Week 3

After a very long week, I have some updates on my life as a student teacher.  I am now a morning coffee drinker.  Never before in my life have I needed to shock my system with a shot of caffeine, but here I am.  I never thought this day would come.  The day I drink it black is the day I know I am an adult.  There is still time for that...

For inspiration I watched Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit last night, and the young woman from last week's post is Rita Watson, attitude and all.  There is truly no better way to describe her.  She won't talk to me or ask me questions.  In fact she goes out of her way to avoid any form of interaction.  This is discouraging, but I know she'll come around.  I will find a way.

I discovered why we have two Metropolitan Police Officers assigned to the school.  I walked out of class this afternoon (early because the entire junior class had a meeting starting half an hour before the end of the day), and there was a man with a visitor's sticker walking towards me in the hall.  Several girls were standing by the bathroom door, and one of the police officers was patrolling the halls.  Lucky for us he was in the right place at the right time, because he happen to see that this "visitor" had exited the ladies bathroom (used only by students as the staff have their own bathrooms).  The officer told the man to kneel on the floor and present his ID.  The officer then asked this man for an explanation as to why he was in the girl's bathroom.  

Officer: "Kneel on the floor and give me your ID.  What were you doing in the ladies restroom?"

Man: "Aw man, I really had to go to the bathroom, so I went in, went, and then came out and the girls were looking at me funny.  That's when I saw the sign and realized what I had done, but I had to go so bad I didn't notice."

Officer: "You didn't see that there were no open stalls [urinals] in the bathroom, or that the bathroom is PINK?"

Man: "Aw naw, man, I had to go real bad.  I had this stomach ache, you know, so I wasn't looking for the open stalls, I went number 2, you know?"

At this point, I got on the elevator with my cart, and the other security officers joined the policeman for further questioning of the "visitor."  CREEEEEEEPPPPPYYYYYY!

That pretty much sums up my week.  The least I can say is that I've made it through three weeks, and I still show up to work 45 minutes before I need to be there.  Other than the bureaucratic craziness that I encounter with the office or with HR downtown, and the creeps, I love my job.  Thank GOD for the police.  That's all I have to say.

Week 2

Where do I begin? This week posed some major challenges, and I learned that teaching in the inner-city is NOT easy. Of course I didn't think my job would be easy. All the stories about lack of resources and lack of motivation were accurate. Reading all of these accounts and experiencing them first-hand are two TOTALLY different things. Reading Kozol inspired me to do something about the education problem. Now that I am here, I have to actively combat the bureaucracy and other challenges, and I can see how difficult my career will be.

You should all know a few things about DC public schools (DCPS). The first is that they rank dead last among the 50 states and 3 territories counted for public school systems. In recent years the school system has undergone varying changes, not the least of which is the controversial hiring of a new Chancellor (Superintendent). I liken the actions Michelle Rhee is taking to shaking a snow globe. She's a mover and a shaker, and she is certainly doing something different, but it is impossible to predict where the snow will actually land. Her success remains to be seen. She has enforced stricter accountability for teachers (a good thing since over 40% of the District's teachers aren't actually certified to teach the subjects they are currently teaching). At the same time she is in favor of hiring greater numbers of teachers from programs like TFA (certainly questionable since the vast majority of TFA corps members are NOT certified when they enter the classroom during their first year). I digress.

My school happens to be one of the better schools in the city. Students have to apply and interview to attend, and then they must maintain a 2.0 GPA to stay. This school, however, is not immune to either the administrative policies Rhee implements, or exempt from the pool of schools that have their own inner-city horror stories.

This past week (a short one due to the inauguration) proved what I am up against. On Wednesday I taught of class of 9th graders who were entirely unmotivated. Mind you, this is a World History and Geography class, and we're learning about explorers with NO MAPS in the classroom. The copies I made for them were done on paper purchased by my cooperating teacher. In fact every teacher has to buy his or her own paper, white board markers, erasers-supplies for the classroom in general. To solve the map problem I went to Barnes and Noble to find wall maps I can mount on the classroom wall to use. (The ladies behind the counter were appalled that I am teaching geography without maps; I did get the educator's 20% discount).

Thursday was my wake up call. I had a student in my second period US History class go off the deep end. She is clearly unhappy about having a student teacher (apparently teenage girls have attitudes and become VERY territorial when another female invades their space). In any case, she lost it-throwing stuff, slamming things, swearing, yelling, and screaming. I should also mention she was carrying on about me, while I was sitting right there. My only option was to not react. I didn't, but my first instinct was to cry and run out of the room. This is the class I like the least (big surprise), and this class will be the most challenging for the rest of the semester.

The students were required to attend a safety and security assembly on Friday at which hardly anyone listened, and the students hardly understood the importance of the message the administration was trying to teach. They were more concerned about making fun of the speaker than they were about listening to why they were there.

SO WHAT?
Well I can honestly say that I was not entirely prepared for this. Granted this was somewhat of an exceptional week, and the first time you deal with an incident is always the hardest. Regardless, it was rough. I sincerely considered cutting my losses and moving home (sorry, dad). Thankfully I have a support system in place to carry me through. My cooperating teacher, the other members of the social studies department, my supervisor, friends going through the same experience, and, to some extent, my professors at American. I also have a background that constantly reminds me that although I am not prepared for the isolated events inside the classroom, I have the knowledge and the experience to at least deal with the situation. And I can't forget about my passion to actually make a difference in the world of American public education. Keeping these thoughts at the back of my head pushes me through.

TFA Connection:
In my own experience, I could not succeed in the classroom with only six weeks of summer training. This has taken, literally, years of preparation and convincing that in fact I AM needed in the toughest classrooms in the country. I agree that you cannot learn to teach merely from books, but you cannot walk into a classroom on the first day of teaching and have no idea what you are actually getting into. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and I wouldn't want my own kid having a teacher with such little preparation. This is the fundamental level I will refer to again and again in the coming weeks: the balance between skills training through theory-based college/graduate level classes, and classroom experience with the safety net of an experienced cooperating teacher.

Week 1- January 12-16
As my first week of student teaching comes to a close, I have a few observations to make. To begin I will say I am enjoying my placement. This is certainly a different environment from where I was in the fall. This school (a high school in NE DC) represents much more closely what I expected to find in an inner-city, public school- the teachers a frustrated, the kids are under-preforming, the principal seems enthusiastic, but unrealistic, etc, etc. I should mention that this is one of the better schools in the district. I can only imagine what schools like Anacostia look like in comparison. I'm sure more detailed information regarding the school structure will come out in later postings.

TFA Connection:
I have met several TFAs during this first week. They are all nice enough, and they all certainly have the characteristic vigor they were required to have when chosen for the placement. My concerns focus on another aspect. There is always the age question. These kids (I can say that because I am now officially older than most TFAs) come across as just that: kids. They dress like the students, speak like the students, and act like the students. Their professionalism is lacking to say the least. Sure they are an idealistic bunch, but I have a hard time telling them apart from the juniors or seniors in my classes. My second concern stems from this lack of professionalism. These teachers seem so unprepared. In fact when I spoke with one of them candidly about her experience she offered that she felt unprepared for the job she is doing. How can this be? Her six weeks of training did not offer enough guidance and advice for life as a teacher in an inner-city school? Shocking.

In the following weeks I will include more specific stories about what I am finding at this school as well as regarding the TFAs. Hopefully at the end of these 15 weeks, I will have some concrete answers about the TFA quesiton.