Yuck. I have spent the last four days being sick. : (
-Aly
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
862 Hrs.
Lately I have felt like I forget most of what happens to me during the day by the time I get around to updating my blog at the end of each day, so today I am going to try to update at the day goes on from the computer in my classroom. We'll see how this goes...
8:25 a.m.
This morning, I let myself sleep in until 5:30. I usually wake up quite a bit earlier than that, but I was feeling exhausted this morning. Cory is leaving in a few hours to go back to Washington D. C., so it was sad to say goodbye to him. At 6:16 I left my house, and my bus arrived twelve minutes later. After a twenty minute bus ride, I had a thirty minute ride on the rail, and than another forty minute ride on a bus. At around 8:05, I arrived at R. R. Moton. Patty and I are the only corps members here today, even though we are supposed to arrive by 8:15, so now she and I are calling around to try to find out where everyone else is. We skipped P. T. this morning since it would have looked really lame to have one leader and only one corps member doing P. T.
9:26 a.m.
I just had a tutor session with my first graders. Once again, they were well-behaved until a particular student showed up. I told them I would reward them with some recess time tomorrow.
10:06 a.m.
For the past half hour, I have been in a fourth grade class helping out with a small group of students having trouble with reading. This group is different from the groups that I normally work with. Most of my other groups are called "intervention" groups, and they are chosen by the state of Florida. If a student scores a 0, 1, 0r 2 on the state test called the FCAT, they are required by law to be given help for thirty minutes each day for the next year with reading. The program we use to teach those students is called "Voyager", and is a program that has been developed by the state. The fourth grade group I just taught is just a group that the teacher has given to me because she thinks they need extra help. Some of those students are in an intervention group, but not all of them. During that time, I help with whatever the teacher needs me to help with. Today, I was timing students on a reading passage.
10:51 a.m.
Lunchtime! I am typing this as I am waiting for my Easy Mac to warm up in the microwave...
For the last thirty minutes, I was working with another small group; this time, a group of first graders. For that class, I take out the students individually to quiz them with flashcards and help them read the books that go along with the flashcards.
I makes me sad when kids get mad at me for making them do something that I have no control over. The kids hate tutoring and hate me for what I make them do, but I don't have the power to take them out of it.
12:40 p.m.
At 11:30, I taught another intervention, but this time with a group of fourth graders. This particular group really like to challange my authority, but I've taken to carrying around a stack of detention slips, which seems to work as far as a visible reminder for them to behave themselves. At noon, I was supposed to have a third grade intervention, but none of my students ever showed up. I was told that they all went to recess and forgot.
1:38 p.m.
At 1:00, I held a fifth grade intervention. After having to kick one kid out, the session was very productive, and I will be bringing the three remaining students candy tomorrow. : )
8:58 p.m.
When school ended at 2:00, Jaguar Academy began. Only about eight students were there, so it was an unusually easy day. For the first hour we helped them complete homework, and for the second hour we spent the time helping them practice reading in preparation for the FCAT, which is in two months. After work, the R. R. Moton team went out to a Chinese buffet. I am finally home now, and ready to go to sleep.
-Aly
8:25 a.m.
This morning, I let myself sleep in until 5:30. I usually wake up quite a bit earlier than that, but I was feeling exhausted this morning. Cory is leaving in a few hours to go back to Washington D. C., so it was sad to say goodbye to him. At 6:16 I left my house, and my bus arrived twelve minutes later. After a twenty minute bus ride, I had a thirty minute ride on the rail, and than another forty minute ride on a bus. At around 8:05, I arrived at R. R. Moton. Patty and I are the only corps members here today, even though we are supposed to arrive by 8:15, so now she and I are calling around to try to find out where everyone else is. We skipped P. T. this morning since it would have looked really lame to have one leader and only one corps member doing P. T.
9:26 a.m.
I just had a tutor session with my first graders. Once again, they were well-behaved until a particular student showed up. I told them I would reward them with some recess time tomorrow.
10:06 a.m.
For the past half hour, I have been in a fourth grade class helping out with a small group of students having trouble with reading. This group is different from the groups that I normally work with. Most of my other groups are called "intervention" groups, and they are chosen by the state of Florida. If a student scores a 0, 1, 0r 2 on the state test called the FCAT, they are required by law to be given help for thirty minutes each day for the next year with reading. The program we use to teach those students is called "Voyager", and is a program that has been developed by the state. The fourth grade group I just taught is just a group that the teacher has given to me because she thinks they need extra help. Some of those students are in an intervention group, but not all of them. During that time, I help with whatever the teacher needs me to help with. Today, I was timing students on a reading passage.
10:51 a.m.
Lunchtime! I am typing this as I am waiting for my Easy Mac to warm up in the microwave...
For the last thirty minutes, I was working with another small group; this time, a group of first graders. For that class, I take out the students individually to quiz them with flashcards and help them read the books that go along with the flashcards.
I makes me sad when kids get mad at me for making them do something that I have no control over. The kids hate tutoring and hate me for what I make them do, but I don't have the power to take them out of it.
12:40 p.m.
At 11:30, I taught another intervention, but this time with a group of fourth graders. This particular group really like to challange my authority, but I've taken to carrying around a stack of detention slips, which seems to work as far as a visible reminder for them to behave themselves. At noon, I was supposed to have a third grade intervention, but none of my students ever showed up. I was told that they all went to recess and forgot.
1:38 p.m.
At 1:00, I held a fifth grade intervention. After having to kick one kid out, the session was very productive, and I will be bringing the three remaining students candy tomorrow. : )
8:58 p.m.
When school ended at 2:00, Jaguar Academy began. Only about eight students were there, so it was an unusually easy day. For the first hour we helped them complete homework, and for the second hour we spent the time helping them practice reading in preparation for the FCAT, which is in two months. After work, the R. R. Moton team went out to a Chinese buffet. I am finally home now, and ready to go to sleep.
-Aly
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
853 Hrs.
Work went well today, other than the fact that I am become increasingly frustrated with my team at R. R. Moton.
The first tutor group that I teach during the day which takes place at 8:45 a.m. consists of a large group of first grades. That thirty minutes really wears me out, because it is difficult to get anything done during that session, including getting the students to sit down and open their books with hurting each other. Today, however, my first graders were little angels! One of my students was absent for most of the lesson, and when she arrived for the last five minutes and all of my students became completely out of control, I quickly realized that she provokes each and every one of them into bad behavior. I don't yet know what I will do about that for the future.
I also had a little bit of an issue during my third grade tutor session when one of my students refused to participate. I told her that if she did not read along with the group that she would have to stay after class and miss her magnate class until she read the passage to me, and that is what I ended up having to do. After thirty minutes of several calls to her parents and stern words from myself and her teacher, she finally decided to read the passage, but only in a voice that was almost unintelligible. What a not-so-good end to my day.
-Aly
The first tutor group that I teach during the day which takes place at 8:45 a.m. consists of a large group of first grades. That thirty minutes really wears me out, because it is difficult to get anything done during that session, including getting the students to sit down and open their books with hurting each other. Today, however, my first graders were little angels! One of my students was absent for most of the lesson, and when she arrived for the last five minutes and all of my students became completely out of control, I quickly realized that she provokes each and every one of them into bad behavior. I don't yet know what I will do about that for the future.
I also had a little bit of an issue during my third grade tutor session when one of my students refused to participate. I told her that if she did not read along with the group that she would have to stay after class and miss her magnate class until she read the passage to me, and that is what I ended up having to do. After thirty minutes of several calls to her parents and stern words from myself and her teacher, she finally decided to read the passage, but only in a voice that was almost unintelligible. What a not-so-good end to my day.
-Aly
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Back to Work
I don't want to go back to work tomorrow. : (
Today, I went to church, bought some groceries, and did my laundry. Thankfully, I got to relax for the rest of the day.
-Aly
Today, I went to church, bought some groceries, and did my laundry. Thankfully, I got to relax for the rest of the day.
-Aly
Saturday, January 3, 2009
835 Hrs.
I could not update yesterday because my internet was down. Thankfully, someone from AT&T came out today to resolve that for me.
Yesterday, Cory and his parents and myself set out at 5:30 a.m. so we could catch a couple of buses to the Miami Airport to pick up a rental car. The morning was almost a disaster because we had to wait FOREVER for a shuttle to the car rental place, and the only number we had to call was not being picked up. We finally got our car, though, and set out for the Florida Keys. Key West is about a four hour trip from my apartment, and the way there is a series of bridges connecting a lot of the Keys and other tiny islands. Driving through the various Keys, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Everglades National park was beautiful, and we stopped once on the Bahia Honda Key in order to eat the lunch we had taken with us. Shortly after making it to Key West, a bicyclist hit and scratched our rental car with his bike, so we had to take some time to deal with that. For the rest of the day until sunset, we visited Hemmingway's house, the Little White House, Mallory Square, the southernmost point of the United States, and we traveled down mile-long Duval Street, which allowed us to see the Atlantic Ocean at one end and the Gulf of Mexico at the other. I finally got into bed around midnight.
Today, I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. so Cory and I could drop off his parents at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and return the rental car to the Miami airport before 7:00 a.m. The bus we were waiting for at first at the Miami airport never showed up, so I was really worried about making it back to my apartment before the AT&T guy got there; he was scheduled to be there sometime between 8:00 a.m. and noon. Thankfully, we made it back only a little bit after 8:00 a.m., and I was able to take a short nap before the technician arrived at 10:00 a.m. For dinner, I was able to cook pizza in my new oven! After living in my apartment for four months, I feel that it is about time I had a working oven!
Since I have to go back to work on Monday, I plan to spend the res of my weekend doing nothing but relaxing. I can't believe this is the last break I get until the end of June. : (
-Aly
Yesterday, Cory and his parents and myself set out at 5:30 a.m. so we could catch a couple of buses to the Miami Airport to pick up a rental car. The morning was almost a disaster because we had to wait FOREVER for a shuttle to the car rental place, and the only number we had to call was not being picked up. We finally got our car, though, and set out for the Florida Keys. Key West is about a four hour trip from my apartment, and the way there is a series of bridges connecting a lot of the Keys and other tiny islands. Driving through the various Keys, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Everglades National park was beautiful, and we stopped once on the Bahia Honda Key in order to eat the lunch we had taken with us. Shortly after making it to Key West, a bicyclist hit and scratched our rental car with his bike, so we had to take some time to deal with that. For the rest of the day until sunset, we visited Hemmingway's house, the Little White House, Mallory Square, the southernmost point of the United States, and we traveled down mile-long Duval Street, which allowed us to see the Atlantic Ocean at one end and the Gulf of Mexico at the other. I finally got into bed around midnight.
Today, I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. so Cory and I could drop off his parents at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and return the rental car to the Miami airport before 7:00 a.m. The bus we were waiting for at first at the Miami airport never showed up, so I was really worried about making it back to my apartment before the AT&T guy got there; he was scheduled to be there sometime between 8:00 a.m. and noon. Thankfully, we made it back only a little bit after 8:00 a.m., and I was able to take a short nap before the technician arrived at 10:00 a.m. For dinner, I was able to cook pizza in my new oven! After living in my apartment for four months, I feel that it is about time I had a working oven!
Since I have to go back to work on Monday, I plan to spend the res of my weekend doing nothing but relaxing. I can't believe this is the last break I get until the end of June. : (
-Aly
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A New Year and New Beginnings
I always love the celebration of the new year, because it provides a time for reflection and a time for new beginnings.
As far as reflection upon this past year - as of this time last year, I had no idea that I would be spending this time in Miami! Cory, his parents, and myself spent the day at the beach today, and I would not have believed anyone who told me January 1st last year that this is where I would be now. I also could not have told you that I would be an economics major, that I would be the proud owner of a crazy kitten named Pip, or that I would learn so much more patience.
As far as new beginnings - my resolution for this new year is to make the most of every moment, and to not waste a single second. I have always been told to make the most of every day, but I don't really believe that that is enough. It is true that you never know if you will be alive tomorrow, but that can also be true of the next second. I want to get the most I can out of every moment in time, because no one knows what will happen one second from now...
As far as reflection upon this past year - as of this time last year, I had no idea that I would be spending this time in Miami! Cory, his parents, and myself spent the day at the beach today, and I would not have believed anyone who told me January 1st last year that this is where I would be now. I also could not have told you that I would be an economics major, that I would be the proud owner of a crazy kitten named Pip, or that I would learn so much more patience.
As far as new beginnings - my resolution for this new year is to make the most of every moment, and to not waste a single second. I have always been told to make the most of every day, but I don't really believe that that is enough. It is true that you never know if you will be alive tomorrow, but that can also be true of the next second. I want to get the most I can out of every moment in time, because no one knows what will happen one second from now...
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