The end before the beginning

Well it is all over. Institute is actually finished and I have a little letter that says I made it through. My kids made some major growth and I learned a ton. The thing that I learned that surprised me a little bit wasn’t necessarily anything to do with what they were trying to teach us. I learned how hard it is to be away from home and friends. Sure I made some friends while at institute, but at this point I don’t know how many of them I will see again and there are probably more people who I don’t really care to see again than people who I do. I miss Whitworth and Tacoma. Spending the next two years here seems overwhelming. I know that the program is great and that the city is great, but for me it just isn’t home.

I am actually writing this in the Newark airport. Within one hour of finishing institute I bought a plane ticket to Calgary so that I could meet my family up at my sister’s new house. Spending the next week with family is just what I need. I’m tired, a little grouchy sometimes, and I want to be around people I love. The next week is family time before I return to the chaos of the city and round zero training for TFA.

Some interesting things about NYC and what I have learned while I have been here:

-I have had a number of friends make comments before that leggings are not pants. I have to say that most of NY would disagree with you. The number of people who I have seen wearing only leggings (both men and women) is a little bit staggering. On that note, people should also avoid wearing tube top dresses while traveling. They look really awkward and sitting next to someone wearing that on the plane is pretty strange.

-Underwear and pasties do not count as clothing if you are 20 or 60. Yes I have seen both and neither should happen.

-On the subway the other day I saw something great. There was a man wearing a yarmulke next, to a man wearing a rosary, next to a man with a turban. There are many interesting people all on the subway.

-While moving my bags from St. John’s (where I have been staying for institute) I saw man dancing in the subway car. It wasn’t just a regular dance however, this man was pole dancing and rubbing his back all over the pole. As if that wasn’t enough a big guy came up to him and laid into him for being inappropriate in front of ladies. This new big guy then went on a tangent about the dancer being a ******ity ***** ********** *******. He started threatening him. He got off the subway only to decide to come back into the next door to yell some more. Then he got off and came back in again to yell. Oh what a night.

-Almost didn’t get out of the apartment this morning because the doorknob fell off. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to fix it.

-One of my best lessons was the last. This past Thursday we did a math review of everything that we had learned during summer school. We had ten full pages of word problems that dealt with all of the math problems that we have been doing. I did all the work independently before class and it took me about an hour and a half. I challenged the kids to beat my time. They got to work as a class and different groups could work on different pages. They took about ten minutes to really get into it, but when they realized they could beat my time they all began to work fervently in teams to try to finish in time. Seeing them get so motivated to do their work was great. Even the students who struggled still worked on the easier pages together. They didn’t get the chance to finish because we ran out of time, but in one hour they finished 9 of the 10 pages so I have no doubt that they would have done it.

-I can get a bagel and coffee from a street side vendor for $1.50. Take that Starbucks, McDonalds, and Sodexo.

-On the same block I can get two containers of blueberries (fairly good sized) for $2.

-If I want to get an apartment with a small room about the size of the study room from my old dorm it will cost at least $500 a month. No wonder the food is so cheap. We have to spend all our money on rent.

-The shuttle to Newark International Airport is only $25 roundtrip which is pretty great because it leaves from grand central in Manhattan and flights from Newark are generally less expensive.

-If you want to live somewhere that allows for cheap travel NYC is the place to be. I found an offer to go to Iceland for 3 days with hotels and airfare for only $400. I don’t really care to go to Iceland but it is still sort of cool.

-I watched the today show this morning while I at breakfast. I’m going to have to get myself on it as one of those silly people in the background waving. I walked by the area last weekend and I would not be hard to get there.

-Living in NY the biggest thing ever is happening … that’s right, Chelsea Clinton is getting married. We are all so excited. I’m not really sure why, but it is hard to miss.

-My kids think that Obama is a god. One of the guys at TFA does a really good Obama impression (his voice is perfect) and he recorded a message to the kids in his class as a class reward for the end of the summer program because they met their goal. They had a kid cry in their classroom of third graders because he was so excited.

-Diversity is a whole new thing. I have learned so much about so many different cultures while I have been here. Within TFA and in NYC there are so many different perspectives from what I have seen in the North West.

-East coast folks as a whole are pretty snooty. Some are great, but a lot have their noses in the air.

- I have learned how to do a teacher stare. J I’m still working on my teacher voice. It works sometimes, but then I want to smile or I scare myself which totally throws me off my groove.

-I love teaching math and reading. Writing is a nightmare and I wish that no one ever had to do it. I just say that now because I can’t see to get a handle on it yet. I’m sure that it will come with time.

-I want to treat these kids like campers. Instead of being Tyler I am Mr. Hamilton and instead of being flexible and fun I have to be pretty structured. Oh well. I think they like me anyway. Now I just have to try going back to camp and having the kids call me Mr. Hamilton. We will see how that goes over.

-Dunkin Doughnuts is everywhere. Their doughnuts are not that great, their sandwiches are lame, and everything is overpriced. Not worth a visit unless you get the munchkins. (Doughnut holes)

-If a dog weighs less than 10lbs it is not a dog it is a rat. The number of little rat dogs that I have seen is overwhelming. There have been a few that are too feeble to walk. Their owners put them in purses or even bags that are intended for dogs. They even had a restaurant (I forget the name, but it was like a Dick’s) that serves dog treats as well as regular food.

-There is going to be a mosque built on ground zero. Hello controversy, lots of upset people on both sides.

Time is ticking away...

I feel as though I am expected to get these kids to make changes in days that normally take weeks and teach objectives in weeks that should have months all while learning how to teach. Today has been fairly frustrating because we are assessing our students. While they have made growth, some of the objectives we simply haven’t had time teach them yet we are expected to test them on these objectives. It is not a student’s fault when their teacher doesn’t teach them something and I would argue at least right now during institute I don’t feel as though it is entirely my fault that the students didn’t get the best education either. Even with all these frustrations the students in my class have made some tremendous increases in reading and mathematics.

On a less school focused note, this past weekend was great. I met up with Katie Zerkel who I haven’t run into since May last year. We spent the day catching up with each other down in Times Square. We also went out and saw Mama Mia. It is my first Broadway musical since moving to NYC. It was a blast getting to see the city and spend time with a good friend. Sunday after church I went over to Mollie’s apartment and had lunch. Sunday evening we went to Pier 54 to dance. The NYC park program had live music along with a Latin dancing lesson. I made someone’s day when I danced with her, but she only spoke Korean and so outside of a smile and a peace sign there wasn’t much communication. Tomorrow is our last day with the kids. I’m excited to be done, but sad to leave my fourth graders. They are wonderful and they make me smile every morning.

I am still waiting to hear about my final placement for the fall. I hope to know by the end of the week, but with TFA you never really know. I’m excited to begin work for my students in the fall.

One week left...

I have almost made it through Teach For America Institute. The five week crash course on teaching that does the best it can to prepare me for a classroom this fall. I have to say that from my perspective the whole thing was a little bit more hyped up than I expected. I was told multiple times that this would be the hardest thing that I would ever do and I have to say that I don't think it is. Then again, when I look at other times in my life I feel as though I have been more challenged. I really can't think of anything that compares to the month that I spent washing dishes in "the pitts" at Frontier Ranch. Those were some hard days will lot of work and little rest as well. I also probably helps that I have had at least some experience working with kids at camp. While a cabin of ten fifth graders for the week is not quite the same as teaching a classroom, I do feel much more comfortable with managing children.

All is well on the hiring front for most TFA folks. We just found out today that 71% of the NYC Corps have been placed at this point (small party). At this point the lucky 29% of us (big party) who are still up in the air are just waiting for the next interview and potentially the next call/sticky note/text message to tell us that we got hired. Yes someone did really learn today that they were hired via sticky note from an assistant principle. It might be sort of cool to have that be how I get my first official job offer. While it is a little frustrating to be on the unhired end of the statistics, last year at this point only 31% of the corps members were placed so we are actually not in a bad position at all.

My fourth graders are great. Today we awarded the first of our 'Rock Star' prizes. Through class students have the opportunity to earn high notes. When they receive twenty five high notes they then get a photo shopped picture of themselves with the celebrity of their choice. Today one of the kids got a picture with him and Michael Jackson. Next week we have kids getting pictures with Madona as well as two Japanese cartoon characters that I can't remember the names of. It is amazing what silly incentives can do to boost a kids spirits.

I am trying to learn how to think like a fourth grader, I have to admit that it is harder than I would have expected. How do you explain to a kid who is struggling with rounding that any number that is equal to or greater than five means that you round up. I thought it was pretty straight forward, but when one child can't figure out that you don't round up with a four or down with an eight it can be hard to come up with more ways to explain. Using manipulatives can help, but they can also confuse the kid even more. Well it just show that I have a lot to learn. Next week I get to teach multiplication of two digit numbers by two digit numbers with regrouping as well as division of two digit dividends by one digit divisors with and without remainders. While I don't really have a problem doing the math myself, explaining the process and understanding why we do things the way we do is something I haven't thought about since I was in fourth grade. I get to learn right along with these kids. I have so much more respect for all of my teachers and the time and energy that they put in. I always thought that teaching was a fairly easy job for most teachers. Well I was wrong.

This weekend I am going to try to enjoy myself a little bit. I also get to spend some time each day with a different friend from home. :)

If you want me to send you a picture of some of my kids awards (their pictures with celebrities) shoot me an email. I'm not supposed to post them for the sake of confidentiality. The best email to reach me at is thamilton10@my.whitworth.edu

NY Times Article

So if I ever feel bad about myself I can always look a this article as a quick ego boost. It was on the front page of the New York Times this last Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/education/12winerip.html?_r=1

Three weeks in...

Well I have only been teaching for two weeks, but the training has been going for three and I am about to hit my one month mark here in NYC. To say that this has been a difficult experience would be an understatement. I didn't realize how important sleep was to my life up till now. I suppose that is because when ever I had a lack of sleep before in my life I had time to make it up. Well that is not the case here. You take what you can get, a short nap on the bus on the way to school or you give up on lesson planning at midnight knowing that you have to be up at 5am and even if you have the best lesson in the world you wont be able to present it if you haven't slept.

This past weekend I met up with Mollie McComb a friend from Whitworth and we went out to Staten Island and went hiking through a park. It is really great to get the chance to get away from TFA folks and see something different. It is also nice to have a friend who came from the same pond into this crazy NYC ocean. We also went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church this past Sunday. It is a pretty neat congregation and I hope that where I end up living will be within a functional distance of the church. After the service we strolled through Central Park. I wish I could afford to live near the park because it is absolutely amazing. Musicians, artists, trees, and grass although you can't walk on the grass because it is all fenced off. At least it is green.

My kids are priceless. Kids really do say the darnedest things. Today in class they had to use vocab words to create sentences. One of the sentences I looked at was 'the princesses and princes were bravely dancing.' Another said, 'Mr. Hamilton is magnificent.' I'm still getting used to being called Mr. Hamilton. What a strange thing. I do have one student who seems to have missed out on how to spell my name and when ever she writes it at the top of her papers she write 'Mr. Hamlet.' At the end of class today as a reward for good behavior we play Michael Jackson's Thriller and one of the students busted out a choreographed dance to it. He is the sweetest little guy. Being thin as a stick, wearing glasses, and soft spoken make him the person who I was least likely to imagine doing a dance, but he knew how to groove. The kids are great and life is going well here in the big city.

In the past week I have interviewed for two middle school special education positions in the Bronx. I don't know when I will hear back from them, but hopefully soon. I would love to be able to start looking for an apartment. Thats all I can think of for now. To my friends and family in Washington keep holding down the fort and for those of you elsewhere enjoy the experiences that life throws at you.

First few days as PS86

The kids are great. I love my class. They are the sweetest kids. They will own my life this month, but it will be worth it. Today one I asked Paola if she was excited about this weekend. She said that she was happy to be spending time with her family, but that she was sad because she wouldn’t see us again until Monday. J So sweet. I think I scared the kids a little bit because as a part of the writing lesson we had a stuffed bear come out to tell a story. Well needless to say, my stuffed bear voice is pretty much the same thing as my elf voice. It caught a few of them off guard at first, but it certainly held their attention.

I think that this is certainly one of the hardest things I have ever done. We work non-stop and sleep whenever we get the chance. You are doing good if you are in bed by midnight and my alarm is set for 5:30am. This is also however a bit of an ego boost because I am making it through lesson planning significantly quicker than most and actually have time to enjoy dinner and an hour or two off each day.

I had my first interview yesterday. I am fairly optimistic about how it went, however I don’t think I will hear back from the school any time soon. The principle wasn’t really sure how many positions she was hiring for or exactly which positions she needed. We shall see. Perhaps the next two years of my life will be spent teaching middle school special education at PS118 in the Bronx.

I would love prayers for energy and patience. My slightly picky organization side is making it more challenging for me to work with my team members who just don’t think the same way as I do.

A quick update

Well time flies when you’re having fun which I think is what is happening. For the most part I am certainly enjoying my experience here. We saw the classroom that we will be teaching on Thursday. The room is great and my Corps Member Advisor, basically the TFA person who is individually responsible for me, knows the teacher who will be observing us throughout the month. There are three people in my teaching collaborative. We are an interesting combination of folks and I’m not sure how good we will be working together with all of our different styles, but only time will tell. This weekend I caught up on sleep. I got about 9 hours of sleep Friday night and then I hit 15 hours on Saturday night. That was not really intentionally. I fell asleep at 8pm without setting an alarm to get up to go to church. Oops. I slept till 11am the next day. Last night (the 4^th of July) a group of us went down to a park to watch the fireworks. While the fireworks were great, for some reason I just don’t enjoy fireworks as much now as I used to. Perhaps I am a little bit less of a pyromaniac now? Tomorrow is the first day that we have in the classrooms. I will get to meet my students and get started on assessments and explaining classroom policies and procedures. I am anticipating life getting harder here, but who knows, maybe I just led too busy of a life back at Whitworth and what some people think of as busy I just see as common place.

I’m still waiting to hear about placement info which is a little bit frustrating. I haven’t had any interviews so far, but I am told it is just a matter of time. Once I get hired by a school I will begin the great apartment hunt. Doing this in the big apple is likely to be the most stressful part of this whole experience. I have never gone apartment hunting before and the idea of spending more than one thousand of dollars a month on rent just stresses me out.