Skip to main content

Be Teachable

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 and Craftporium (fun word!) in Greenville and got to make Ice Candles. Such a fun activity! Something I can recreate with my students in the future!
Kermit the Frog and I 

A replica of the first scene ever of The Muppet Show

The original Kermit (handmade by Jim) and the Muppet-ized version

I made a candle at the craftorium...it looks messed up but it's supposed to look like that- I promise!


Sunday was one of the hardest days yet. I miss my home church in McDonough so much I can hardly stand it. Of course I miss the people I served with, the kids, the students. But I also miss the worship and service style. Literally, I miss everything about it. I visited a church Sunday morning, and it was okay- the people were super nice but I don't think it's the place for me. I knew finding a church was going to be one of the hardest parts about moving to the Delta. I'm going to continue to visit churches in Cleveland for the summer but I've almost come to the conclusion that, when I find a permanent home, I will stream my home church live and then get involved in a church in the community where I'll be teaching, even if it's not exactly what I'm looking for style-wise. This will allow me to create an even better connection with my kids and their families. I really believe that will allow me to have an even greater impact.


Now for the Deeper Stuff:
One of the best pieces of professional/leadership/life advice I've ever been given is to always be teachable. It's so important to stay humble and know that you never know everything. Doing Teach for America is an extremely humbling experience. People graduate college after taking at least a year of classes teaching them how to teach. And then between a semester and a year student teaching. Well, I've got 4 weeks of summer school. 

I can quickly find myself getting overwhelmed with the thought: How am I possibly going to learn everything that I need to learn in 4 short weeks? The answer is simple: I won't. The fact of the matter is, every single teacher, TFA or otherwise has a first year. And I have a feeling that every teacher's first year is at least a little crazy. I believe the degree of success I have in my classroom is going to hinge on whether or not I am teachable. Whether or not I am humble enough to seek the help from my peers and veteran teachers. I plan to take full advantage of these resources because in order for my kids to succeed, I have to be the best teacher I can be. And in order to do that, I have to be teachable.

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
Proverbs 15:31-32


3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forget Your Worries...For Real

I'm not very good at keeping a blog. It's been quite some time since I've written anything here. But, I'm learning as I grow, that sometimes it's so important to stop and write out a thought. Or else you lose it. And so often, the loss of a thought is a terrible thing. Today was different, though.. The most amazing this just happened to me. I was so stressed, worried, and anxious about something . Like, I was physically reacting to the stress. My heart was racing, I was getting hot, I was fidgetting. I knew in my brain that I had only a few seconds to respond to this anxiety or I would be in trouble. *Nothing up to this point is amazing. These things happen often, probably to more people than just myself. I was caught up in the everyday tasks of life.* This is the amazing part: something happened, I'm not even really sure what. But y'all,  I forgot what I was freaking out about. I forgot. Completely. I have no earthly idea what I was getting so worked up ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Seriously, though...Where has the time gone?!?!

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

There's No Place Like Home

Turns out, I'm a much better Kindergarten Teacher than I am a blogger. In the big picture, that's not such a terrible thing, I suppose. It is my Almost-Mid-Year Resolution to get better at this. New Year Resolutions almost never work. We'll see how this goes, though! I keep finding myself reflecting on the fact that the school year is almost over. I'm sorry...where did the time go?!? It feels like just yesterday I was driving to Delta State University to start my summer training and here I am, almost ready to close out my first year of teaching. We're in the home stretch, but we've still got a lot to do before June 2nd. But, man! We've come along way! My kids who came in not knowing how to hold a pencil are writing beautiful, creative stories. Those who didn't know any letters and sounds, now reading sentences and short stories! I've yet to see, in my short 25 years, anything as cool as this...as my students learning (part of the coolness is that I...
Post a Comment
Read more