During TFA Institute, I hated the process we went through for lesson planning. At the beginning, someone tried to insist that this was the way we would lesson plan during the year, and so it was a worthy skill to develop in this way. Ultimately however, my CMA agreed that it was unlikely we would plan in this way, or use this format in our placement schools- especially for people like myself who were going to be teaching in the younger grades.
I was still surprised when I finally got to my placement school, to discover that the lesson plans we were required to do were so very different from the ones we’d done during institute. Of course I had known that the planning expectations and process would be very different for Pre-K than for third grade, but I didn’t realize just how different. I was given a weekly chart to fill out that…
Well, I got myself a job! I have been offered (and will be accepting in the morning) a position as a Lead Pre-K teacher at an ACS center run by the YWCA here in NYC. It’s a great school, great position, and a lot of benefits and guarantees that were not there in my last…
read more »Well, it’s been almost two months now that I have been jobless and let me tell you, it does not feel like a vacation. I work a variety of odd jobs- I set up the new e-mail system for my synagogue, I babysit, and I tutor. The only thing that’s even remotely regular is the…
read more »A new social tool has been released recently called Pinterest- you’ve probably heard of it. It is a tool that allows users to set up different boards for their various interests, and “pin” to them, the way a person might pin to a cork board or an idea board in a physical space. They have…
read more »Well it’s been a month, and I am no closer to having a job than I was the day I was let off. I have however successfully created a situation in which I can observe, volunteer and substitute in an effort to maintain, improve and reflect on my practice. Fortunately my placement region is where…
read more »Wendy Kopp was on campus Thursday as part of the Harvard Graduate School of Education\’s Askwith Forum series. She gave brief remarks about TFA before several via Wendy Kopp Visits HGSE: Has TFA’s Philosophy Shifted?.
read more »As of yesterday, TFA sent out my resume to three separate charter networks in the city that have open mid-term and long-term positions. I have heard from two of the three already, and have phone interviews set up for early next week. Although my ideal situation would have been to have found a student teaching…
read more »On Thursday afternoon, I went back to my classroom to get my stuff, and it was honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I knew it would be a bad idea to go in the morning, because I would either mess up the day (UPK time) for their new teacher, or I would create a…
read more »Not having a job has given me way too much time… Oh, did I not mention? As of this past Friday, I am no longer employed. It’s complicated and I’m still not clear on exactly why, but that’s that. I miss my kids so much already, although I’m not worried at all about their new…
read more »It is difficult for me to write on a regular basis for any number of reasons. As a teacher at a year-round, extended day (6:30am-6:00pm) school, and a part-time Master’s student, I have very little time for the things I need to get done, let alone the things I want to get done. On top…
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