It's almost over!

It's Friday night, week 4 of Institute, and I thought I'd take a few minutes to reflect on this experience thus far. This week was different than most because I taught a full day on Monday and then didn't teach again until Friday. I missed the kids all the days in between and was more than happy to get back into the classroom today. I was teaching writing and had an objective related to commas in a series. I decided to plug in my self-esteem lesson and have them write "positive paragraphs" about themselves. This was my example paragraph:
My name is Ms. Petersen and I am a very special person. I am fun, hard working, exciting, and kind. My favorite things to do are sing, read, write, and play Scrabble. I would like to get better at writing letters, throwing, and running. I know that when I work hard and practice I can get better at anything.
For the most part, they thought this was a fun activity and wrote some fantastic stuff. I gave them a kid-friendly rubric to guide their work as well. One student, the one that has been on my mind the most, told me that he wasn't special and he didn't know what to write. Angel is also the one who told me he was "dumb" and could do division. Well, I would like to report that Angel can now do division and even begged me to be able to do it in our small group this morning. Still, he needs a lot of positive encouragement. I'm going to write him a letter this weekend to tell him how special he is to me. (Just a note - this is the second time Angel has taken third grade. He is a great reader and critical thinker. Both of his parents died of cancer and he is now being raised by his grandmother. He has a wonderful smile.)
It's hard for me to believe that in one week this whole thing will be over. In many ways I'm glad: no more creaking bed, no more dining hall food, no more late night meetings. Still, I see that these kids need so much more and I don't feel like I've done enough for any of them. I realize that my experience here has been so positive and I am grateful for that. I was blessed to have an excellent advisor and hard working, dedicated group members who I respect. I also already came here with a lot of the skills it takes to be a good beginning teacher: theatrical expertise, experience with children, the ability to sing and lead children in song, and, most importantly, excellent organization skills. I still have so much to learn and I know that the next two years will be challenging in so many ways, but I also know that I'm in the right place.
I received a call this afternoon asking me if I would be willing to interview for a job in Region 10 (Harlem and Washington Heights) for upper-grades elementary. I said yes knowing that this could mean a pretty long cross-town commute, but, as I've said before, I'm up for anything.
In a week from tomorrow, I'll be a New Yorker and fast on my way to becoming a real classroom teacher. Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading out to the Phillies/Padres game with some of the other TFA people here. I thought it would be another fun Philly experience that I wouldn't want to miss. And anyway, I enjoy the social aspect of summer baseball games. Katie's in New York this weekend visiting her boyfriend Andy and getting things ready for our big move. It's almost over - happy/sad - I don't know. Ready for the next step? Definitely!