrastination, yet again. You decide.]

I'll post again soon!