Well, I have not truly interacted with a middle schooler in at least a week, but that does not mean that I haven’t been working hard for the (wo)man (Wendy Kopp, that is) over the summer.
Last Tuesday, I finished my two grad classes: Calculus 2 and another random course that covered pretty much the exact same material that I taught this year. Six hours a day at Lehman College may not have been my ideal way to spend my summer; however, it did add structure to my day, allow me to see my TFA friends, and bolster my teaching confidence. What ended up happening in the non-calc class was the teacher was so frustrated by the dichotomy of levels (tfa and non-tfa) in the course, that he had us teach the other students. It ended up surprisingly well, and I am happy to say that “my pupil” called today to tell me that she received an 80% on the final!!! Maybe I should look into adult education…
Immediately after grad school finished up, my apartment turned into a veritable Hotel Manhattan, and I enjoyed the company of my brother and his IU friends as well as one of my best friends, Emi, who is a TFA teacher in Indy. The two trips were very different, but I thoroughly enjoyed the company of both Len and Emi and encourage anyone interested in visiting the Big Apple to come any time : )
As a whole, the summer has been AMAZING. A great chance to reflect, enjoy the company of friends, explore New York and to look at the bigger picture of the education reform that is so necessary to improve our country and the lives of its citizens ( a great article, btw: http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/socialsector/achievement_gap_report.pdf). People warned me that I would get bored, but I certainly have not experienced that yet...
Regardless, I am getting progressively more excited for the start of the school year. I met with the 7th grade team last week for an extremely productive meeting, and I promised myself to put in a couple solid 9-5ers this week to prepare next year's materials. The thing that I am most excited about, however, is to meet my kids, and I am hoping for a Back-to-School Bash soon ; )
However, there is still a month left, and Friday brings a trip to Colorado to celebrate Jess and Graham’s wedding! Make sure you send a shout out if you have the chance.
Ok, well, if I am going to actually be productive tomorrow, that’s going to require some sleep tonight. I hope that everyone is thoroughly enjoying their respective summers, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Lots of love,
Ms. Newton (Katie for the rest of the month)
PS: My goal is to get a cross country team started at 211. Please check up on that and send any coaching advice…
No comments:
Post a Comment