Summer training is steaming ahead to its climactic final week. I have summer school until Thursday, two more Student Achievement Framework (SAF) Sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, and a closing ceremony Friday morning. After that, I will be free for about two and a half weeks, during which I plan to do extensive research and planning on just what I am going to teach for the upcoming year. I'm also going to look for creative projects and lessons to disperse throughout the school year.
This past week was my last long week of the summer. I finished my course work on Thursday, which means I will be free to go home after summer school this Monday and Tuesday. It was a great class, and I had a fantastic professor. I feel much less nervous about that first day of school than I did a few weeks ago. I'm astounded by how quickly this summer flew by. While I'm excited to have some free time, I am very thankful that I still have a week left of teaching summer school. That has been by far the most useful training, and I want to work on creative lessons and building student interest.
If you talk to teachers in training, they will most likely complain about the long days, the abundance of time it takes to plan lessons, and the constant demands of their training program. Let me add some color to this assessment. My last two days have been, quite literally, a walk in the park and a day at the beach. On Friday morning we had a groggy workshop on special education (some of us had a long night leading up to it). Afterwards, a decent chunk of the class made its way to Central Park, where we spent a beautiful afternoon in the shade of the Sheep's Meadow eating lunch, chatting, tossing a football, and playing with a young couple's puppy. It was a perfect afternoon. The next day many of the same people went to a beach on Long Island to soak in the sun and support our classmate Brian, who was playing in a beach volleyball tournament. It was another picture perfect day spent in good company.
Tough life, huh? The only concern I've had from the last couple days is the pink tint of my shoulders and back. And the stinging sensation that accompanies it. This week was just an encapsulation of the entire summer. While it has certainly been strenuous, it's mostly been a lot of fun. I have no complaints.
It was strange driving through Long Island yesterday and seeing the suburban side of New York. Yesterday was the first time I felt like I was living on the east coast as opposed to another city. It still strikes me as odd that I'm living in New York. It feels like I should be returning back home to Chicago at the beginning of August. I truly miss the city. Regardless, I'm enjoying my courtship with New York, and now I can add Long Island to my expanding mosaic.
What else can I say? I love getting to know all the new people I've met here in New York. I also miss everyone who reads this from Chicago and elsewhere. I hope all your summers are filled with laughter and friends. That's all I've got for today. Life's pretty grand, isn't it?
Okay, I do have one more thing. Our class had a barbecue recently and the multi-talented Bostonian Jamie Northrup took some pictures of everyone. The pictures reminded me of something, and I decided to make a new video. Here is my class at the City College of New York, in '90s theme song form:
1 comment:
Hey Jeff...Your Dad sent me your blog name. Great reading! I can see why you chose the school, it looks to me that you may have had to choose between math and lit as a major. I feel like I could comment for hours on understanding your feelings about life, individuality, etc, etc, etc. One thing I have to say right away is that we're ALWAYS family. Luckily we don't interfere with one anothers lives, but we are always there for one another. I have become a recent wandered and really appreciate your feelings. Keep blogging and I'll keep reading. Sorry I'm so windy...I miss Chitown too. LOL, Aunt Lill
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