First Day Fun.

Interesting first day.

To be honest, I don't remember much of it at all. It wasn't a very fun day, we just did a lot of rules, procedures, and things like that. We did do some math, but most of it was setting up the paper.

The kids were well-behaved, and it's definitely different having 24 instead of 12 like summer school. Also, since we don't really start giving diagnostics to figure out where our students are until tomorrow, we're still up in the air about how far we have to go this year. After getting some of the math work back today, though, I can tell we are already seeing some gaps.

We have two ESOL students. One is from the Dominican Republic, and the other is from the Philippines. The kids were given some time today to walk around the room and look at things, and Francis (not his real name) from the Dominican Republic, didn't move. I took him to the map area, and asked him if he knew where he was from. He pointed out his country and gave me a big smile. I showed him how far away California is and said we're both far from home. It was a nice moment.

Today wasn't difficult or anything, but I think working with my co-teacher will be a challenge. We have very different styles and different management techniques. She also has a tendency to ramble, which is frustrating because the kids aren't talking and nothing's really being done. I, on the other hand, keep thinking about how little time we had during summer school, and I want to make sure there's not a wasted second in the classroom now. Still, it's only the first day, everyone says she's a great teacher, she's helped me so much already, and I really don't know what I'm doing. So, we'll see how the year goes.

Some funny stuff that happened today:

• I'm introducing the LXS and am talking to them like they're in this secret club with these values and members all over the world. I think it's pretty cool, and some of the kids are getting into it. A student (we'll call her Iris) raises her hand and says, "Excuse me, I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Oops. Thought that was pretty funny.
• We're doing some math work and Francis raises his hand. I go over to his desk and kneel down next to him. As I kneel down I hit the corner of the tray that holds chalk and erasers at the bottom of the chalkboard, ripping a big hole in the rear of my pants. We all had a good laugh about that.
• I did a short introductory math lesson about how numbers are everywhere. It was called "A World of Numbers," and it basically had really cool pictures that they got to look at. I went through one planet; 50 states; 206 bones in the body; 2,490 years since the battle of Thermopylae (the movie 300); 48,262 seats in Oriole Park; and 637,418 people in Baltimore. The last slide was a close-up of glowing bacteria, and I said, "1,000,000 bacteria can live on the eraser of your pencil." The kids went, "Whoa..." and then the whole back table takes out their hand sanitizer all at once and starts sharing it with each other. How cute. I just created six hypochondriacs today.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Except I have to plan for it. Actually, in that case, I CAN wait for tomorrow.

I'm a real teacher now...

Back to School.

It is 7:38AM and I'm reading my lesson plan over for the 100th time. So nervous. Oh, look. Now it's 7:39.

Final Weekend.

It's the last free weekend before school starts. So. Frightening.

As promised, here's the theme of our class this year:

The Legion of Extraordinary Scholars (LXS) is a small, select group of individuals that was chosen based on their potential to become great protectors and communicators of knowledge. They live by a code of conduct that governs their everyday lives. Those selected to become members of LXS must, everyday: push themselves to be their best at all times, never give up on anything, believe in themselves and the group, have no fear of failure, and serve the good of knowledge by constantly asking questions to better understand the world around them. These are what Legion members must do every day.

Here's the LXS' classroom:

There's a poster with the Legion Values and some catch phrases that we're going to recite every day as a pledge. There's also a Scholar of the Day that helps with jobs, and then class points (called Legion Honor Points). If they class gets 35 Honor Points we get a 5-minute dance party. On the little board we have a Scholarly Word of the Day and a Cultural Literacy term.

The Bucket Filling Station is a place for students to fill each other's buckets with compliments and good deeds. My co-teacher did it last year and really liked it... I'm excited since I wanted a "Good Deed" wall before I came here and she told me about this. The chalkboard is all the classroom rules and behavior management system. Students are on clothespins and we move them up and down depending how they are behaving. They get "Merit Points" depending on what color they're on at the end of the day. Fifteen points and they can visit the "LXS Armory" (the LXS fights for knowledge with pens and pencils). We're also supposed to have a graph in the classroom, so we're going to graph how well the class upholds the LXS Values on the side board. The "Big Goal" is moving up and we're going to put measurable subject goals there.

Each student has their own Tracking Binder where they can graph their own academic achievement and progress. Hopefully they'll take more ownership of their education this way. It also helps take attendance faster in the morning because they pick it up as they walk through the door. The school wants an international focus, and I really want students to present current events every day, so we're going to "travel" to these places as we talk about the events (You'll be able to follow us on Google Maps). Also, I wanted to visit other countries/states by getting friends from around the world to film little clips to the Legion in their language just so we can "fly" (I have LXS boarding passes and Passports!). Social studies vocab words go up on the wall, and the poem says "Brooklyn is my NEIGHBORHOOD/Baltimore my CITY/Maryland is my home STATE/The USA my country/North America is my CONTINENT/Upon this blue-green PLANET/We're all from the same big place/Let's go out and explore it!" Walt Whitman, watch your back.

Evidence of my obsession with tracking and data. Trackers for attendance, uniforms (these two are required), homework, nightly reading (20 minutes a night), and TAI, which is a math facts practice program. If they are perfect on the first four for a week, they get to eat lunch with the teachers (I know, what a prize!)

My co-teacher is amazing. These are her books and this is our library. I want this. There's a lot of blank space but we're going to put a writing wall up back there. Every student will have their picture up on the wall with a sample of their writing assignment. There's also a contest on the other side of the easel. If the students read 100 books (as a class) before my co-teacher and I read 25 books, we will vote on a new book to buy for the class.

Another picture of the beautiful library. Note the awkward pole in the middle of the classroom. The school used to be open space, which means all students and grades are in a giant room with no walls. I can't imagine that. Even with these walls, you can tell that they had to leave space at the top to follow fire code. It's going to be really loud in there... Oh we didn't have space for math vocabulary words, so I'm going to hang them from the ceiling! Maybe it'll be a math jungle...

Teacher's desk. All those books are teachers' guides and session materials from professional development. Ridiculous. The multicolored silver cart is a writing center with paper and other writing supplies. The cart next to that is the math cart. It has games and other random math supplies. There's going to be a "You Can Go to College" section with our grad gowns and pennants and diplomas up there to encourage the kids to think about college in the blank wall space. We're also going to put an "About Your Teachers" thing back there to introduce California and Taiwan (multicultural, international educational stuff from your foreign-looking teacher - by order of the administration) and other parts of Baltimore from my co-teacher. Public transportation here is so bad that a lot of our kids have never been three miles to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. It's crazy.

Reflection corner for kids that need to remove themselves for behavioral issues. We're going to put a pillow and stuffed animal there for them if they're going to lose it. Science vocabulary words go on the cabinet doors.

Two LXS members to a locker. I kind of like the theme.

Any more suggestions for the room or class in general?

... Did I mention I'm freaking out?

5.

There are only FIVE days left before school starts! It's crazy, I've basically been waiting for this moment since the first time I applied for TFA almost two years ago, so it's ridiculously exciting. I will definitely write about when I crash and burn day one.

The classroom is looking better each day, I'll have pictures up soon.

Oh, and this was a good article from The New York Times.

I'm Not Cool.

Today I became that adult who wears running shoes with jeans. Ugh. Hopefully this is a one time thing that won't repeat itself for at least 20 years. Fingers crossed.

Everyone's Back.

Today was the first day at school with everyone there. It's beginning to look a lot like Christm- I mean, the first day of school.

On an unrelated note, I saw a two brothers by my school walk into the public library across the street. I have no idea if they're reading in there, but it made me happy.

Lastly, here's an interesting article from the LA Times. I think a friend of mine taught at 92nd Street... or was it 192nd? I forget.

Pre-Kids' Pre-Work.

It feels like a long time since I last had students to work with, so everything seems a bit boring. Still, there's a lot of stuff happening to get reading for the first day of school in... 12 days!

I've been spending a lot of time crafting a theme and goals for my students, getting trackers ready, and planning out topics to cover from the first day until the end of the year. I now have 10 calendars on Google because of all the subjects, assessments, and different class-related things I want to keep track of. Also, I've been decorating my room, and am proud to say that I put together my first two bulletin boards. I am now officially a teacher, I guess.

Sorry I haven't written anything really interesting in a while, but all the minutiae that goes into planning before school starts isn't really entertaining, although it could be the most important thing that I do this year. I promise, this will actually be worth reading soon. Hopefully.

Just FYI.

I have the best little sister in the world. Her name is Charlene and she is wonderful.

ESOL.

One of the more difficult things about teaching (and there are definitely a lot) is that many students come in not speaking English. There's a lot of debate out there, and I can't even pretend I know what's going on in terms of policies regarding non-English instruction, American cultural education (which some think is forced assimilation), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), or any of the other policies and systems in place for our non-English speaking students.


But, one of the more interesting sessions during this week's New Teacher Institute was about the ESOL support we would have at our school, and how to modify instruction to better serve our ESOL students. Some things that I learned before even getting into the "How" of instruction really surprised me. For example:

• Baltimore is a refugee resettlement city
• The State Department takes people in from around the world and sends them primarily to the Southeast part of Baltimore.
• Most refugees come from Nepal, Iraq, and parts of Africa
• There are 61 languages spoken in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS)
• The top languages are Spanish, Nepali, Arabic, French , Vietnamese, and Swahili
• ESOL students get integrated instruction in math, science, literacy, and "American Culture"
• Maree G. Farring, the school I am teaching at, is #10 in BCPS in terms of number of ESOL students

The theory and practice behind ESOL is really interesting, and I know that when I worked with Chinese speakers back in LA, the difficulties and successes both came often. I'm excited to see what it's like this time if I have ESOL students again.

... But I really, REALLY wish I had learned Spanish.

Funny Video.

Saw this a while ago, and thought it was pretty funny. They say those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. I don't agree, and I don't think this guy does either.

Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make

Enjoy.

Bored.

I realized yesterday that between training and work at home, I'm sitting down in front of a computer for about 16 or 17 hours a day. No wonder this week is going by so slowly.

Since nothing interesting at all has happened this week, I started thinking about the people I've met here who made me do a double take when I met them because they reminded me so much of someone back home.

Here's a list of face/personality twins that I've met while I've been here, and one or two of things that makes them the twin:

• 2nd Divya: Social butterfly that tells everyone how much she loves them.
• 2nd Rob: Easygoing sports nut that's too cool for school.
• 2nd Kelcey: Loud guy who tells over-the-top stories. This guy is a former Chicago cop.
• 2nd Daisy: No-nonsense workhorse that everyone knows is a softy underneath a tough exterior. 
• 2nd Yuri: She has the curly hair and a mature, classic style.
• 2nd Allison: Look-alike. And has a goofy sense of humor.
• 2nd Dorian: Another look-alike. Except taller. Also, has the adventurous exploring bug.
• 2nd Felicia: Talks a million miles a minute.

Yeah... that's all I've got right now. I am doing nothing productive... I just want to start working.

Creepy.

I taught fourth grade in Room 103 during Institute. Our class grew 103% in reading. I am now in fourth grade training at Baltimore City's New Teacher Institute in Room 103. Coincidence?

... Yeah, probably.

I Look Like Driver's License Kelcey.

Woke up this morning and my eye hurt. Woke up pretty quickly once I saw myself in the mirror.

So sexy! Hopefully this goes away soon. I have no idea what it is...

By the way, If you don't know what the title of this post means, please ask Kelcey Cheung for a look at his California Driver's License. Hilarious.

End of Institute: Lessons.

There was a girl in my class that I haven’t talked about much in these posts, and I would like to talk about her now. Since I can’t write her name here, I’ll call her Julia.

Julia came into our class reading on the higher end of the middle group of students, and she scored fairly well on her math pre-test compared to her classmates. When she raised her hand in class, she always had the right answer, and it was pretty clear that she knew what she was doing. When she wasn’t volunteering her answers, Julia stayed quiet, and did the work that we gave her. We didn’t really worry about Julia over the four weeks of summer school because we didn't have to.

When we got the final exams back, and finished the reading assessments, we were shocked. Julia had improved only one point on her reading, and was the only student in our class that had lost points in math. We were so surprised that we had her take the test again to see if it had just been a mistake. But, it wasn’t. She missed the exact same questions again.

Julia wasn’t a stand out student. She didn’t clamor for attention, she wasn’t far below grade level, and she didn’t blow us away with her obvious brilliance. She was somewhere in the great big middle, and because of that, we lost her. We assumed that she was doing just fine, that she understood what we were teaching because she did well enough every time. But really, in her silence she was really just staying under the radar. Over four weeks we didn’t teach her anything.

I know that I always root for the underdog. When I was teaching, I spent a lot of time ensuring that the lowest-performing students could keep up, that they were staying motivated, and that they weren’t giving up. I spent a lot of time making sure I wasn’t moving too slowly for my highest achievers, that they never did less than their best, and that they knew I expected great work from them. I didn’t spend much time I with the rest, and that included Julia because I thought she was doing... fine.

It’s no excuse, but I think this is how it is for people in general. We constantly celebrate those at the top – the rich and the famous. We constantly worry about and try to help those at the bottom – our tired, our poor. We forget about those in the great big middle – average Joe. We assume that they’re doing just fine, and they don’t need the help or the celebration. Our country has a rapidly shrinking middle class, and those that are still jobless 99 weeks after going on unemployment still can’t find work. But they’re in the middle, so they’ll be OK. They, like Julia, are sitting silently, so we don’t notice them struggling to make ends meet, just like I didn't see Julia struggling to understand.

I’ve talked a lot about the successes we had as a group in our classroom, and the achievement of students like Michael, Pauline, and Anita (not their real names) truly excites me. But, it is Julia’s experience that will never leave me.

Julia was not a success story, and luckily, one hapless summer school teacher won’t seal her fate. But, I joined Teach for America because I want to make sure all students get access to a great education. All really needs to mean all. Although I wish it had happened another way, Julia taught me that lesson, and it’s something that I need to keep with me in order to be a truly successful teacher, or even just a successful person.

End of Institute: Successes.

It ended well. Our students made 103% growth on reading and 80% on math. My one student never showed up to class again, but on that last day I had a conversation with him in the morning that went like this:

"Hello?" He was still sleeping.
"This is Mr. Lyu. Are you going to be able to come into school today?"
"No. My mom got the flat tire fixed but she didn't have enough money for gas."
"All right. Tell you what. We need you to prove to everyone what you know about math. You and I both know that you know a lot, but no matter what you're going to have to show them. Do you have paper and pencils at home?"
"Yes."
"You have ten minutes. Go wash your face and get ready to take a test. We're going to read it to you over the phone."
"OK."

Ten minutes later, my group partner read the test to him and he took it over the phone. Of course some things were lost in translation, but from a pre-score of 13%, he ended with 60%. I told him the results after, and you could see the smile through the phone. I wonder if he could see ours.