Notes of a TFA-er: The Deep End

So the first two days of teaching reading and writing classes are over. I've been thrown into the proverbial deep end and I have survived! I am intact! My kids are full of 'tude but full of great ideas. They are awesome sixth graders. The first day was an out-of-body experience for sure. I forgot to look at my lesson plan the ENTIRE time I was teaching (oops). Good thing I spent 4 hours on it, right?! High five! Up top for the n00b teacher girl! There were some fabulous moments and then others where I obviously should have done things differently. But day two was already better than day one and it feels so great to put all this crazy knowledge I've been cramming in my head into real life practice. Here's a list of some things that went down:

1. Again, I've mentioned the TFA acronyms before. I'll teach you a new one, maybe the most important: CMA. Corps Member Advisor. I happen to have the best one ever. His name is James, and he works endlessly to help my team and I out. Each classroom of summer school is led by FOUR people - this is called your collaborative. I have three guys and myself in my collaborative running our classroom (which is working out really well but is new for me because I've never had a group project with more than one male...thanks Trinity Christian College English department) who James advises. He also oversees two other classrooms with similar setups, so he is THE go-to guy for TWELVE corps members in Chicago this summer. I've gotten e-mails from him at 2:05 AM and then the next day at 6:30 AM. Someone should knit him the softest blanket ever so he can go take a nap of epic proportions when this Institute madness is finished. One more reason why he is amazing: he asked for one of my favorite quotes the other day, and I told him the one in Alice and Wonderland where Alice takes control of her dream instead of putting up with what everybody else decides for her. For my first day he gave me a clipboard with my quote on the front and this was written on the back:

Just call me Anna in Wonderland

Honestly. I'm hard pressed to think of anything that would get me more stoked for my first day of teaching than comparing the achievement gap to the Jabberwocky. I now plan on slaying that thing pretty thoroughly thanks to this clipboard. 

2. So a few minutes into the first day, we were talking and one of my students goes...Miss Gesch you look like that chick from Scooby-Doo! And I'm all like "Oh my goodness, they think I'm Daphne. The gorgeous one. I'm awesome and totally rock this teacher outfit like a boss." Then I realized they didn't mean the hot one of the group. They meant Velma. VELMA. HONESTLY. The totally square, lame nerd who solves all the mysteries while the other people do stupid unhelpful things. (Sidenote: Does anyone find it funny how Fred always suggests that "the gang" split up? And by having "the gang" split up he really means he disappears with Daphne to who knows where? Yeah. Exactly what I thought.) But I mean I see where they're coming from with the nerdiness, the big glasses, and bangs. I have all three. So after the kid made the comment I turned to the student and said back, "Thanks! And you look like the dog from that show - how funny!" Just kidding I didn't say that. But needless to say I took off the glasses when I got home and changed into cuter clothes. I was pretty emotionally scarred and am currently nursing my ego in my room. I think I'll pull through.

Stop trying, Velma. Even this
provocative pose is doing nothing for
those man shoulders of yours. 

3. My co-teacher (he's teaching in Milwaukee this school year) and I are in charge of Reading and Writing instruction which lasts all morning. Today he pulled a classic move and intercepted a note that two kids were passing. We were fairly excited about it and felt like he was a rockstar for being that perceptive. (It's the little things, people.)

We know the male culprit, but we are still doing serious Nancy Drew background work to figure out who the girl is. I may or may not be cross examining handwriting in their worksheets tomorrow to crack the case. This is a true note. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Boy: Why not he like you!

Girl: I nooooo already.

Boy: Then go with him please.

Girl: Why you so worried.

Boy: Cause he keep bothering me. 

Girl: Ummm ask me again tomorrow kk.

So from this I can deduce that the boy is doing some SERIOUS wingman work for his fellow sixth-grade bro by talking to a girl who he likes. The girl already "nooooooo's" that the other guy likes her and is sick of being bothered, yet curiously asks to be bothered yet again tomorrow to bring up the same nagging subject that she claims to resent. Interesting. Adventures in the Psyche of a Sixth Grader will continue tomorrow. Should be fascinating.

So there you have it. A great leader, a great team, a blow to my ego, and some sixth grade drama to spice it up just a tad. I'd say it's been a good two days.