Cayla Meets World

Y'all. I LOVE it when people ask me what I do. Because I love my answer-I'm a kindergarten teacher. It's so much more than simply loving what I do. I get to wake up every single day and know that I'm doing exactly what I was created to do. A stressful morning last week had me wishing that the day would just be over already. And, we've all been there. I overslept about two hours (thank goodness I planned to get to school ridiculously early), was almost late, and spent the rest of the day flustered and feeling unprepared. These days are going to happen. But, I got to take comfort in the fact that, as a first year teacher, I was more than halfway through the first quarter of school before I had one of these days. I got to take a moment to praise God for anointing this journey and placing me in a school where I'm literally excited to be there everyday. That doesn't necessarily mean that every day is a good day. I'm still figuring out what I'm doing. Just

The First Day of School (the whole first week, really) was somewhat of a blur. It flew by so quickly! I don't remember much of my week. I do remember that I love my job and my school! I also remember that I got and survived my first back-to-school cold as a teacher (my kids are amazing, but germy). This week flew by so fast, I can only imagine how fast this year is going to go. Before I know it, my precious little Kindergarten babies will be ready for First Grade. It's a reminder to cherish all my moments with them...even the ones when they make me want to pull my hair out. I walked into Quitman County Elementary School Monday morning bright and early at 6:30am. I was full of energy and nerves, completely unsure what was going to be walking through my door an hour later. Were they going to be excited to be at school? Terrified? Were there going to be criers? And then they arrived. A group of 16 little humans, all with their own personalities. Some were excited to be there, so

Tomorrow is the First Day of School! I simultaneously feel like this day has snuck up on me and like I've been waiting for weeks for it to get here. I'm so ready, and so not ready, all at once. Either way, it is finally here and the different emotions I'm feeling at the moment would fill this blog twenty times over. As I spent the day stress eating everything in my apartment from apples to zucchini bread (made by my mom...and absolutely delicious), I wondered what my kids were feeling today. And realized that we're probably feeling many of the same things.  Nervous.Tomorrow starts a brand new school year for some of my students. And for some, this is a brand new experience completely. Going to school for the very first time. Not knowing what to expect. Tomorrow starts a brand new experience for me. My Summer Training, though great, could not have prepared me for what I will experience tomorrow. The crazy-ness, the joy, the exhaustion, the excitement! One of my mentor

Whoa! Things have been a whirlwind since I've been back home in the Delta. For my first week back, I was in my last bit of summer training. I spent Monday-Thursday of that week in the same room for the greater part of the day,with other lower elementary teachers, learning from lower elementary content specialists. It was great- it got me pumped up for the year ahead. It was also somewhat of an information overload. And it started to sink in for me how big a job teaching Kindergarten is. I've spent so much time focusing on how fun it's going to be. How much I'm going to fall in love with my babies. But, we have a lot to do! For a lot of my kids, this is the first school experience they've ever had. We have to learn how to go to school- how to walk in the hall, how to go to lunch, how to sit on the carpet, and the list could go on and on. And then there's the content. We're going to learn so much this year- our letters, our numbers, our shapes, how to read, ho

I am currently sitting on my couch, in my house in McDonough, GA. Whew! What a breath of fresh air to be back in Georgia, surrounded by my family and friends. Because, in case you didn't know...I have THE BEST friends an family any girl could ever dream to be blessed with. I have missed home so terribly- my bed, my shower (such wonderful water pressure it has), my city, my church, my people! But, wait. Institute is over?!? It seems like just yesterday that it started. At the same time, it feel like forever ago. I spent the last five weeks lesson planning, teaching, and not sleeping so as to prepare for each day's first grade math lesson. But it was 100% worth it to see the growth that my kids made this summer. It's amazing! They're amazing! To look back and see the progress that they've made in four short weeks is astounding to me. And I got to have a part in that- what a blessing! The last five weeks were spent not only teaching but also building relationships.

Ms. Hicks. That's my name now. So weird. If I had any fleeting thoughts about throwing in the towel on this whole thing (which I did, because this has been the hardest thing I've ever done), they were gone last Monday morning when I met my summer school students. My class is made up of six of the sweetest, most brilliant rising First Graders. I have absolutely fallen in love with them. They make all of this hard work totally worth it! My schedule has been insane- it seems worse than when I was in college, even. My day starts at 4:30am. I have to be down to breakfast by 5:30am so that I can be on the bus to head to school by 6:00am. During and after school we have to attend different Professional Development sessions lasting as late as 8:30. Then of course, there are lesson plans due everyday, data to input everyday. And I try to go to the gym for 30 minutes. Last week I didn't get to bed before 1am. I spent this past weekend getting ahead of the game so that I can have

I've been here a little over a week now! This thought is completely crazy to me! I don't know if it's because my days have been crammed with session after session and my brain is overflowing with information. Or because I'm here, on a college campus with a bunch of strangers which forces us to build relationships faster than normal. It's probably a combination of the two, with other ingredients mixed in. But, it definitely feels like I've been here longer than a week- it feels more like I've been here a couple months.  I found out this week that I will not be teaching 4th Grade Math as I originally thought. Instead I will be teaching Kindergarten. And I am stoked!!! In all honesty, it took me a minute to process this information and how I felt about the change. Kindergartners are reliant on the teacher for everything it seems. But, I got to talk to my TFA Advisor (another Kindergarten teacher at the school where I'll be working this fall- Hello new be

The Agenda Update: I can't get over how welcoming the people of the Delta have been to me and my fellow TFA Corps Members. On Friday night, the people of Cleveland threw us a very nice welcoming party. Complete with great food and lemonade served in mason jars. It was great getting to know some of the community members and to know that they're excited that we're here. Saturday, I went on an excursion to a couple of cities in the Delta- Leland and Greenville. Leland has, what has been one of my favorite things so far: The Birthplace of the Frog, an Exhibit of Jim Henson's Delta Boyhood. It was so neat to see some of the history and story behind Jim Henson and Kermit. In Greenville, we visited the 1927 Flood Museum. Read the story here . It was fascinating to see this piece of history (also fascinating to reflect on that visit today as it rained and rained and rained- I thought we were going to have to seek high ground on the levy). We also went to an Art Gallery a

Today was the first day that I got to go outside of Delta State University's campus and see some communities in the Delta Region. A school bus (the aisles of which seemed way smaller now than when I was a kid) took us first to the town of Sumner and then to Tutwiler. Sumner is known for the Emmett Till murder and trial. In August of 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year old black boy was kidnapped from his uncle's house in the middle of the night by at least two white men. He was badly beaten, killed, and his body thrown into the Tallahatchi River. He had been accused of whistling at a white woman. His body was later found in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The two white men were indicted in the city of Sumner for the crime of murder. The men were tried for this charge and were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury after deliberating for just over an hour. Quite soon after their acquittal, the two men admitted to the crime during a magazine interview.  This tragic case human

Well, today was a huge improvement over yesterday. At least emotionally. It's beginning to sink in. This is my life. I live in Mississippi now. I will be teaching these kids and getting involved in this community. The more Corps Members I meet, the more excited I get. This really is a chance of a lifetime. Today may have been less emotional. But it was just as exhausting. Starting at 8am, we were in sessions, all day long (including during lunch). These large and small group sessions focused on the work that we will be doing here in the Delta and how it relates to race and class inequality, especially when these inequalities are structural. They are embedded into our school systems and communities. As uncomfortable as they are for me (a middle-class, white, college graduate) to talk about, these are very real problems that my students face.  The fact of the matter is; there are wonderful kids caught in awful systems. It's my responsibility as a TFA Corps Member to make s

I really thought I was ready. I'd said goodbye (more than once to most people), I'd packed, I'd at least tried to prepare mentally. I spent the last month of my time in Georgia doing my best to cherish every moment with every important person in my life. This being the way we should live everyday, no? But, that's another blog for another time. But here I was: goodbyes said, car packed, waiting for the Starbucks barista to hand me my grande skinny caramel latte. I was about to be on my way. How exciting!  And terrifying...oh yea. Terrifying. I had no sooner hit I-75 North when the tears started flowing. I'm moving- not visiting, moving- to another state, 8 hours away from my mom and dad. I've never NOT lived with one of them. I don't know another soul in this place! What the heck is wrong with me?!? And then my phone starts going off with "I miss you" messages from the students of my church in McDonough. How was I going to move away from these k