Goodbye Mississippi....Hello North Carolina!

After a long journey from Mississippi to Raleigh, NC I am finally in our new apartment at NC State University! Nolan is still at his work retreat and will return in just a few hours! While it was tough to leave my summer school students in Mississippi, I am excited to start this new adventure! Below are a few pictures from my class this summer. The first picture is my 4th grade class of mathematicians. They are pointing to the "contracts" they signed with their goal on the end of summer assessment. We talked about how passing this test is one small step in the journey of achieving their career goals. They signed their notecards with their individual goal percentage with an autograph just like they will sign their job contract someday! Every student in our class grew in their scores from the beginning of the summer, and many of them not only met their goal, but exceeded it!

The second picture was the two students I got the chance to work with during small group intervention time. I was so proud of them because they improved significantly in their reading scores this summer and, although they didn't quite reach their percentage goal in math, they both grew from a 2 and 3% on the beginning of the summer test to a 29 and 30%. I saw growth in these two students this summer that cannot be measured on a test! Their confidence exploded and they both stole my heart!

The third picture is of our class with all three teachers. we worked in groups of three teachers and it was really great getting to know these two, sharing ideas, and learning what it means to work together for the best interest of our students! Enjoy :o)

"Can't" is Like Saying a Bad Word

It's Monday night, week 4 of summer school...week 5 of being in Mississippi...and week 6 since Nolan dropped me off at training! This has been an amazing experience, however I am definitely ready for Saturday to come! It will be tough to say goodbye to my students (most of them anyhow!) because even though I've only had them for 4 weeks, I feel like they are the first of many students to pass through my classroom as a teacher. For this reason, they will always hold a special place in my heart.

I am amazed at some of the changes that students can make in such a short time, and I can't imagine how this will be magnified when I have students for a whole year, or years at a time. My experience with one student in particular has been especially powerful the past few days. This student came into our class a few days late, after he realized that he was in the third grade class instead of the 4th grade class where he was supposed to be. Assignment after assignment was handed in empty, with no effort put in whatsoever. It was a struggle for him to stay awake those first few days, but slowly he started to engage. He is one of two struggling students I work with during our academic intervention time and was constantly throwing down his pencil in frustration, "I can't do this because I'm stupid," "I hate school and I hate teachers because they are all mean." This was a tough thing for me, as his teacher, to swallow but we powered through and together we've found ways for him succeed in huge ways in the classroom. The past 4 days, he has gotten a 100% on my daily quiz. The power of transformation in his life was apparent to me today when one of his fellow students became frustrated on a test and said "I can't do this!" I overheard this special moment, and I'm so glad that I did! He turned to her and said "Mrs. P says that saying can't is like saying a bad word because we are all smart, we just have to work really hard."

That simple statement really sums up my experience as a summer school teacher in the Mississippi Delta. I've learned that no matter how things may seem, every kid is really smart. Every kid needs someone to tell them that and to help them work hard. This is certainly easier said than done, and I'm sure it will prove even more difficult when I start school this fall, but it sure is an encouraging thing as I start this exciting journey of being a teacher!

"Your husband's got the muscle!"....and other adventures

Well I am now more than half way through summer school teaching...and less than two weeks away from seeing Nolan in our new home Raleigh, NC! Last week was a busy week at summer school, and it went really well in most ways. However, I began to see the "honeymoon" phase fade a bit between me and my students. They are getting a little more comfortable testing the boundaries of our behavior management plan and are getting over the new excitement of new teachers. But overall, my students have been excellent and adorable (Although one boy did look me in the eye and tell me he wished I weren't his teacher because I am the only teacher who makes the class follow the rules and do school work...which is definitely not true and I'm looking at the bright side thinking that I am doing a good job enforcing the rules and encouraging them to do their work!).

After a few days of not knowing what to do with my small group of struggling readers during Academic Intervention Hour, we have been using some phonics activities and games. I am proud to report that all three of the students I work on during this time (the students at the lowest reading level in the class) passed their reading exam last week! I was super proud of them for practicing all the silly reading exercises I taught them! It's amazing how much students can improve in such a short time when someone really gives then one-on-one attention. We learned some new vocabulary words from our weekly story and made up motions for each one. I also started using the "reading wand" in small group reading time. The allure of the reading wand is growing by the day and the anticipation of who will get it and when is pretty intense. Students use the reading wand to follow along with the words when we read aloud and also to pass on good reading vibes when someone is reading a really hard word. One student decided to use the reading wand to turn "Mrs. P" into a princess so I didn't have to work anymore. Who knew that a plastic cocktail stirrer could be so exciting and create so much motivation! Definitely worth the $1.99 for an entire pack at Walmart!

On Friday, the other math teacher was at a wedding, so I got to teach both math blocks and be alone with my 12 students for the first time for 2 hours (I did implement mandatory jumping jacks between the two math blocks). By the end of the morning, just in time for the daily test, I think we were all sick of each other and ready for the weekend. So when a verbal competition started about who saw a picture of my husband on my phone and who didn't, this became my incentive for completing their tests. It absolutely worked and they were all thrilled to see a picture of Nolan...even the boys! When one girl looked at the picture, she excitedly exclaimed "Ms P! Your husband's got the muscle!" followed by one of the boys calling another boy over to see "Ms. P's jacked husband." Nolan should be very flattered haha. Just when the end of the day couldn't come soon enough, there was a little group of them gathered in the corner, and I was afraid of what they could be up to. I walked over and they started to sing "Happy Birthday Ms. P!" It was very sweet. I am getting so attached to these kiddos.

Since we had today off for the 4th of July, I headed to Memphis to spend the weekend with my long-time friend Kyle and his fiancee Gardner. It was super fun and a much needed break from all things teaching! I ate some great food, went to a minor league baseball game, and even took a nap. Now it's back to lesson planning...and more lesson planning....

Miss everyone! :o)

"Mrs. P"....or in some cases "Mr. P"

My first week as an official teacher has come to an end...and to say that I am exhausted would be an incredible understatement. This experience has truly been a roller coaster of emotions. I have absolutely fallen in love with my 11 fourth grade students, they are so sweet, eager to learn, and honestly in love with their teachers! We have "shout-outs" in our class where we are supposed write encouraging notes to our classmates and post them so that we feel more like a team. Yesterday, we gave them some time to post their shout outs, and the picture above is part of what I found after class! We may need to go over that I am Mrs. P...not Mr. P, but they are so sweet!

Moments like this certainly leave me on a high, and I really feel comfortable and enjoy teaching in front of the class. The students have been well behaved the majority of the time (I have had to issue some "consequences" on our thermometer of behavior, which kinda breaks my heart sometime, but must be done!) I can't believe how much I have learned about math after studying up for all my lessons.

The heartbreaking aspect of this experience has been the reality of where these kids are (or aren't) academically. These kids are so and really want to learn. They are craving a classroom that provides them the education they deserve. One of the toughest, but also the part of summer school is called Academic Intervention Hour. The three fourth grade teachers each take a small group and work intentionally on math and reading with their group. I have the lower-level reading group. My first day I brought my short story and had some discussion questions all picked out for my small group. I was really excited to finally do some reading with my students and to share my love of reading with them. They listened intently as I read the first page and then they were going to rotate and take turns reading aloud. This was great...until I realized the could hardly get through simple sentences. My strategy had to change, and the past few days I have been drilling them with phonics exercises. R, A, and Q (my small group students) soaked this up and truly helped me help them. Today we worked on the sounds "ch" and "ck" and by the end they were saying "Ms. P, we got this it's so easy!" Well I am definitely getting to bed early tonight...more stories to come!

End of Week 1 in the Delta

Well, week 1 in the Mississippi delta has come to an end....only 4 more to go! Yesterday was super exciting because we finally got to meet some of the students we will be teaching for the next four weeks in summer school. Our students came in the morning to take a test that determines their reading level. Each of us teachers would take one student at a time and administer various steps of the test. The dire academic issues facing many of these kids became much more real to me. Entering fourth graders who struggled with kindergarten and first grade reading lists. Students who have no passion for reading. It will certainly be a challenge teaching a class this summer that has a range of scores from 10-60! I am excited and ready to execute my first lesson plan on Tuesday afternoon right after lunch (so I will have to be energetic!) My first lesson plan is about the inverse property of addition and subtraction. So once I taught myself what that means, I was able to think about how to teach it. My lack of math expertise is actually coming in handy as I try to put myself in the mindset of fifteen eight year-olds.

While I have spent a decent amount of time visiting southern states, I am noticing some new things here in the rural deep south. A guy who helped me move in was telling me how excited the town was to have its very first 24-hour Walmart, I went for a walk in "downtown" Cleveland at 5:30pm on Friday, and everything had already closed, and finally I'm realizing that some people do not grow weary of grits at nearly every meal. Observing the many, many, many small churches on our drive here, I also came to the conclusion that if you live here, you go to church, and if you go to church, you are a Baptist.

Today I am taking a big trip to Walmart and grabbing some dinner at a place that claims "the best fried shrimp" in the Delta (not that I will have much to compare it to!) Pretty pumped about that! Thanks for the support from each of you and I miss everyone dearly :o)

My Teaching Adventure Begins!

I am hoping to keep my family and friends in the loop about my newly started journey with Teach for America through this blog. So many of you were incredibly instrumental in getting me to where I am today and I am thrilled to share my journey with you!

Last Monday, I said goodbye to the city that I have called home for the past 25 years. (I, however, strongly believe that you can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can't take Pittsburgh out of the girl!) Nolan drove me down to North Carolina where we got a chance to meet one of his new bosses at NC State and see the apartment we will be calling home in Tucker Hall at NC State University (I have been in NC long enough to realize if you want to sound correct, you call it simply "State" so I am trying to adapt!) After our campus visit, I said a bittersweet goodbye to Nolan when he dropped me off for my regional training in NC. After a few days there, I traveled with my new-found friend Marissa from Rocky Mount, NC to Cleveland, Mississippi...a crazy 15 hour drive through the deep south! I was reminded of my "yankee" status at a Subway restaurant in rural Alabama where the server could not understand my speech because of my accent!

After moving into my dorm room with my roommate for the next 5 weeks (quite the adjustment for this old married lady!), we hit the ground running with practical training and preparations for the summer school classes that we will be teaching. On Friday, I will welcome my class of Entering 4th graders for their summer school math block...Yes, I the non-math, English minded, book lover will be teaching math! I am totally out of my comfort zone, and actually totally excited!

I am adjusting to a different type of day where I get up at 4:45am...breakfast at 5:30am to make my 6:00am bus for my hour-long school bus ride to Bearden Elementary in the very, very, rural Mississippi Delta region. I can hardly wait to meet my students and to start this journey. I feel so strongly already that this is exactly what I am meant to be doing at this time in my life. Although, perhaps talk to me in a week, and I hope to feel the same. I am growing in my passion and dedication to the cause of providing a quality education for all students, and I am absolutely devastated by the vastness of the academic achievement gap in our country. I am now part of the movement to close that gap for the next generation of children, and it is refreshing to be surrounded by 800 young people with the same passion!

Well, for those of you stuck with me through this post, I hope you will enjoy hearing about my adventures! Stay tuned for more stories and reflections!

Farewell and Good Riddance

My little 1997 Toyota Corolla has served me well for the past six years, and because of that a small part of me is sad to see it end this way. A few weeks ago I was driving in the parking lot of Kohls and someone cut across the aisle and rammed right into me (of course they were in a big truck, so my little Corolla didn't stand a chance!) Since she's so old, the insurance company considered her totaled, so I had to hand her over on Friday. On the other hand, I received a very fair check from the insurance company which is now in my bank account waiting to be a down payment on a new-to-me vehicle. Farewell dear friend :o)