Friday, April 01, 2011
The Other Side of the Story
Yesterday's observation was completely different from what I saw at the high school. I saw kids having fun. I saw kids raising their hands. I saw several good lessons. Most importantly though, I saw kids learning.
The Harmony Schools are a chain of charter schools started by a Turkish Islamic philanthropists. They have come under fire by some people who think they are out to turn Americas children into Muslims, but actually, that claim is completely ridiculous. What the schools really are is a place for American children to learn so they can compete internationally, because the United States has fallen behind.
***
4/20/11
It has been a few weeks since I began this post about my experience at the charter school, but really, if you just think of everything the opposite of what I posted about the high school, you will be able to imagine it right.
So much has happened in the last couple of weeks.
At some point, I applied for a job. It's a corporate job, a support position kind of like what I do already, but with a great company, in San Francisco. I thought it was a long shot applying from Houston, but I went ahead and tried anyway. A friend of mine works for the company so I sort of had an in, and he sent my resume to the recruiter.
While I was waiting to hear about the job (and not very optimistic), I did my observation at the charter school. It was a great day. The school was a very positive environment. I had a few moments of "Maybe I can do this." My fieldwork coordinator at the University had asked that I observe at all levels and think about what I would like to teach. I was somewhat torn. I had a wonderful time in the first-grade class. I think elementary school would be really fun. I also had a great time attending the resource classes. I went to two classes taught by the school's only special education teacher. She had only a few students. The first class was with three boys, all in eighth grade. Two of them were working on math, and one of them was working on English. The one working on English was very behind reading level; they were still working on phonemic awareness, which is like first-grade reading stuff. The next class was with the two who had previously been working on math, only she was working on English with them. They were writing their autobiographies. They had each written about a paragraph so far, and had read it aloud. She said when she started with them, they could barely put together a sentence. She said they had come a long way. She was very proud. She said she had almost gotten an MBA at UH. She had applied and everything, but changed her mind at the last minute and went into teaching. I thought that was pretty brave.
The day after I finished my observation, I spoke to my fieldwork coordinator. It was the last step before being admitted. He talked to me about my experiences. He has been through the program I am doing. He broke the news to me that 75 percent of the students in the program end up teaching ninth or tenth grade at a high school like the one I observed. That was pretty tough to swallow. In the end, I told him that when I commit to something, I do it.
But I felt sick to my stomach. And nervous all weekend. The following Friday, when my acceptance letter came in, I wasn't as excited as I should have been. I'm trying to sort out if it's nerves or fear or if the second thoughts are real. I also did research with student loan calculators, and the amount that I will end up borrowing between my graduate and undergraduate degrees combined is scary as well, especially for something like teaching, where I know what my salary will be for a few years -- not much of a payoff there. At the same time, it is a master's. After teaching, if I wanted to do something else, with a master's and a background in education, I would have tons of options, corporate, nonprofit, or in the same field.
I have had three interviews in three weeks. I ended up landing interviews for the corporate job. Three phone interviews. First with the regional recruiter, then with an operations manager, and next with the other two operations managers. I would be supporting the three of them. I am really hoping at this point to get the job. If I do, I will defer enrollment to USF. It's not that I don't want to go, but it's good to have options, and it would be great to have a year to adjust before having to start a new stressful job and grad school. The closer it gets, the more anxious I have been.
The hubby has written a proposal that may allow him to keep his job, with a little less pay and no benefits, out in California. He turned it in Monday, the same day as my third interview.
Monday felt really good, man. Monday we were flying high. Yesterday, not so much. This waiting business is going to be the death of us. But I know everything is going to be out in the open very soon, hopefully by this weekend. So, we are waiting.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.
I just can't wait to get there. I can't wait for clean air and 50-degree weather. I can't wait to walk my dogs early some morning on the Fisherman's Wharf. I can't wait for all the mountains and trees, and the beaches. The summer is cold in San Francisco, but you don't have to drive far, maybe even just across the bridge, to get out of the fog and onto a warm beach.
We keep saying that this will be the biggest thing we've ever done, bigger and scarier than getting married even, if that's possible. This Saturday marks our one year anniversary. It sure is an exciting time.
Yesterday's observation was completely different from what I saw at the high school. I saw kids having fun. I saw kids raising their hands. I saw several good lessons. Most importantly though, I saw kids learning.
The Harmony Schools are a chain of charter schools started by a Turkish Islamic philanthropists. They have come under fire by some people who think they are out to turn Americas children into Muslims, but actually, that claim is completely ridiculous. What the schools really are is a place for American children to learn so they can compete internationally, because the United States has fallen behind.
***
4/20/11
It has been a few weeks since I began this post about my experience at the charter school, but really, if you just think of everything the opposite of what I posted about the high school, you will be able to imagine it right.
So much has happened in the last couple of weeks.
At some point, I applied for a job. It's a corporate job, a support position kind of like what I do already, but with a great company, in San Francisco. I thought it was a long shot applying from Houston, but I went ahead and tried anyway. A friend of mine works for the company so I sort of had an in, and he sent my resume to the recruiter.
While I was waiting to hear about the job (and not very optimistic), I did my observation at the charter school. It was a great day. The school was a very positive environment. I had a few moments of "Maybe I can do this." My fieldwork coordinator at the University had asked that I observe at all levels and think about what I would like to teach. I was somewhat torn. I had a wonderful time in the first-grade class. I think elementary school would be really fun. I also had a great time attending the resource classes. I went to two classes taught by the school's only special education teacher. She had only a few students. The first class was with three boys, all in eighth grade. Two of them were working on math, and one of them was working on English. The one working on English was very behind reading level; they were still working on phonemic awareness, which is like first-grade reading stuff. The next class was with the two who had previously been working on math, only she was working on English with them. They were writing their autobiographies. They had each written about a paragraph so far, and had read it aloud. She said when she started with them, they could barely put together a sentence. She said they had come a long way. She was very proud. She said she had almost gotten an MBA at UH. She had applied and everything, but changed her mind at the last minute and went into teaching. I thought that was pretty brave.
The day after I finished my observation, I spoke to my fieldwork coordinator. It was the last step before being admitted. He talked to me about my experiences. He has been through the program I am doing. He broke the news to me that 75 percent of the students in the program end up teaching ninth or tenth grade at a high school like the one I observed. That was pretty tough to swallow. In the end, I told him that when I commit to something, I do it.
But I felt sick to my stomach. And nervous all weekend. The following Friday, when my acceptance letter came in, I wasn't as excited as I should have been. I'm trying to sort out if it's nerves or fear or if the second thoughts are real. I also did research with student loan calculators, and the amount that I will end up borrowing between my graduate and undergraduate degrees combined is scary as well, especially for something like teaching, where I know what my salary will be for a few years -- not much of a payoff there. At the same time, it is a master's. After teaching, if I wanted to do something else, with a master's and a background in education, I would have tons of options, corporate, nonprofit, or in the same field.
I have had three interviews in three weeks. I ended up landing interviews for the corporate job. Three phone interviews. First with the regional recruiter, then with an operations manager, and next with the other two operations managers. I would be supporting the three of them. I am really hoping at this point to get the job. If I do, I will defer enrollment to USF. It's not that I don't want to go, but it's good to have options, and it would be great to have a year to adjust before having to start a new stressful job and grad school. The closer it gets, the more anxious I have been.
The hubby has written a proposal that may allow him to keep his job, with a little less pay and no benefits, out in California. He turned it in Monday, the same day as my third interview.
Monday felt really good, man. Monday we were flying high. Yesterday, not so much. This waiting business is going to be the death of us. But I know everything is going to be out in the open very soon, hopefully by this weekend. So, we are waiting.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.
I just can't wait to get there. I can't wait for clean air and 50-degree weather. I can't wait to walk my dogs early some morning on the Fisherman's Wharf. I can't wait for all the mountains and trees, and the beaches. The summer is cold in San Francisco, but you don't have to drive far, maybe even just across the bridge, to get out of the fog and onto a warm beach.
We keep saying that this will be the biggest thing we've ever done, bigger and scarier than getting married even, if that's possible. This Saturday marks our one year anniversary. It sure is an exciting time.
Labels: graduate school, teaching, waiting
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