98 3/4 %

Week 1

mrs_mandi_p — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:40:44 +0000

Hello everyone! Well, week 1 is officially behind me. And holy cow, they weren’t lying when they said Institute is intense. I figured that I worked WELL over 60 hours this week, and I haven’t even started teaching yet! This week has been so informative and, for the most part, collaboratively friendly, shall we say? Hurt feelings and clashing personalities are the nature of the beast, but this is a little ridiculous. My collab group works well together, for the most part, but I have been telling myself mantra-style, “You cannot control his/her actions. You can only control your own actions.” C’est la vie, n’est pas?

Back to the week, I found out that I am teaching 10th grade first semester summer school at Hamilton High! I am very excited/ nervous/ anxious. I officially begin teaching Wednesday, so I’ll try to post something again then.

I got a job offer this week! It hasn’t officially gone through the HR process which means there is still a MINOR chance the principal will have to hire a pink slipped teacher, but he wants ME!! I am so thrilled about this school!!

My roomie is pretty awesome, as are my sweet mates who I share a bathroom with. They’re all very cool and nice (great vocab, right English teacher??) Today my hubby is coming into town, so I’m going to go finish getting ready!!

Rallying quote of the week: “I can do anything great. I love my hair. I love my haircut. I love my stuff. I love my room. I LOVE MY WHOLE HOUSE! I can do anything good, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can do anything better than anyone else.” Courtesy of Jessica.

Inducted

mrs_mandi_p — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:42:11 +0000

I feel absolutely inducted into this work. I told a friend that I was going to the Bay for Induction and she asked if I was joining some kind of cult. I’m not saying that TFA is a cult by any stretch of the imagination, but I will say that I truly feel like I have joined a lifelong cause. This work that we’ve all begun is more than just a job, it is a commitment to correcting a national problem starting in the classrooms. People often hear about TFA and become convinced that we’re all just a bunch of college grads with little to no experience in a classroom who will teach “poor kids” for 2 years and then go to law school. While certainly many of us won’t remain teaching, we’ve all been inducted into this cause. The achievement gap is not isolated to what happens in the classroom. These children need passionate Doctors For America who are willing to work in free clinics to make sure they get the care they need. These children need Lawyers For America who will advocate on their behalf so they can go to a school where finding paper and basic resources is not a problem. These children need Politicians For America who will not be satisfied that our nation is the home of this horrendous injustice. These children need Teachers For America, the 63% of us who will stay in the sector of education as teachers, principals, and school board members. All of us are, and will always be, Teach For America.

CSET

mrs_mandi_p — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:43:33 +0000

One of my favorite words right now is “pass.” I have officially passed all of the CSET English subtests as well as the CBEST. I passed the CBEST during the summer, and I also took and passed 1 of the 4 CSET English subtests before the start of the school year. Because I’m currently in Chicago, I waited until Christmas break to take the other 3. So, a couple days before flying back, I had to sit and take a 5 hour test. I am here to tell you that that is one of the weirdest tests I have ever taken. I felt like it had so little to do with my future career that it was ridiculous. I almost cried when I had to give them $150.00. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I do not have $150.00 lying around. I am a married undergrad. I have bills, rent, a cat, insurance, etc. So you can imagine my relief when I found out that I passed the tests on my first attempt. Wahoo!!!

It still feels so surreal that I am actually a part of TFA. I can’t wait to start Institute! Until then, I am going to focus on the massive amount of reading, writing, and research that I have to do for classes and the comps. I would also like to talk to some of the education students here as well as the writing center to try and spread interest in TFA. Lots to do!!

Why TFA? And, why 98 3/4%

mrs_mandi_p — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:55:44 +0000

My first post was rather brief, so I figured I ought to write a longer, more reflective post that will shed some light on my decision to join TFA as well as my unusual blog title. I had never even heard of Teach For America this time last year. I didn’t even hear about the program until this last fall. I was planning on becoming a teacher, but I figured I would just graduate from college and get my credential. Then, one September day, I was sitting in my school’s cafe with a friend of mine. We were talking about our plans for after graduation. We are both future teachers and he mentioned TFA as something he was considering. I was intrigued. I asked him for some more explanation and he told me that it placed passionate college grads into some of the lowest performing, and therefore highest need, schools. I was sold instantly. The high school that I attended was in one of the poorer neighborhoods of my town and I witnessed, firsthand the vast educational inequality that exists in low-income areas. I was in the International Baccalaureate program, which was placed in the school for the purpose of boosting test scores and bringing in extra funding. While I had some excellent teachers and received an education that made college a breeze, many of the students who were not in the program were treated very differently. My husband and I were high school sweethearts and he was not an IB student. One day, he went to the college counselor, hoping to walk away with a stack of college and scholarship applications. He had made an appointment ahead of time so that he could get the help he needed. He will be the first person in his entire family to earn a bachelor’s degree (he is already the first to hold an associate’s degree.) Instead, he was unceremoniously bumped when an IB student walked in without an appointment and asked if she was busy. Rather than telling the IB student to make an appointment and that she was busy with another student, she handed my husband a junior college application and showed him the door. I am so proud of him because he did not let this get in the way of his determination to receive an education. He has put himself through college and will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an associate’s degree already mounted on the wall next to a pharmacy technician’s certificate. He is currently waiting to hear back about his applications to graduate school where he will earn his doctorate of pharmacy. As you can see, I am incredibly proud of my husband!

There is a point, though. My husband has more determination and drive in his pinky finger than most college students have in their whole bodies. He may not have let this college counselor discourage him, but what about the countless other students who are told that they aren’t good enough to go to college. I do have to say, I love my high school and it has made a point to try to higher well-qualified teachers, but they cannot completely eradicate long-standing prejudices that lead people to make assumptions about the kids that come from “those areas.” The low expectations that are held for many students from low-income neighborhoods just perpetuates the idea that the students cannot succeed, which can so badly hurt the students that they give up. When I heard about Teach For America, I knew that I wanted to be a part of a team that is really making a difference in the lives of students. I want to be an agent for educational reform, and I am proud to be a corps member of 2010.

Now, as promised, here is an explanation of my blog title “98 3/4%”

One of my favorite books as a child (and now) is “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. I have always loved it because it takes an optimistic, yet realistic stance and encourages the reader to shoot for the stars. In the final pages, 98 3/4 % is the guarantee of success followed by the promise that you will move mountains. I’d say 98 3/4% is a pretty strong guarantee of success, and I know that there is a 100% chance that I will push that mountain with every ounce of determination that I have.

Accepted

mrs_mandi_p — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:03:08 +0000

I will never forget the way it felt to open that email and read that I had been accepted into Teach For America. It was, without a doubt, one of the best moments of my life. After a little pleading and emailing, I secured my spot in the 2010 Bay Area corps as a secondary English teacher, and I could not be happier! I could not have survived if it hadn’t been for my supportive family, loving husband, amazing friends, and my precious cat Luna as well as all of the prayers. The stress, meltdowns, and tears have all been worth it because they have brought me here. I am so excited to chronicle this journey as it unfolds. “And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! 98 3/4% guaranteed!”