One week before school

Buenos dias everyone!


I am writing this entry on a friend's computer while drinking some raspberry tea on a comfy brown couch in McAllen, Texas. My friends have kindly offered their couch as a place for me to sleep while I am waiting for my teaching assignment. For all of you who went to Cedar Point at the beginning of this summer, I can only describe these past few months as a roller coaster ride. Even though I graduated with majors in Organizational Communication and Spanish (Religion minor... thanks Dr. Bussie and Amanda), I had never taken an education class in my four years of college. For the past three months, I have been learning to be a teacher.




My commitment to social justice has lead me to Teach for America, an organization that works to close the academic achievement gap in the United States. Even though our country has the capacity to give every child an excellent education, students from poorer more rural/urban districts tend to leave school at a much lower academic level than their peers in wealthier districts. The mission of Teach for America is to send capable college graduates into under serviced areas. The graduates are trained to be effective teachers in the conditions of their region and it is our charge to empower students to make significant gains in the classroom. If we do our jobs, the students in our classes will grow over one academic level in only one school year. In other words, we are trying to help our students catch up to the academic level of other districts. (To read more about Teach for America and their mission you should check out, teachforamerica.org)


I began my journey with Teach for America, June 1, 2009. I traveled from Sandusky, Ohio to McAllen, Texas for a week of Induction. For that first week, the 100 new corp members and I were introduced to the area and the Teach for America staff that will be our support for the next two years. The area is beautiful and we were able to kayak on the Rio Grande and visit South Padre Island. My friend Kate took some excellent pictures of our afternoon at South Padre Island. During the school year, I expect the Island to be a great place to meet with friends to play volleyball and ride the waves. There is a great surfing volunteer group that meets to clean up the beach and my friends and I expect to help with the effort and hopefully get a few tips about surfing.


Sunset on the beach.



There weren't too many people on the beach that day.

I played volleyball for about 2 hours with a group of fellow TFAers.

I can already tell it's going to be a great two years.

From Induction, we caravaned up to Houston for five weeks of intense teacher training. Every morning at 6:00, the 830 corp members would head down the stairs of Moody Towers (a dorm at the University of Houston) and grab some breakfast. From there, we grabbed a packed lunch on our way out to catch the bus to our schools. I was placed in a school called Deady Middle School. For four weeks, my co-teacher Michelle and I were in charge of 1st period sixth grade reading. I would teach first period then spend the rest of the school day in sessions that taught me how to be a teacher. Around 4:00 p.m., the buses would take us back to Moody Towers and the rest of the evening was spent in sessions or lesson planning for the next day.

Even though the month in Houston was a bit stressful at times, I really loved all of the people I met. It is great to be in an environment where the majority of people are fighting for the same social change. There is a welcoming and supportive culture to Teach for America and I have met some truly wonderful people during my short time with the organization. In my collaborative group at Deady, I got to know people from all over the country. I worked with corp members that will be teaching in Hawaii, Houston, and the Mississippi Delta. We had an amazing advisor who was able to guide me through the tough days and still has been helping me now that I am in the Rio Grande Valley. Our group was very connected and there was a community feel that made me feel much better during the stressful days.

Michelle and I working hard on our last day of teaching.

My collaborative group during Institute Training.

I am hoping to visit some of these amazing friends during my two years in TFA.

More than just the other teachers, I really loved my students this summer. There were certainly difficult days where I learned what not to do... but by the end of the four weeks, it was tough to say good-bye to the kids. Many of them were English Language Learners who had learned Spanish as their primary language. Reading was something that many of them considered to be frustrating. However, because of Michelle's awesome contacts, we were able to get a donated class set of Holes by Louis Sacher. The students were really excited to be able to take the books home at the end of the summer. Many of them had either seen the movie or read the book in Spanish so they were really interested in the reading. My favorite moments of the summer were when the students were visibly excited about learning and reading. I hope I will be able to re-produce that excitement with my class in the RGV (Rio Grande Valley).

The halls of Deady Middle School.

After five weeks of intense training, I hopped on another plane back to Sandusky, Ohio. I spent two weeks with my family, meeting newborn cousins and just enjoying the company of my family. With planning for my upcoming class and trip to Texas, those two weeks flew by and before I knew it, mom and I packed my itty-bitty car for our cross country trip to Texas. We took our time and made it to McAllen in three days. It was a great trip seeing the country with my mom. We listened to books on tape, survived tornado watches in Tennessee, hiked in Hot Springs National Park and listened to some great music on our way to southern Texas. As always, it was tough to say good-bye, but both mom and I will be busy with our classes this year.

Staying in McAllen has been wonderful for the past two weeks. I have been couch surfing at an apartment where three of my close Teach for America friends live. Even though Teach for America guarantees that every corp member will have a job, it can take a few months for every person to be placed in a school. Out of the 100 members, there are still about 9 who do not know exactly where they will be teaching. At the current moment, I think I will be teaching 6th grade writing at Besteiro Middle School in Brownsville. I have been recommended for hire but the district has over-hired teachers so I am still waiting to hear if I will be teaching there. If I don't get the job, I could be teaching any subject from grade4-grade8. During this period of uncertainty, I have been tempted to be a bit impatient but those feelings are easily washed away by the kindness and support of my friends and family here and afar. I know that being in Texas will be a great opportunity to practice living in a way that promotes social justice. So, until I hear more news about my job... hasta luego y que todo vaya bien!

-Megan