Week 15: Super In-kinding

Hannah proudly opening our first items donated to start a new Art Club!

$9,000 worth of books donated by Borders

Team stockings!  Mine's the one with boots.

This week was full of:  More planning for our literacy night, visits at our school by two City Year executives, making the latest Service Briefing newsletter, selling Candy Cane-grams at school to raise money for a new Art Club, one sick day, and great conversation with Paula Hunt on a day off to job shadow her at Purdue Calumet college.


Quotes of the week:  "The most important things are to follow through with everything you say, and to really get to know your kids." - Paula Hunt, a professor of Special Education and one of my mentors

"I want to start treating people with respect and how I want them to treat me... and work on my anger management."  - A freshmen, during a spontaneous and wonderful conversation about life
 (Proudly, two days later: "I almost got in a fight yesterday, but I didn't!") 

 "You know, people talk so much about the projects, but I'll tell you, I have some goooood stories from living there.  Wooeee!"  - Random man and woman on the bus near my school

(Hannah and I discussing frustrations while walking back from dinner)
Stranger:  "You're teachers, right?"
Us: "Yeah, how did you know?"
Stranger:  "I'm a psychiatrist.... teachers are by far my largest client group because their job is so stressful.  Good luck."

Joys:  Discussing books with a sometimes-challenging student one day after school then finding out he actually went to the public library later and checked out the books I recommended, followed by an awesome conversation in which he set new goals for his behavior; writing a rap for a student who usually shuts down and having a better and more responsive relationship with him afterward; and in-kinding like crazyyyy (we got our first items in the mail for the new Art Club, Phil secured 300 candy canes, and we got $9,000 worth of books donated by Borders!).