Week 18: Returning

Cheering on the girls basketball team :-)

I was so excited to find an example of incorrect grammar on the train to show my kids!

This week was full of:  Whew! Getting back into the swing of things... I found this week particularly heart-breaking when hearing about some students' experiences over break.  The cousin of one of my favorite students was shot and sent to the hospital, and another student had two cousins shot and killed (one was a kid).  One student casually showed me his scar from being grazed by a bullet at a party (to which his friends responded "well everyone has bullet scars"), and when I asked one of my juniors about his break he told me "not that good... I got locked up for a bit."  I know the student of one of my City Year colleagues at another school was shot and killed.  Things like this make me feel helpless...

Quotes of the week/break: 
(I move near a group of freshmen boys who are chatting during a lesson)
K: Man, Ms. Lewis, you're always a party pooper.
Me: Because I stop you from talking so you do your work?  Then I'm glad to be a party pooper.
E: Naw, Ms. Lewis, you're a failure pooper!  You stop us from failing.

"We have so much time left in this year... we can still move these kids."        - Jade, my Team Leader

"Thanks for the Christmas card, Ms. Lewis... you should have given it to me a day earlier so I would have had time to write one for you." - A favorite sophomore

"I highly encourage anyone to teach abroad.  I grew and stretched in so many ways... it's humbling and rewarding." - Krystal, an excellent educator I met for "coffee" during break 

Responses on a feedback survey I gave to my freshmen: "Your kindness makes me want to continue towards success." "You challenge us and make our brains work." "You remind me mostly every day that you believe in me and that I could do better." "Stay strong." "(My advice is to) always have your happy spirit." 

Excerpts from All About You - a survey I gave my old and new juniors: 

"What is something you've done that you're proud of?"

• I've kept my focus on being a good person and doing what I have to do to have a successful future. 
• Stayed alive this long. 
• Went on a field trip to help pack food for the poor.  
• Being able to stay focused in school without any children.
• I didn't go to jail, I stayed in school. 

"Describe yourself in five words."

• Giving up, nice, funny, fun, likable.
• Struggling right now, need motivation. 
• Smart, intelligent, brave, kind person, mean attitude. 
• I am very hard working.
• Funny, cool, button-pusher, goofy.

"What can I do to best motivate you to do well in school?"

• I don't know. 
• Nothing. 
• Encourage me. 
• Get me going when you catch me off track. 
• Keep me inspired to go to school. 
• Teach me as much as you can and don't think everything I do is supposed to be perfect. 
• Tell me I'm doing good and always be honest. 
• Help me and don't give up on me when I don't get it so fast.

Joys:  Meeting my new group of juniors!  I wrote them all letters and some students said they will write back... I also enjoy that many of my "old juniors" (from the last session of classes) still find me in the halls and cafeteria to chat.  Also, cheering on the girls basketball team at a game, starting to lead the Do Nows, helping at Saturday Academy (an optional ACT workshop for juniors), and seeing one of my most motivated junior's faces light up when she introduced me to her one-year-old son.

Weeks 16 & 17: Celebrating

Some teammates while on a tour of graduate schools in Chicago

Proud students

Our first VIP lounge to honor students who have made improvements in behavior

Mingling at the school staff holiday party

Sorting through boxes of donations from Borders!

Our team at the City Year holiday party

This week was full of:  events!  Our Word Warriors literacy celebration was a hit, as was the first VIP lounge.  Also: long nights at the office, motivating discussions with our Assistant Principal and Jewan (our Program Director), the school staff holiday party at a nearby restaurant, writing about 70 holiday cards and notes to students and staff, giving and receiving constructive criticism from my teammates during our 360 exercise, distributing Candy Cane-grams to students in their classes as part of a fundraiser, visiting graduate programs, and the City Year holiday party.

Quotes of the weeks:  "Ms. Lewis, why will you teach elementary school?  You should teach high school so you can stay at our school."  - A Junior (who was particularly challenging at first)    

"From now until June, you all need to do more.  This is not about you - this is about what you're doing.  If you want to be more impactful, you can be.  No one is stopping you.  I look at you in a certain way because I believe you can do greatness at all times." - Jewan, our Program Director, during our roundtable discussion

"(The principals) and the rest of the school leadership were all raving about the City Year event. We are definitely changing the culture and atmosphere of the school." - Alonzo, our program manager, via email

"Ms. Lewis, would you make me one promise?  If I graduate, will you be in the stands watching with my family?"  - A sophomore <3

Excerpts from writing by my wonderful freshmen:
- "I, Angelique, am beautiful - not because of the curve of my hips of the shape of my body, or the curl of my eyelashes or the fullness of my lips; I am beautiful because God made me.  I am beautiful because I want to be... I am beautiful because I have confidence.  I am beautiful because I have goals and plan to reach them."
- "Every day a different victim to a heinous black crime, every second bullets fly so we lose the track of time.  It's really too late to call it quits, and I have to see my friends in categories they don't fit."
- "I don't understand why people can't like me for me.  They see my outside and assume what type of person I am on the inside...  I don't understand why boys wanna be so-called thugs selling drugs to fit in... I don't understand why we are hurting each other.  Hey brother, that's your brother.  Hey brother, that's your sister, so why are we continually hurting one another?  I don't understand why, but what I do know is that the things I don't understand, my God knows why."
- "2010 wasn't my friend in the beginning, it isn't my friend now.  He's a monster that I'm scared of because I don't know what he'll do next... No money, no food.  But I never stop going to school.  I try and learn what I can because I  never want to experience this again.  I learn in life that sometimes you have to sacrifice, for the good and for the bad, and sometimes it will make you mad.  But I learn to keep moving on, cause in the end this will all be gone."
- "Why can't we walk down the street without getting killed, why can't we go to school without being threatened, why can't we go to the store without being robbed, why can't we go to school to get an education, why can't we look in the mirror and see something good for a change, why can't we have a drug free community, why can't we have a gang free community, why can't we be successful in life not just by playing sports, why can't we have peace in a black community..."

Ls:  Give others opportunities to take on tasks and decisions and leadership.  Don't hesitate to ask for help! Also, students thrive when given creative freedom. 

Joys:  Seeing students in the audience cheer and go crazy in support when one freshman reading his original poem said "whether I'm gay or straight, I'm me;" feeling the love and support of the Robeson City Year team and Andre when they came to help with our literacy night; seeing proud students invited to our VIP lunch; trying to soak up all the wisdom about life and working with others during our discussion with Jewan; seeing students smile when delivering candy cane-grams their friends purchased for them; being nominated and receiving a Fab Five award. :-)

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!).

Week 14: Rolling

Team and some students spirit-breaking after homework help

Ms. Serrano after we volunteered to help with an event to celebrate teen girls

The week was full of:  sooooo much planning for our upcoming literacy night.  I'm getting excited, though.  Also, starting to meet with a new student during lunch, feeling refreshed after a training day with the whole corps, getting frustrated with one student in particular who has taken steps backwards in the areas of "motivation and respect," creating hype about the literacy event, and offering to help at an event for teen girls that a security guard organized. 

 Quotes of the Week:  "City Year keeps me out of trouble!" - A rambunctious ninth-grader, bounding into our room for after-school help

"What's your slogan?  It's not 'give a year, keep the world the same'!" - Maggie Evans, an amazing teacher who leads our literacy trainings

"(When recently at the White House, President Obama and the First Lady) told me to please pass along to everyone at City Year a very big thank you for your work, and to let everyone know how much they appreciate City Year’s work across the country."     - Michael Brown, one of our founders, via email 

Joys:  One of my students was excited when I told her she'll be joining my lunches; a good day with the cheerleaders when they listened more than usual and argued less than usual (I think bringing granola bars helped); having our team rock on getting free stuff donated for our literacy night, VIP lounge, and candy cane fundraiser.  

Weeks 12 & 13: Loving

Ready to mingle and offer treats to parents on conference day

A few of the kids hanging out in the gym with us before school

Some of my cheerleaders... their innocent smiles are deceiving :-)

Volunteering at an Animal Control Center for a teamlette service day

Trudging our way through the storm for the Fall Feast

These weeks were full of:  so much relationship-building with students!  My first one-on-one evaluation with my supervisor, spending a Saturday service day volunteering at an Animal Control Center, the Fall Feast with the whole corps, attending lectures on Social Emotional Learning and Poverty & Urban Schooling, and organizing the Family Meet & Greet during parent conferences. 


Strategy of the Week:  Let your kids know that you love them.  Tell them you can already tell how intelligent they are and that you can't wait to see the quality work they produce.  Tell them you can tell what an asset they will be and that you are so glad they are in your class.  Tell them they are special and that they have the potential to be a great leader, just like their role models.  Do this for all kids, even if these things aren't true, because they act how we message that we expect them to act.  Reframe their behavior to empower them. 

Quotes of the Weeks:  "Teachers can't be too cool with their kids, or they think you a fool.  If I was a teacher, I wouldn't care if they liked me.  You can be nice, but you gotta be firm too."  - A Twelfth-Grader

"My daughter raised her grades this year... those red jackets are really helping her out." - A Parent

"Whose idea was it to start having basketball in the mornings before school?  I used to come to school just a little late, but now I come early."       - A Student 

"No disrespecting Ms. Lewis!"  - Called out by an often-unfocused student, while I was waiting for many of his classmates to stop talking

"There is no 'problem kid' that can't be fixed with affection, sunlight, and good food."  - Bill Strickland at the North Lawndale Community Meeting  

"I've tried to walk my cat on a leash before, but he gets so distracted... so now I just have a cat stroller." - Volunteer at the Animal Control Center

Joys:  Receiving an increasing number of regular hugs from students; having more students want to spend time in our City Year room to play cards, practice typing websites, chat, or draw (along with doing homework); hearing a student eagerly ask me "are you going to be in here with us all the time now?" while visiting the Special Education room; making a student who was having a bad day a comic about a superhero who controls his moods then hearing that he showed it off to everyone in his class; the complete attitude change in some of my juniors when I gave them a getting-to-know-you survey, wrote them all back a sincere letter, then taught a lesson using an essay I wrote describing how they will be successful with their names as examples; soaking in the pride and momentum at the North Lawndale Community Meeting; and hearing a 'challenging' student chose the word Love for a spirit break.

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.

Week 10: Roller-Coastering

Our first Service Briefing I compiled

This week was full of:  Things going crazy so laying down the law by setting expectations/rules for the cheer team and homework room, my first one-on-one time with two very difficult boys at our school, visiting the special education room, staying late at the office to print and send our Service Briefing, and celebrating Jasmyne's birthday.

L:  This wasn't new, but I appreciated Amanda's reminder that though there is a lot that we have no control over in our schools, we can (and should) always "do something" to find a solution.

Quote of the Week: "Ms. Lewis, your voice always expresses kindness."
- "Elijah," a ninth-grader

Joys:  Walking into cheer practice to find the girls already warming up, participation from J in our first leadership lunch, and literacy training with Maggie - I always leave with new ideas!