Three more weeks
Well, I wrote out this great entry the other day and, somehow, it disappeared. So, I will try to remember a bit of what I lost and also catch up on the past few days. I've had a great time visiting with my family, playing with my little cousins, and doing some much needed preparation for next year. Last weekend I bought a new computer that I am very pleased with. I believe I will use it extensively in the next two years. Unfortunately, I made the twenty-mile trek to Fry's Electronics five days in a row and now I hope that I will never need to return to that Mecca of electronics consumerism again. Nevertheless, I am now the proud owner of a Compaq laptop with Windows XP and wireless capabilities. My brother took over my four-year-old notebook and upgraded it to about the same level as my new one. I'm glad I could help him out with the technology thing.
Earlier this week I had a great chat with a girl who graduated a year before me from my high school. She is now completing her first year of Teach For America in New York and had a lot of helpful advice. I plan on staying at her apartment when I first get in and also when I'm in the process of looking for my own place. I feel comforted to have her as a friend and advisor and believe her words will definitely help me make it through the next few months with a positive outlook. She emphasized the need to take care of yourself and just do your personal best.
I also got to visit a school in south Phoenix that currently employees TFA corps members. I had a great time visiting with the teachers there and meeting the students. The whole morning got me excited about teaching and all that is to come.
I've decided that I am very fortunate to be teaching ESL. I have heard that the children of the recent immigrants in these classes are some of the best behaved and eager to learn. The parents themselves are also more involved and sometimes even send their students to school with uniforms that are not required. Also, being ESL is better than bilingual because, as one teacher in south Phoenix told me, you don't have to be two teachers at once, teaching the whole curriculum in one language and then repeating in the other.
I have lots of reading and packing to do at this point and, of course, lots of visiting to enjoy. Only three more weeks! It's hard to believe it'll be here so very soon.
Earlier this week I had a great chat with a girl who graduated a year before me from my high school. She is now completing her first year of Teach For America in New York and had a lot of helpful advice. I plan on staying at her apartment when I first get in and also when I'm in the process of looking for my own place. I feel comforted to have her as a friend and advisor and believe her words will definitely help me make it through the next few months with a positive outlook. She emphasized the need to take care of yourself and just do your personal best.
I also got to visit a school in south Phoenix that currently employees TFA corps members. I had a great time visiting with the teachers there and meeting the students. The whole morning got me excited about teaching and all that is to come.
I've decided that I am very fortunate to be teaching ESL. I have heard that the children of the recent immigrants in these classes are some of the best behaved and eager to learn. The parents themselves are also more involved and sometimes even send their students to school with uniforms that are not required. Also, being ESL is better than bilingual because, as one teacher in south Phoenix told me, you don't have to be two teachers at once, teaching the whole curriculum in one language and then repeating in the other.
I have lots of reading and packing to do at this point and, of course, lots of visiting to enjoy. Only three more weeks! It's hard to believe it'll be here so very soon.
posted by Sarah at
4:43 PM
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