Week Two

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
This has been an overwhelming kind of day. I experienced so many different sorts of emotions; exhaustion, excitement, anxiety, happiness, frustration, and joy. I have a fantastic group of students, and it was a really fun day. The first day is always chaotic, but I really enjoyed the ability to see how school begins. In every other practicum, I have entered into an environment in the middle of the year. Being there and establishing my place in the beginning of the year was a really exciting opportunity.
On one hand, it is nice to be living in an area that is sympathetic to my political views. Defending oneself and one’s politics on a continual basis is tiring! However, I need to make sure that I stay current on the news and opposition opinions. I think that with the busyness of this year, I could very easily slip into a pattern of being uninformed, and losing my “political edge.” One of my goals for the year is to figure out how to live the busy life of a student teacher and have a life- including staying current- at the same time. (RETROSPECT: NOT that HARD STAYING CURRENT IN THIS CITY)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I taught my first lesson today- (FIRST LESSON!!!) it was rather spur of the moment. We were doing a math graph based on eye-color, and my cooperating teacher had me make the big graph for the class. She then sort of handed the responsibility over to me. The lesson was a little bit advanced for them, and we were not prepared for the number of students who have brown eyes in the class! My first problem with the teaching worksheets created for the all-Caucasian class- we had 17 students with brown eyes and 4 students with blue eyes. I am learning more and more about the unique scenarios that accompany teaching in a diverse classroom, even the silly little things like the need to create worksheets that fit the demographics of the class.
After some reflection on the lesson today, I realized that I need to work on a balance between the incredibly detailed lesson plans I have been taught to create, and the impromptu lesson I taught today. I know that it will eventually be impractical to create very meticulous lesson plans, and I need to get better at “flowing” through the lesson without a step-by-step procedure. However, I know that this format is required for student teaching. I am a little concerned about doing this for a year, and then attempting to start a career as a teacher, when these won’t be necessary. Will I have had the requisite amount of practice completing quickly planned lessons? (SEMESTER TWO: THREE DETAILED LESSON PLANS)

Saturday, September 12, 2009
This morning started off really well with a visit to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Rally. It was a pretty awesome experience to be sitting just a few rows from the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as the President of the NAACP and many other prominent leaders in the black community. I have spent a lot of time working with black students, and have many black friends. While I realize that this does not give me a complete understanding of the black culture and heritage, I do think that I have some appreciation for issues that disproportionally impact the black community. Issues like healthcare and poverty and quality education are all civil rights issues within many black communities, and it was exciting to be in a room filled with such a powerful spirit. I also loved the connection made between politics and the church. I have been fighting the battle to keep church and the state separate for a while, both to avoid the corruption of the state, and the influence of government in religious matters. But as a religious person, I find no problem with the expression of my faith lying in progressive politics. It was exciting to chant and cheer about health care reform being a moral issue- because for me, it is. It was encouraging to listen to cries about quality education and illegal immigration being religious issues, because they are!

Sunday, September 13, 2009
I wish I could tell them about the beauty of the struggle and the goodness of community. I wish I could tell them that big city doesn’t mean danger or ambiguity. I wish I could tell them about the flavor of each block and the music of each neighborhood. And I especially wish I could tell them that parents here love their kids, regardless of annual income. I wish they could see that students here still have hopes and they still dream of better things, regardless of being considered a lost cause. But I cannot- no matter how much you scream and beat your chest about injustice and the beauty of innocence, they won’t listen.