The Plan

Throughout this entire year I have spent student teaching, I have kept a daily (mostly) journal. Why not just post these journals to this blog? Because I am a dummy sometimes.

So... the plan is to post some highlights from my journals to this blog. I will pick a few entries a night to copy, because I want to save them. I would lose this year of memories if I ever lost this flash drive- and how tragic would that be???

I will start at the beginning, August 2009...

Monday, August 31, 2009
It was really good to meet my site supervisor today as well. He seems like a wonderful person who will be a great resource for me this semester. (WHAT I KNOW NOW: HAHAHA) I am very anxious about all the logistical details of this placement, and even more so because I do not speak Spanish. I know that I will catch on quickly, but I am still worried. (LAUGHTER FROM FUTURE ME) I know that these qualms will work themselves out, but I am so looking forward to getting settled, both in my apartment and in my placement. I discovered today that I will be in a first grade classroom, which has changed from kindergarten. I know that this is not a big deal, but I had mentally prepared myself for kindergarten, and I need to move these mental images around.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
After spending a day in the school, I am confident that a good year is coming. I am very excited about my move to first grade. The teacher is fantastic, and seems very willing to include me in the classroom. When I got to school, I was amazed at the interaction of the staff. They all seem so happy to be working together, despite the problems with the building and all the recent staffing changes. At least 5 teachers that I know of have switched grades, and the faculty seems to be taking this chaos in stride. The principle and vice principle seem to be incredibly supportive people who take care of the teachers. I am looking forward to working with these people all year. (INTERESTING HOW THINGS CAN CHANGE)

Saturday, September 5, 2009
Yesterday was an exhausting, overwhelming day. Today was an exhausting, overwhelming day. This theme seems to continue, and I am really looking forward to a few days of rest before the madness of the school year begins. Friday was a lot of fun, but a little too stimulating. I am usually an introverted person, which does not mean that I don’t enjoy socializing with people and being in new situations. However, it does mean that I need some time to unwind and calm down alone, time that has not been readily available this week. Yesterday was also my twenty-first birthday, and all the new activities with new people were a little much. I went to my school to work, even though my teacher was attending a conference. It was nice to get some time in the classroom, and have a chance to talk with the other faculty members. I went straight to the loop tour at the library, which was a very interesting experience. Scott knows so much about the city, and it was exciting to spend some time learning about the skyscrapers in the loop. The styles of the buildings have always been fascinating, and I enjoyed learning more about the history. The same was true of the architectural boat tour. It was nice to see the city from the unique angle of the lake and the river. I have spent so much time in the loop over the years, but having a better understanding of the history and the planning of the city was exciting. We then went to the Jazz Festival in Grant Park. After playing the alto and tenor saxophone for eight years, I was completely and totally ingrained in the jazz culture, and I have to make a confession. I don’t like jazz! It disrupts my sense of order and rule in a sense. I can appreciate the beauty of the style and the talent it takes to produce such great music, but it is not my preferred type of music. (AFTER LIVING IN THIS CITY FOR EIGHT MONTHS... I STILL DO NOT LIKE JAZZ.)

I had been looking forward to today since getting the orientation schedule last Sunday. My parents grew up on the South Side, and knowing some of the history excited me, as well as the roots I have in these neighborhoods. My mom grew up in the Beverly neighborhood, and my dad was raised in the Back of the Yards area. The racism that was incredibly evident in these neighborhoods as my parents were growing up has always fascinated me. My mom tells horror stories about the riots in 1968, and the bombs that the first black families in the neighborhood got through their windows. My grandfather owned a grocery store that was boycotted when he allowed black people to shop there. My dad was raised in a much less tolerant environment. My grandparents were never overtly racist, but ignorant about racial differences and black culture. My dad was able to get educated and exposed to the African American community, and I was raised in an unbiased and open-minded environment. I feel inextricably tied to this area of the city, and proud of my, albeit sketchy, South Side heritage. I have had a lot of exposure to African American poverty in the past, so parts of this tour simply made me angry. It is incredibly disturbing to see some of the injustices, even if you know they exist and have worked with people from within the population before. The tour was a little frustrating because I was sitting in the far back, and could only hear about half of what was being said. I felt like I was missing a lot of valuable information from Arvis. However, what I did hear was fascinating, and it was interesting to get an up-close view of some of the areas of the city I was not familiar with. (I HAVE SINCE BEEN ON THE TOUR TWO OTHER TIMES AND STILL FIND IT FANTASTIC... ESPECIALLY WHEN I COULD HEAR WHAT IS BEING SAID!)