Exit Slip- Term One

Exit Slip:  I am going to give you three minutes to answer the following questions on the board.  You must complete these at a level zero while staying seated.  This may only be completed in pencil and I will know that you are done when I see pencils down and eyes on me.  Listen for the song that will be playing, when it ends, that will signal that your time is up.  You may begin...

On the board Question:  How has your fieldwork contributed to your knowledge of your school?  What kind of things have you learned from the fieldwork project?

The fieldwork project that we did for Prof. Cunningham was helpful but also a little bit daunting.  I enjoy doing community walks and projects such as this, like the one we did for Baird, but it was TOO MUCH to do while starting school and ending the term.  I felt like I was in school all day learning and hearing about the community and the kids that we serve and that I should have been able to use that as research time but instead I spent an extra 15 hours in two weeks researching the community I was immersed in and serving all day every day.  Not to mention it is the end of the term and we are wrapping up Everything!

A few things I learned about South Shore and the areas surrounding my school that I found to be really interesting were the history and change in community.  In 1906 the South Shore Country Club was established which was a posh, lakeside landmark which excluded blacks and jews.  Leading up to the 1920's, it was primarily middle to upper middle class that lived in the area and there was almost no one of color.  After the 1920's it became more diverse through religion and European immigrants and it wasn't until the 1950's that racial diversity occurred.  Now in 2013, the demographics of South Shore have changed dramatically.  The population has dropped from what was once 80,000 people to 48,000 registered in 2012.  The racial breakdown of South Shore is 97% African American and the Country Club which was once a swanky, posh place seems somewhat out of place.  South Shore is also known these days as "Terror Town"and the crime rate is escalating out of control.  The area surrounding Bradwell School of Excellence is dangerous and struggling.

Outside of the basic demographics, I learned that there is not much offered within the surroundings of the school.  There are no parks, park district locations, or children friendly places.  There are no real grocery stores other than Walgreens and corner stores as well as having very few actual restaurants other than fast food joints.  One could even say that South Shore fits the stereotypical mold for a low-income housing project with many buildings boarded up or abandon.  With all this to say...  South Shore has some of the best kids ever!

As I said before, this is the last week of term one for our Master's Program; three terms to go!  This is also the end of the second week for us as teachers within our schools.  By this time, I know a handful of their names and I have taught two days in a row.  My 7th grade students are the bomb!  Some have attitudes that they need to check and some are a little crazy even for me, but they are so great too.  We played Math Baseball this week and it was a small glimpse of what is to come!  We had so much fun and I am really enjoying myself so far!  Anyways...  the song has been over and the three minutes it up.  Time to turn it in!

Life is a Math Equation

"Life is like a math equation.  In order to gain the most, you have to know how to convert the negatives into positives."  

- Unknown Author

Week one has come and gone.  All the emotion, excitement, and nerves about meeting our mentors, working more closely with our MRC, being introduced to the teaching and administration staff at our new school, a new building, what should I wear, how should my hair be, what should I pack for lunch, how long will my commute be, who is going to be my go to person, should I bring anything like my computer and notebooks, what happens if I am late, will they like me...  has come and GONE!  NOT!  It's Sunday and week two is about to begin.  As I sit here running through all these questions with a little spin on them, the nerves, excitement, joy, and emotion all come back.  This week is a big week.  It is one thing to meet your mentor and enter a new school with new people, but it is a whole different world to mix students into the equation.

Last week went better than I could have imagined.  I walked up to Bradwell School of Excellence on Monday August 19th, 2013 at 7:45am with so much excitement that I forgot to lock my car doors, forgot my lunch in my smoking hot car, and was locked out of the building without knowing how to get in!  Luckily for me, another car pulled into the parking lot along with me and as I began to panic and I noticed the other teacher walking toward me.  In order to hold it together, I acted as though I needed to tie my shoe until she got to the platform.  I then stepped to the side so that she could lead the way.  She pushed the intercom button and "DING" the door was unlocked and in we went!  SUCCESS!  I took a walk around the school, found my classroom, and noticed that the door was closed with the lights off.  I decided to take advantage of the time so I went in and got situated.  I sat in the front corner of the classroom, unpacked my bag, and observed what was around.  As I read through the posters hanging in the room, skimmed through the schedule, and noticed the set up of the classroom, MY Classroom, I was overcome with joy.  Shortly after Ms. Faith Peddie entered our 7th grade Mathematics classroom and introduced herself.  We had a little time to get to know each other before getting down to business.

The week was full!  Erica, my co-resident, and I spent countless hours making signs, labels, and bulletin boards.  We cleaned, organized the library, and attended meeting after meeting where we were flooded with information.  Day in and day out we met new people who worked, served, or whose child attended Bradwell and it was about all my mind could take to try and remember the name and the face of these lovely people.  As Friday came around, it definitely got easier.  The room was becoming more and more put together and the information/data was beginning to make more sense rather than simply a jumbled mess in my brain.  As we left the building on Friday, I couldn't help but reflect back to Monday and how much progress had been made.  I am beginning to feel at home at Bradwell and I am beginning to build relationships with a new family that I really care about!  SUCCESS!

As I sit here and process the same emotions but about meeting our new students tomorrow, I am captivated by nerves but so thrilled to begin.  I am happy to be given the opportunity through AUSL to begin this program and actually get to put my knowledge into practice!  I am overjoyed to get to put faces with names and so very excited to begin a new year as staff at Bradwell School of Excellence.  I have high hopes for this year and I am expecting great things out of myself as well as our staff and students.  I know it is going to be a challenge and that we will have to overcome some big obstacles throughout the year, as we already have within this last week, but as I get to know the people on my staff, I know how able and awesome they are!  I have so much faith in our Bruin Family that worry is not even an option!  So... as Ms. Hampton likes to say, let's "turn up!"

Online vs. Face-to-Face

This past week was the last of our face-to-face classes at National-Louis.  We are not officially done with the term until September 1 but I am pretty much finished other than my Issue Paper which we have not gotten the corrections back.  Once that comes back, I can pound it out and be FINISHED with term one of my Master's!

After this term, we move to classes online.  I really hate online classes and I am not sure if it is simply because I had an awful experience with one before or if it is a legit dislike of mine.  When in undergrad I took a Statistics class online and it was extremely difficult.  I really enjoy being in a classroom with other students and teachers and I know I get more out of discussion and interaction than reading material and tests.  When it comes to school, I am not an independent, self-motivator type of person.  If I know that the teacher is not going to check it or actually care whether or not I do something, I often times do not do it.  I know that sounds bad but the reality is simply that I have a lot of work to do or a lot of opportunity every single day to do things that I feel would benefit me and that I actually enjoy and therefore I quickly resort to that.  Therefore I am a little worried that I will struggle the next few terms because everything is online.  We will be meeting on Friday's, but to my knowledge, that is more to check in and see how everyone is doing.  So what do you think?  How do online classes compare to traditional, present in school classes?  Do you feel that there is a benefit of one over the other?  What do you like?

Starting tomorrow we begin working at the schools, for me... Bradwell School of Excellence.  I have such a mix of emotions!  I am so excited and ready to start but at the same time I feel very nervous and not quite prepared to begin.  It helped a little bit that on Friday Nicki, Erica, and I went to Bradwell for the Welcome Back BBQ.  We met the principal, assistant principals, football coach, students, and other staff.  It was fun to be there and simply be able to observe the community and school interact.  This week has been a rough week for the South Shore and Bradwell community.  Two people were killed both Sunday and Tuesday and then our school was broken into on two different occasions.  I am interested to see what the school is like tomorrow after the week we have had.  I am really excited to take all the nervous I have built up and all the questions I have hoarded over the last few months and get answers.  I am super excited to meet our students and see how this all manifests itself and plays out. I can see myself becoming a great teacher and I hope that is not just a dream, but a reality.

I'm a Bruin!

This week has been such a crazy week.  We are beginning to wind down our time in the classroom at National-Louis and we will soon be stepping into our own classrooms as teachers!  Paper after paper after proposal after proposal...  things are coming due left and right!  Presentations are being prepared for and the excitement is beginning to stir up amongst the classes.

This week becomes even more crazy because last week Wednesday I left Chicago and headed to Seattle.  One of my best friends Kara was getting married and I was in the wedding.  I flew out to spend some time with her because 1) it has been over six months since I had seen her (because I was in Africa) and 2) there were a lot of last minute things to get done and organize for the wedding.  It was so great to see her and spend good quality time with her family.  They are so wonderful and they showed us a great time both in North Bend and in Seattle.  Then on Sunday we participated in the wedding; on Monday I spent time in Seattle with my friend G.G. Flint; and then flew back to Chicago, arriving super late Monday night.  Upon arrival in Chicago I got a text from a classmate Nicki saying that our school placements were finally posted.  I began to freak out and to calm the anxiety because I still had to take the train all the way home before being able to open my email, Nicki just text me my placement and co-resident.

I am happy to say that I got my number one choice school and in just two short weeks I will begin teaching 7th grade mathematics with Faith Peddie at

BRADWELL SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE!

I am so excited to get started and dig into what Bradwell and AUSL have for us.  I feel honored and excited that I will be working with MRC Jency Kanichirayil as she was the one who interviewed my back in the day and has now chosen me to be on her staff.  With that, I feel so ready and excited that I don't want to wait any longer!  I know it is going to be a lot of work and I am expecting to get my butt kicked a few times if not more than a few times, but it needs to happen sooner or later.  I am excited to learn and grow as a teacher for whatever the future holds.  I have enjoyed class so far, and I am not excited about going to online classes, but...  I am ready to be interacting with students, parents, and staff.  I don't know if I am going to LOVE 7th grade but that is why we are in it and working it out with the help of our mentors and coaches.  One thing I really wish I could do was coach.  I know that time will hopefully come sooner or later, but I wish that time was now!  I will have to free up my schedule a bit to go and watch some games and cheer on My BRUINS!  So... with all that to say, you may be hearing more and more about Bradwell in future blogs and/or how hard life may get!  Through it all, I am hoping to keep the bigger picture in mind and remember that I am human!  Good days and bad days are going to come and that is NORMAL, A OK!  I, along with my other residents, need to stay focused and working hard, and we will be just fine!  Let's Do This!

Keep It Moving!

So...  we are now over half way done with the first term of our Master's Program.  It is so crazy to think that we will soon be in the classroom, working on implementing, and not spending all day with our cohort!  WEIRD!  What is that going to be like?  I think back to the interview where we had a Q & A section with old residents and the one thing they all kept saying was...  "It will go by fast.  You will learn so much and before you know it, it will all be over and you will be graduating."  I remember sitting in the Q & A thinking...  yup!  Sure, sure!  That is what everyone always says and sometimes it does actually fly by and other times, it seems like it will never end!  All I can say is, SO FAR...  it has flown by.  I have really enjoyed getting to know my cohort and entering into intensional, deeper conversation with people who all hold different stories than myself.  I am really excited for what is to come and not just meaning our dance parties, or barcrawl, or Friday gatherings, or potlucks, but the whole thing; classroom stories, long nights of preparation, needed vent sessions, and then graduation!  What a year we have before us.

On another note, I wanted to throw out the idea of gender equality and see what everyone thinks.  In class today I brought up the fact that our reading touched on the idea that the roles of men within the household are very significant.  I think we all can agree that men, especially fathers, are super important and drastically change the outcome of ones life when they are present or not.  I know from personal experience that not having my dad around drastically changed my life.  I can testify to growing up in a primarily single-parent home with my mother and sister and noticing a void.  This is not to say that my mom didn't provide, build things, do yard work, fix the car, cook, clean, help with homework, etc. but to recognize that I acted out to capture the attention of guys.  I can pin point situations that occurred when all I wanted was the approval and attention of a man because I didn't receive it from my own dad.  My dad and I struggle through our relationship to this day, and would this have happened if he would have been present in my life? I can't say for positive, but I am pretty sure!

Gender equality looks different in many different realms for example:
- Within the Work Place.  Do men and women get equal pay and equal opportunity?  Do we have jobs that are pretty specific to a gender whether we verbally label it or not?
- Within the home.  Do we value one parent over the other?  Is a mother's role more important than a father's or vise versa?
- Within the school system.  How important is it to have male teachers and mentors?  Do men primarily teach math, P.E., and science within the middle school and high school, if so... why?
- Within the government. What is it going to take or will it ever happen that we have a woman president?
- Within sports.  Is it for a woman's own good not to play in the NFL?  Is it simply that spectators don't place as much value on female sports as they do on mens?

What do you think?  Are we, as America, stalled in gender equality, have we successfully completely the task, or are we somewhere in the middle?  I don't know if there is really a right answer to this and I recognize it is all bias and based off person preference.  With that said, our own history and stories play into our views and opinions on this topic as well.

So...  WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Starts with VALUE!

This week was a really good week for me.  I am not sure if it was a good week because we had half days Tuesday/Wednesday and no class on Friday or just because I felt productive and engaged this week?  I am enjoying our classes so far and I think one of the main reasons I enjoy them so much is because we are engaged in conversations that I had in undergrad, but more in depth.  I love learning about different cultures and groups of people because I learn so much from them!  I often feel like I identify with other cultures on a deeper level than I do with the "average white American" for many reasons.  The lens at which I see the world through is extremely different than the "average, white, female, American" because I have been given the opportunity to travel.  I have lived or visited a handful of countries like Ecuador, Thailand, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico, England, South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia.  I have been able to see others cultures and the reality of their lives.  As an educator, I have learned about their systems and the way in which they treat their people and their youth.  And then I was raise in America.  I was raised in a middle-class, predominantly white neighborhood, by a single-parent.  If I had to define the lens in which I see the world, I would say it is pretty messed up! haha.


With that said, being able to see other cultures and lifestyles first hand have played into my ability, teaching strategies, as well as passion for education.  When looking at the umbrella of Education, America is barely sheltered from getting wet.  We (as in Americans) value  and see education in a completely different sense than most other countries around the world.  In America, it almost seems like we think we "deserve" education rather than seeing it as a privaledge and a gift.  I define the word "deserve" as: to merit, be qualified for, to be worthy of, or have a claim to (reward, assistance, punishment, etc.) because of actions, qualities, or situation, and I think that is wrong.  One of the main reasons I believe US students perform relatively poorly on international tests of academic achievement, relative to other countries is because we value education much different.  Education in America is about what WE, individually, can get; it't about ME and my child; it's about teachers performance; and more than anything, we don't often take ownership over our own short comings and situations.  Now...  don't get mad at me and jump to conclusions but if we really look deep into ourselves and our situations, we do not value education for the great body and we don't work very hard to earn the results we desire.

For example, when I was working in Zambia, I had a boy who talked 4 miles to school because he could not afford to go to the government and he was offered a spot at our community school.  FOUR MILES... can you imagine?  We don't even make our kids walk four blocks, why?  Because we don't have to!  We know that if we complain or decide that we don't like that choice, there are ways around it.  For my Zambian student, he knew there were no other choices.  It was either walk to school because that was his way to succeed and better himself or don't, and identify your own future selling vegetables or staying in the village barely able to scrap by.  On the less extreme side of things...  I worked for Charles Mumba.  Charles and his wife Margret had seven kids and Malawo is the youngest.  Malawo is in 11th grade at a government school where she pays to attend, she wears a yellow and blue uniform everyday, she walks to school, she has to be all natural during the school year (meaning no relaxer, no make-up, no extensions, no shown piercings), and she attends extra lessons to supplement her schooling.  Her school is one of the better schools in Ndola but the education is still not up to her parents standards and so she attends extra lessons from 3:00-7:00pm Monday thru Friday.  This means that Malawo is doing some sort of school work/activity from 7:00am-7:00pm Monday thru Friday!  WHAT!?!?  Can you imagine?  I surely can't unless it is basketball or softball practice, which I enjoy!  Finally, I am often reminded of the Jewish culture when I think of excessive studying and hard-working.  Orthodox Jewish people send their children to Hebrew class most mornings before school.  In this Hebrew class, the students study the Tanakh from cover to cover.  They memorize, read, test, and study so that they can re-sight the Hebrew Bible by memory.  These parents and students realize that it takes countless hours of reading and studying to be able to perfect this.  I don't often think they want to study for hours on end, but they know what the end result is and they strive to be the best.

As an educator, I find this to be a HUGE problem!  I think education is ridiculously important and it is a shame to think that we, as Americans, don't understand or realize how important it is.  I also think that it is situational.  For me growing up, I didn't even really have to think about college because in my house, it was rather expected that you would go.  I didn't value my education and aspire to be the best or most knowledgable until recently and I think that needs to change.  Statistics are starting to show that Americans are not the smartest skittles in the bag and I think that begins with VALUE!  If I could change anything, I would strive to change the mentality that young people have about school and education.  I would... and hopefully will... get students involved and engaged in away that they enjoy what they are doing and are able to take ownership of their learning.  I desire to have well rounded students who are aware of the rest of the world and recognize their privilege even as Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Polish Americans, in America.  All these cultures and ethnicities represent and make up what is known and seen as America and it is time that we recognize it ourselves.  We, as educators, have a huge opportunity to help others recognize their ability and value!

What American Dream?

Question:  Do American public schools have a responsibility to "compensate" for students whose out-of-school experiences aren't as rich or enabling as the experiences of other students? Why or why not? If so, what are some of the ways they should compensate? If not, how does this affect your understanding of the American Dream?

Answer:  Who conducts or identifies the American Dream these days?  Who believes that there is one dream for all people?  I often find myself wondering who fed me the classic lines of "The American Dream" growing up because it was not modeled nor did it come close to the life I was living.  I can vividly remember thinking that the American Dream looked like one of the last scenes in the movie Major Pain.  The part where Major Benson Winifred Payne has a dream that he marries Dr. Emily Walburn, a teacher at the school, and they adopt of have children of their own.  The clip in the movie shows them grilling behind their cute house, with a big yard, surrounded by a white picket fence.  A "bad guy" comes to try to kill the Major and he saves the day and everyone is SOOOOO HAPPY!  Movie Review  Isn't that the ideal dream?  A happy family, with a stable living environment, whose lives are happy and safe?  Well....  it sounds nice to me but the truth is not always so.

The more I learn about the world and our different cultures, I begin to realize that we all have different vantage points.  We all see situations and circumstances differently based on the the lens (the way we grew up, where we grew up, family situation, schooling, race, age, gender, etc) we have inherited.  I use the word inherited because we did not ask to be born to the parent or parents we have nor in the situation or circumstance that we find ourselves in.  With that said, we all have different ideals and values.  We all see the good and the bad of our world differently and therefore, how can there only be ONE "American Dream"?  How is it that ONE dream can satisfy and mold to fit millions of people with different lenses? 

All this to say, One Man's Study suggests that there is no significant link between a school's resources and student achievement after controlling for demographic factors.  In conclusion, this suggests that the school environment is more important than that which is outside. I do not exactly agree with Eric Hanusheck's interpretation of the data but I do agree with the outcome that the school environment is more important from a teacher's perspective.  As a teacher, we cannot control that which happens outside of school.  We cannot control the home life of our students nor the choices that are being made, but we can and will control the environment within the classroom.  With that being said, it is our job as a school to provide all that is necessary for our students to succeed!  I believe that we should be allowing opportunities for students to encounter and experience new things that they may not be able to outside of the classroom.  In a perfect, "American Dream" kind of world, all our students whether rich or poor, would be experiencing the same things and receiving the same quality education!  But then we are quickly diverted back to real life and the understanding that sometime, most times, life is not fair.  Things are not equal and the "American Dream" does not exist for more people!  In this case, I do believe it is our job to compensate for those experiences and opportunities.Some ways in which I see our schools compensating for these experiences are through field trips.  I believe field trips are great ways for students to encounter new things outside of their personal bubble.  Another way of compensating is through the use of technology.  In our world today, technology can do crazy things.  I think we need to invest in our teachers to use technology to its fullest.  We can skype with people from different countries; we can use google Earth to show close up visuals of other parts of the country/world or google docs to communicate via pen pals; we can research topics to become more aware and informed; we can create a virtual experience for students as if they were there, in that specific place!  I personally do not know a lot about technology but know that it can be a life changer in the classroom!

I do not believe it is fair to use the term "responsibility" in the question above.  I would hope that teachers would long to introduce their students to new things and allow them experiences like everyone else.  I think there is a lot of pressure on teachers to do this, do that, work on this, don't forget that... when in all reality, teachers follow a curriculum and structure their lessons accordingly.  If there was free reign and no standardize testing, I would say we all have the responsibility and owe our students the service to do so but....  until that day comes, we need to do what we can and be the best teachers we can be!  ;o)