Google: Lord and Master Turned Enemy

I've always been a fan of Google and the right to access infinite knowledge. However, when an innocent College and Career Week activity results in a student nearly calling my dad's business . . . well, then a girl has to reevaluate her self-proclaimed Google-philia.

For the first day of College and Career Week, faculty was encouraged to wear representation for their alma mater. So despite the near-80 degree weather, I donned my bright, pink Pace sweatshirt. Advisory teachers, including myself, were asked to have our students decorate our classroom doors to represent our respective schools.

It sounded perfectly reasonable and one mass email later, I had the necessary blue and gold construction paper to showcase Pace University.

The "raven croaked itself hoarse" when I asked my students to conduct online research about Pace to give them decoration ideas. An inquisitive, "Miss, how old are you?" and a mischevious, "36 or 62 or whatever age you want me to be," resulted in the following horrifyingly hilarious moments:

1. "Is this you? It's on the school website," in response to an article on the School of Education site.

2. "Oh, you write poems, Miss..." and then proceeds to regale the class with my bad art.

3. "Miss, I know how old you are! You're 23, turning 24. Or are you 24 already?"

4. "Miss, you've been to Japan?!" "What? No, but I watch Japanese shows and blog and stuff..."

5. "Miss, who's Mohamed?" " What? My dad! What are you ladies doing, anyway?!"

6. "Miss, by the end of tonight, I'm going to know everything about you," as if that's not creepy at all.

7. "Who's Arabdgshs," butchering my poor mother's name. (Digression: I celebrated Mother's Day by flooding the bathroom and I remain un-disowned. My mom is more awesome than yours!)

8. Student at phone: "Miss, I'm calling your phone!" "Lemme see the number.... T, stop, you're calling my dad's business! That's it--you all have a problem and I'm cutting you off!"

Just a typical day with my crazy, yet loveable kiddos.

Laters,
Fatuma

Feeling Really Darn Appreciated Right About Now (Teacher Appreciation Week)

The administration and students in a Leadership elective course have been really amazing about celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week.

Monday:
A red carpet was laid out from the door to where we clock in. I, of course, walked right by it and had to be called back to try again.

My principal also visited my classroom and thanked me for my service in front of the students, while gifting me with a Amazon gift card.

Tuesday:
Free coffee coupon and a Chocolate Chip cookie for breakfast, despite my lamentations that it should have been fruit, as well as an adorable cupcakes for lunch.



     

Red pen in hand is accidental, but quite fitting.

Principal visited again with a bag of school branded memorabilia--water bottle, flash drive, pencil, pen, wristband, and headphones.

Wednesday:
Break from students due to an all-day PD, involving Curriculum Mapping for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year. (I cannot believe I've nearly survived Year One and am planning for Year Two.)

Absolutely love it when our entire middle/high school ELA department gets together. It's usually the best part of PD's because it's always a good time with like-minded book nerds!

Second best part--free Chipotle for lunch! I had a DIVINE chicken burrito with chips and guac. I was totally blissed out, barely able to work through unwrapping common core standards during the afternoon portion of the PD.

Thursday:
Principal delivered giant cupcake during first period. Why are we encouraging bad dietary habits?! It looked delicious; I forgot to take it home, but it was just as edible the next day.

Friday:
Students were dismissed early for a "mandatory staff" meeting. Highly suspicious as we had a staff meeting just the day before. And apparently the School Leadership Team had pitched in to buy Happy Hour drink tickets for entire staff. I had a delicious Grilled PhillyCheese sandwich and spent evening chatting with coworkers.

If only my students would show appreciation as blatantly...

Students Say: Ego-centrism and Chill Mode

The fact that I'd had to take an Adolescent Psychology class as part of my Education degree came up in class today and one of my students was all, "so, what'd you learn about us?"

"You're all egocentric and mostly see the world from only your own perspective."

"Facts." Nods head sagaciously.

At least, she's aware of her own flaws. =)

https://beinglatino.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/egocentrism_pic.jpg

Another--

"Miss, you're mad chill when you're in a good mood."

"I'm always in a good mood until you all frustrate me by talking. How about we aim to frustrate Miss less? And she can stay as chilly as ice."

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfchgbaCpO1qf82rr.jpg

MIA: Busy Being Employed

Hello Readers,


It's been a "minute," as my 10th graders like to say, since I've last written. I'm now curious as to what my few readers/followers might have thought when I suddenly stopped writing last May, but only fairly positive things have happened. I am alive and well.

The highlights to catch you all up:

- Was offered a long term ELA substitute teacher position at one of the schools at which I'd been subbing periodically.
- After being hired for the 2014-2015 school year!
- Teach for America NY Summer Institute, while fasting for Ramadan, was quite the experience
- As was "New Teacher" training at my new school in Washington Heights
- Been teaching (and managing to survive) 10th grade English since September.

I'll try to blog more regularly from now on.

Best,
Fatuma

"Career Shopping" -- Creative Fiction about Choosing to be a Teacher

Tonight I came across a creative writing piece that I wrote two years ago for my Teaching English to Adolescent course. Once again, I was reminded of why I had really enjoyed this piece. Feel free to read it below in its entirety. My favorite lines (bias nonewithstanding) are:

In those eyes—25 desperate hopes, 25 whimsical dreams, 25 inquiring minds, 25 windows—some clear, some dim—to 25 fledgling souls, 25 rare chances for 25 daily successes, beginning with a single line interpreted 25 many ways by 25 unique beings.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today we’re going to learn…

* * *

Costume Career Shopping

By: Fatuma Hydara

In the middle of Ricky’s Costume Superstore, I stand, arms tender and shaking from the weight of numerous costume choices. With limited vision, I slowly make my way to the dressing room, mumbling “5” to the clerk in answer to her barely audible question of ‘how many items?’ Walking into dressing room 13, my lucky number, I throw my burden onto the seat, before turning to shut and lock the door. Click.

Taking a deep breath, and a quick look at my watch—crap, only have 20 minutes—I quickly grab the first costume and put it on. 

Twisting one way, then the other, the four mirror-covered walls capture the khaki shorts, polo tee, shades and imitation camera around my neck. I stop, lean closer, scrunch up my nose, make a decision. Nature photographer for National Geographic? No.

Costume Number Two: A white coat, stethoscope, smiley face sticker and lollipops as props. Single shake of head. Pediatrician? Nuh-uh.

Costume Number Three:  Business wear, microphone, notebook and pen. …Still not quite right. Journalist? Not happening.

Costume Number Four: Business wear again, more old-fashioned. Silver wire rimmed glasses attached to a sterling silver chain. Pile of books in arm. Closer look in mirror. Nearly, not quite. Love the books, not the rest. Librarian? No way. 

Costume Number Five: Business wear once again. Sigh…but wait? Another look—more casual, comfortable. Grade book and novels in one hand. Apple in the other. Staring intensely, straighten up. Turn this way, turn that way. A smile. It’s perfect. Almost. 

If only I was in—wind, gust, momentarily blindness, ending—in a classroom.

A blink. Another. Gaze clears. One pair of brown eyes meets 25 other pairs in varying shades. 

In those eyes—25 desperate hopes, 25 whimsical dreams, 25 inquiring minds, 25 windows—some clear, some dim—to 25 fledgling souls, 25 rare chances for 25 daily successes, beginning with a single line interpreted 25 many ways by 25 unique beings.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today we’re going to learn…

How to read, to write, to explore, to live.

How to scream, yell, give voice to pain.

How to survive, to be, to succeed.

How to care, to love, to share.

How to rearrange the letters in D-R-E-A-M and make them R-E-A-L-I-T-Y.

How to fly, to run, to jump.

How to smile, to laugh, to grin, to smirk.

How to…

Sudden wind, gust, momentarily blindness. A blink. Another. Gaze clears. One pair of brown eyes looking at their twin. In those eyes—a single burning flame of passion, a single determination, a single goal to be the greatest English teacher to ever live. 

Another look at my wrist, “Time to go.” Frantic undressing, messy repackaging. One last guilty look at the mess left behind, I unlock the door and hurry to the register. ‘Will that be all?’ ‘Yes, found the perfect one’. Proud Smile. “That’s be $200,000, please’. Cringe, wince. Reluctant handing over of credit card. Deep breath. In six years, it’ll be worth it.

Alternative to Detentions

This week I've been substitute teaching for a Math Special Education teacher. It's always nice being at the same school for a few days in a row. I'm even starting to feel like a member of the team.

Anyway, one thing I've seen one of the other teachers doing that I love is that instead of giving students detention for chewing gum, coming late or whatever, she puts them to work! She's had a stream of students coming in during lunch to help her file papers for 20 minutes each. I think that's genius. Not only is her paper pile shrinking by the day, but the students are being productive.

Detention is pretty useless as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't deter students from repeating the same behaviors. However, putting them to work may be more effective. I mean how much paper filing or board cleaning or pencil sharpening can one student handle before deciding to straighten up. I think system of community service in relation to the violated rule would be a whole lot more effective than detention.

Becoming a Teach for America 2014 Corp Member

Before last December, my knowledge of Teach for America consisted of the following: a non-profit organization that trained college students for five weeks and then threw them into the neediest urban schools. (Not the most positive of viewpoints, I know.) As a student of a traditional teacher preparation program, I was immediately put off by the thought of placing "teachers" with just five weeks of training into the most challenging classrooms. What could they possibly do in that short time that could ensure that these first year students don't crash and burn? Also, I didn't believe that I qualified for TFA as I was already on track to becoming a teacher. I didn't give the organization much thought until I received a random email from a TFA recruiter asking to speak with me about an employment opportunity.

I probably would have ignored the email as spam if not for three things:
1) It was December and I was graduating in three weeks.
2) I hadn't started the job search, didn't know where to even begin and was seriously freaking ou.
3) I LinkedIn stalked the recruiter and he seemed nice (and legit).

And so I scheduled the phone interview. (Personal tidbit: Phone interviews give me hives. I'm not sure why they bother me so much, but I'd take on an in-person interview any day of the week.)

The (Dreaded) Phone Interview:

During the interview, the recruiter gave me some information about TFA and their mission. He painted a picture of the startlingly educational inequality in our country. 50% of American students live in this poverty and only 16% of them graduate high school.

TFA's Mission: 

Teach For America’s mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by developing such leaders.

After the conversation, I was still unsure about joining TFA. TFA doesn't have the best repution amongst educators who critique their methods of placing recent college grads in schools for two years. " They" accuse TFA of adding to the problem of high teacher turn over rates and the instability, due to constant change, of NYC's education system, amongst other things.

However, at the core I agree with TFA vision of ensuring that all children in America, despite socioeconomic background, receive a quality education.

With the job market the way that it is, I figured that having an entire organization working towards getting me hired couldn't be such a bad thing. Add the other benefits of being a TFA corp member, such as additional support and mentoring, grants for grad school, and more training to supplement what I've already received from Pace, I decided to join. 

The Application Process:

The TFA application is intensive. There's a two hour online application requiring your basic information, course list, transcripts, recommendations, and written responses.There's a phone interview and then a full day final interview (which I skipped straight to). The final interview is 9-5, with the morning dedicated to sample lesson plans and information. For the afternoon, everyone scheduled a 40 minute 1:1 interview. I went first, so I could get it over with. It was also intense and very in-depth. I must have done fine, since I was given an offer.

Concerns:

TFA's biggest concern is the kids, so when assigning corp members subjects and placements, they consider the schools' needs before members' preferences. As I was applying, I knew that despite TFA's stance and due religious and familial obligations, I wouldn't accept an offer that didn't place me in New York City, teaching English 7-12. I was sure that such inflexibility would ruin my chances of being accepted. Imagine my surprise when I'm not only accepting into the NYC corps, but also assigned to English 7-12, General Education K-6, and Special Education K-9.

Wait. General Education K-6? Special Education K-9? Before I could even think about accepting the offer, I had to verify how likely I would be placed in an elementary school or a different content areas. I wasn't willing to work towards a different degree and license. Phone conversations with members of the TFA New York team alleviated those concerns as I was assured that the organization would try their utmost to find an English placement. I could also go to grad school for whatever I wanted (Iona's dual Literacy/Special Education program, here I come!). Apparently, my initial certification was a key component of my application because specific content assignments are supposedly rare. Guess it seemed glaringly obvious to TFA that I am only capable of teaching English.

And so I clicked JOIN on March 23rd, 2014. Since then, I've been hard at work learning about the TFA hiring process (they kind of take over), creating a new TFA-specific resume (as if creating the first one wasn't hard enough), and completing a hiring survey.

The next step is going on intereviews and waiting for offers. Wish me luck!

Until next time,
Fatuma

Sub Adventure #19: 6th and 7th Grade Art in the Bronx

Today's adventure had me doing a little of everything. First, I was proctoring for a student with extended time accommodations. The student had three hours to take the exam, but finished in two. So, I spent most of the morning twiddling my thumbs.

Then, I had two art classes (7th grade, then 6th). The 7th graders were pretty well behaved, but the 6th graders were out of control. They spent the period yelling their little heads off. At the end of the period, I stood by the door and dismissed them by table and only if their table was completely clear of colored pencils and paper.  Lastly, I had a math intervention class with a co-teacher. We spent the first half of the period going over ratios and the second half playing chess. I played against a student, but it's been years since I tried learning how to play chess so I was extremely rusty with the rules. I actually forgot that you could get a piece back if you got to the other side of the board! That could have been useful.

That's all folks.

Until next time,
Fatuma

Project: Personal Common Core ELA Standards Document

I know that my next post was supposed to be about my decision to join Teach for America, but as we educators are acutely aware of--plans change. =)


Instead, let's chitchat a bit about the common core.

As someone who recently graduated, I was introduced to the common core standards before entering the classroom. (Thank God.) While I've studied them to a certain extent, I recently made a new discovery that I hadn't noticed before.

In the past whenever I looked at the common core standards, I looked at it from a grade-specific viewpoint. Choosing the grade I needed and looking at all (or some) of the standards for that grade. However, a few months ago I thought to myself: If the purpose of the common core is to prepare students from K-12 for college, how do the standards become increasingly more difficult as students progress through the grades? So, I sat down, chose a single standard and looked at it from K-12. I was stunned by how much sense the progressive made. The common core standards do clearly show how students should increasingly develop particular skills. I got to thinking some more. How can this new discovery help me and other teachers?

By understanding what is new in terms of skills for each grade level, it makes it easier to discern students' grade levels (in terms of the common core) and how to get them to grade level. It also makes clearer for teachers what skills from the previous year they will be building on in the current school year. This inspired me to create a new document that would present this progression of the skills more easily. While it's still a work in progress, here's a glimpse of the first reading standard for grades 6-12.

As you can see, it's the same anchor skill, but students are expected to utilize the skill in a more sophisticated way each year (see italics). Students progress from simply stating evidence, to evaluating evidence, and evaluating text.

Some questions still remain for me in regards to the supposedly increasing difficulty of what's expected of students.

• In what way(s) does textual evidence that "most strongly" supports an analysis (Grade 8) differ from simply citing "strong and thorough" textual evidence (Grades 9-12)? While in grade 8, the student is evaluating which piece of evidence is the strongest, who is deciding that a piece of evidence is "strong and thorough" in the high school grades? The student or the teacher?
• Why are grades 9-10 and 11-12 lumped up together? I've always wondered at this. Do they expect it to take two years to master these particular skills? 

I just wanted to quickly share some of my thoughts and I started working on this document tonight. I'll post the full document when I finish.

Laters Gators,
Fatuma

Sub Adventure #18: 9th and 10th Grade Art in the Bronx

Thursday's adventure was one of the best that I've had yet. It was the first day of a four-day assignment as I'm covering for a teacher who is attending an art education conference in California (lucky her!).

There was a bit of a hiccup when I arrived because apparently the school put in the order for a sub twice and School Professionals sent two subs. Fortunately, I was the one who got to stay and he other guy went home.

I met the teacher who was leaving later in the day. She left excellent plans and made sure I was prepared before she left at 2:30. The last two periods I had after were great. The students were mostly on task and cooperative, except for a few. I put on some Adele and joined the students by beginning the same art project. (Not only was it fun, but it helped me to better help students who were having trouble because I understood it myself.)

After the school ended I faced a dilemma. I had an open house at a charter school that I'm very interested in and I had two options.
A. I could go straight there and arrive an hour and a half early.
B. I could run home, chill for 30 minutes, and arrive on time.

I chose option two. Big Mistake. It took longer than expected to arrive home and I only had enough time to toss my shoes (I had changed shoes because my wimpy feet were paining me) and uneaten lunch onto the table. "Hi Mommy, bye Mommy," and I was back out the door and running for the next scheduled train.

By the time, I came home at 9pm, I was exhausted. I think it was worth it as I was able to leave my name and inform them that I was a 2014 TFA corp member and requested that my resume be sent to their school. The recruitment person assured me she would discuss with her boss whether a particular TFA member could be requested for interview. Score!

Have I told you guys about my joining Teach for America? No? Well, look out for the next post. I'll be sure to tell you the story.

Til then,
Fatuma