Week 11: Comparing

Hand Tools 101 at Service Reserves training... we could now BUILD our own school  :-)

This week was full of: starting to work in another classroom!  Mrs. T has been sooo welcoming into her College Prep Writing class of juniors.  Also, service reserves training, a Willy Wonka-themed community meeting, and loving having Mrs. R in our freshmen class (she is a guest who will lead my freshmen in a weekly workshop to create inspired pieces of writing, and is amazing.  During her first session, she learned all the students' names, got them discussing poems, shared how her teenage CPS son was shot recently, and encouraged them all to rise above the negative in their situations and follow their dreams). 

Ls: I now have a regular opportunities to observe Mr. S, Mrs. T, Mrs. R, and Mrs. S (the cheer coach).  They have such different styles and I feel so lucky to be able to work with all of them and "take the best" - use their most effective strategies in my own teaching.  This leads me to the introduction of....

Strategy of the Week: Expect all students to listen, so wait until you have everyone's full attention before speaking.  This is so basic and seems so simple, but I see what a drastic difference it makes. 

Joys:  Hearing such insightful viewpoints during a Q&A session with an alderman, Dept of Education rep, arts education non-profit organizer, and community news station rep; calling parents to tell them how glad I am to work with their amazing children; learning a lot about my student D when she brought photos to Leadership Lunches; hearing a teammate's life story about how City Year helped him when he was younger; soaking up the wise words on Poverty and Education by Timothy Knowles at the University of Chicago (he's founded 2 schools and a Teach for America site); and coffee and conversation with Phil.