Thank Goodness for the Bill of Rights

     Lets talk about the Bill of Rights... “Ms. Silverstein, does that mean I can get me a gun?”…well Omar I wouldn’t suggest it…this just means that we have the right to own a gun” haha! Hey Ms. “Does that man like in the movies when they show up at your house and say We Got a Warrant!” Yes, Vanessa that is what search and seizure means. As you can tell by my some of the comments in class today the kids were really excited about learning about history instead of English. Class actually went well and then kids were engaged. I did have one girl named Veronica refuse to do what I asked her to do or work in a group…I almost had to throw her out of class.

I was so proud because I let them work in groups which can get rowdy and they made such good posters about all ten of the Bill of Right and put them in their own words and draw pictures and I was so proud of their posters! It stinks because just when the kids start to like me and open up we have out last day tomorrow. The kids are really excited because they reached their class goal of 50 points. So tomorrow we are having a class party and playing educational games. I have to go to target tonight and get some cookies, and juice boxes, and chips and stuff for the party.

     I am getting my fingerprints taken on Friday afternoon for my new job, every teacher has to get it done and then I am hoping to go down to Galveston Beach for the night and come back to Rice late on Saturday. I don’t have a car so I’m just kinda going along with other people’s plans. Today’s theme song on the way to school was “The Dog Day’s Are Over” by Florence and the Machine. On the way back to rice I jammed out to “E.T. (Featuring Kanye West and Katy Perry). Still waiting on some new song suggestions…

    I hope everyone else is doing well. I can’t believe I only have 10 days left at institute! It has gone by fast but slow. I have been pushed really hard and I am definitely ready for a little break before I start full time with my own class in the fall. I feel a lot more prepare to teach which is good and I miss my family and can’t wait to see yall!

Love,

Molly

"I'm a Survivor...i'm not gonna give up i'm gonna make it!"

     The test is over and now all I have to do is WAIT on the scores to come in but the good thing is that it is no longer in my hands anymore. It was so weird on Sunday to wake up and not have to immediately start studying. All of the sudden I had some free time and guess what…I was BORED. I am so use to going a million miles per  hour that I could not decide what do with myself! Crazy. So on Saturday night a bunch of us went to a restaurant called 100 percent Taquitos and watch the Mexico vs. U.S. soccer game. The entire restaurant was going for Mexico…we stood out! Then we went out on the town in Rice Village. It was fun to go out without worrying about waking up early to study haha. On Sunday I went to the gym and laid out at the pool for like two hours. Then I had about a week and half worth’s of laundry to do so I decide to tackle that chore. I ended up playing volleyball later in the afternoon and made it to bed by 11 last night…it was a first.

    Today my kids were taking their post assessment test so I didn’t have to teach but did have to be there to proctor the test. I will be teaching the rest of the week and my last day at school is on Thursday. Hard to believe my time at Patrick Henry is almost up. I have to print a bunch of papers and handouts tonight as well as make some posters and chart paper for my Tuesday and Thursday lesson. I was able to talk to Angel yesterday and she said that she had the TIME of her life and I was so glad to hear that her trip went well. If you haven’t looked at her picture on Facebook take some time to check it out. I want to go to Scotland!

    I’m trying to decide what I am going to do for the 4^th of July because people are wanting to get out of Houston and have an adventure. I don’t know what my plans are because it is hard to not have a car here. There has been some talk about going to Austin but then there is finding a place to stay and all that…I will keep you updated on my plans. I wish I could come to lake but we have to be ready to work on Tuesday Morning. We don’t even get Friday off. So really it is just a three day weekend, but that’s better than nothing!

    I received a lovely email from Uncle Headley and Mrs. Nancy and they had such encouraging words for me. I love getting emails from yall and also knowing what yall are up to. It is also nice to know that I have people praying for me because I sure know I need it!

Oh and today on the bus ride home I listened to Destiny’s Child “I’m a Survivor” it was such a pump up song! Let me know if you have any other pump up songs I can listen to on the bus on the way to and from Rice.

Check it out!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_RVId9OkgI

Love,

Molly

Patrick Henry Middle School's Patriot of the Week for LEADERSHIP goes to...Molly Silverstein

     Thursday was probably my best day teaching so far, which is odd because it was the day I felt least prepared for since I’ve been trying to prioritize study for my test on Saturday. The kids were relatively well behaved and I was able to let them work in groups without the class completely falling apart! I got about 4 and ½ of sleep last night so I feel a little bit better but I am really going to focus on studying and getting some sleep the next two days, plus I really need to go for a run. I haven’t been able to since Sunday because of the weather (its been raining here a lot) and because I honestly haven’t had the time. Lauren seem to be busy taking on a new role as “wedding planner” for her friend this weekend. The nerve of some people …haha. I officially signed my lease online last night and set up the delivery times for all my furniture that I have gotten. Tonight I have mandatory study hall all night but I’m glad because we are not allowed to lesson plan during this time so it is good for me because I can really focus. Everyone keeps telling me that they are buying me a drink after my test on Saturday because the third week of teaching is the hardest and to have a test at the end of the week on top of that is just overwhelming. I’m looking forward to getting the test over with. I don’t know exactly when Angel returns from her trip to Scotland but I am so excited to hear about everything she and David got to do while they were over there!  Lets see, I want to hear what everyone else is up to this weekend. I can’t believe how quickly the 4^th of July is approaching? What is everyone’s official plans to celebrate I wish I could come to the lake!

      So I told this to Mom on the phone last night but yesterday I one of our sessions we were watching fellow colleagues who were doing great things in there classroom and they wanted us to watch the videos and comment on them. Well when I was observed on Monday apparently do very well at the Behavioral Management Cycle so in the middle of the session we watched a video of ME in my classroom implementing this cycle. I was happy that I was being noticed for my hard work but was not prepared for the entire school to see me on camera. I turned bright red!!!! I also said right at the end of my video “Awww Yeah! We got 16 Class points” so now everyone that sees me says “Aww yeah!”. It was actually really funny.  Brendon, a fellow 8^th grade teacher turned to me and I was wearing a coral cardigan and was like, “Molly, oh my gosh, your face is the color of your sweater”…it stayed that way for about the next 30 minutes.

    Today, on Friday morning we were in session and at the end they give out awards for the week based on different values that teach for America drills into your head and guess who received their first award ever!!! I got the award for Patrick Henry’s Leadership Award for this past week! I got an actual certificate and everything. I was really excited because I didn’t think I would every get an award…its kinda a big deal to be recognized in front of everyone. So at least my hard work is paying off. Okay well tomorrow is a BIG DAY I need everyone to please be praying for me today and especially tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. when I sit down to take my test. I need you to pray for me to be calm, confidence in what I know, and making smart answer choices! I can’t WAIT for this test to be over! Love you and I will let you all know how the test goes!!!

Love,

Molly

P.S. Here is the note I got from my Leader This week, “ Molly, Great us of previous posters in your classroom. I do think your review was needed and that your students are being set up for success because of it. Good job fixing behaviors and giving consequences when needed :)” -Eric

Middle of the Week...

I woke up with a slight tingle in my throat which wasn’t a good sign because it has now turned into a cough. I don’t think the fact that I’m getting very little sleep is helping the fact that I’m getting sick. I’m trying to drink a ton of water because I really can’t afford to be sick on Saturday when I take my test. Mom was nice enough to try and get me something called in to the CVS here because I think it is a sinus infection. Oh well just got to push through it. My class actually went well today, as in I didn’t have to give out any lunch detentions!!! We were comparing the written version of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech to the audio version. I did a little background buildup of the Civil Rights movement and then I broke the class up into groups to work on their worksheets and Venn diagrams. I still have two more lesson’s to do tonight, plus I have to re-write my lesson plan for tomorrow and still find some time to study for my test. I could use all the prayers I can get for this test. I am determined to try and have a positive attitude walking into the test and then once it is over I will be so relieved. I am making sure that I go to bed super early on Friday so I don’t fall asleep during the test. I hear Dad is out of town and I’m sure the dogs are missing him. Love yall  but I got a lot to do tonight.

Love,
Molly

Hey Molly!...You okay...You look kinda tired...

     It’s hard for your brain to function when your roommates alarm clock goes off at 2:30, 3:45, and then 5:30, interrupting your limited 5 hours of sleep the night before you are being observed by your group leader. I love Emily but I think we were both ready to throw her alarm clock out the window because it seemed to be possessed. Then we overslept our actual alarm and thank goodness I work up at 6:15 and was calmy said, “Emily don’t freak out but we have to be on the bus in 15 minutes. I got ready in about 2 minutes and then had to head down to grab breakfast and pack my lunch! Not to b negative Nancy but today was not best day in the classroom. I had so many people in there observing me that my brain just got so flustered and I kept losing my train of thought. I also have now had 3 students pulled from my class and kicked out of summer school because of behavioral problems. So I have lost Eric, then Anthony, and now Edwin. I am slightly relieved because it takes away some of the classroom behavior but I feel bad that yet again these kids get the shaft in their education. I am trying to teach the kids to compare and contrast two different text right now..hopefully tomorrow will go better. I have meeting tonight at 5:30, which is literally when I step off the bus, then 6:00-6:45, and finally mandatory study hall from 7:00-9:00 and then its time to work on lesson plans for the next day and the two more that I have due on Thursday!!!! Yay!!!! I have also been told twice today that I look really tired…aka…not lookin so great. Anyways got to get back to work. NO time to waste. Love you.

Love,

Molly

Wistle While You Work...

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog but I have just been so busy lesson planning and study for my test that I have this Friday. I went out on the town Friday night and had fun, but woke up early on Saturday to get some work done. I ended up playing beach volleyball for a couple of hours which is really intense in this Texas heat. I stayed in on Saturday night and worked and did laundry and tried to get some sleep. I was sad on Sunday when I woke up and wasn’t able to give Dad a hug but I called him on my way to church. Some friends and I went to this church that you can walk to from campus and it was alright. They were very welcoming and it was good to get back into going church…I can’t remember the last time I’ve been. I came back from church and literally worked till 12 o’clock that night and then I made myself go to sleep but I didn’t sleep well at all because I was so nervous about teaching today. 
    I got an email from my leader last night and it said, “ Hey Molly, Melva asked for CMs (core members) that were doing well on the behavior management cycle and I gave her your name! You do well with giving directions and then narrating who is actually doing the directions you gave. You also do well with correcting student that are not doing what you asked (Ms. Andrus says so as well). With that said, Melva wants to video tape CM’s that do this well (the BMC) and I picked you for our team. She will be in Monday to see you in action if that is ok! She plans to video tape…that is not the day I am observing you by the way. Thanks! –Eric”. So with that email in my head I was so worried about being on camera and having my kids act out but everything went well today and guess what we have a board in our Teach For America Headquarters at Patrick Henry called the “Patrick Henry All-Star Patriots” and my name is on the board twice for being good at “managing student practice” and “Reinforcing Rules and Consequences”. It is nice to have your name in a start up on a bulletin board!!! This week is going to be crazy because my lesson plans are getting to be more intense and I am trying to fit in time to study for my test on Saturday. It will be so nice to get that over with. Today went well and I am just tired but you learn to just push through it and get your work done. Tomorrow I am being observed again and then have a bunch of meetings and study sessions to go to. The kids have been alright, they are still acting out but I am getting better and managing them even though it is so annoying when you are trying to talk and they won’t stop talking. I hope that I am impacting these kids because some days it just feels like I am not making a difference at all. Last night I made so many poster board and chart paper for my classroom that my fingers are still stained from the markers. I am getting use to wearing professional clothes and now it feels weird to not be in something professional. The Teacher Olympics we had on Friday was fun and my team did when the (Who can grade the fastest competition). Okay well love yall and will try to write soon...maybe a day or two. 
Love,
Molly 

I Made it Through My First Full Week!

Today is a special day because it is Sarah’s Birthday and I am so sad that I can’t be there to celebrate with her. Today was also an important day for me to because I was observed during my teaching period. Today I did a lesson on comparing and contrasting two different texts. I decided to do one story today and another one on Monday and then we will compare them. Today’s story was called Jacob’s Rescue and it is about a Jewish boy in the holocaust and his experiences living in the ghetto. Then on Monday we are going to compare the concept of being “trapped” to a Tupac poem. I changed up the room a little today and had the students sit in a semi-circle facing me and told them that we would be reading a lot today and this circle was going to provide the framework for them to be leaders in our class discussion. Of course Edwin acted out so I had to send him to the back of the room but I also lost another student today named Eric who was expelled for spitting at another student and then starting an argument with a teacher. Hopefully I can hold on too the rest of my class the next couple of weeks. 

     Thank goodness it is Friday because I am so exhausted and do not want to teach tomorrow. I do have mandatory study hall tonight but we also have classes all day tomorrow so it will still be exhausting. I will try to catch up a little this weekend in between studying and finishing making lesson plans. I did have a chance to fit a run in today which was nice and then I played beach volleyball for like 30 minutes. (Not going to lie I still have a pretty good serve!)

     Tomorrow we are having a like thirty minute break to have a little fun at my school by having a Teacher Olympics. The event are hilarious: two people will race to see who can grade the fastest and most accurately, two people will race to alphabetize a set of papers, a poster making competition, a catwalk competition to demonstrate different teacher facial expressions and body gestures, and also a teacher stare-off! It should be pretty fun. I am competing in the poster competition and one other but I can’t remember what they signed me up for. I will let you know if the 8^th grade teachers win. Also my school had special t-shirts made for with Patrick Henry on them and a cool logo so we can wear those tomorrow with jeans instead of business professional! Yay!  

            Anyways Lala wrote me an email and it made my day. I love to hear encouraging words from yall and want you to catch me up on what you are doing in your lives since I never have time to call anyone! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Much Love,

Molly

Edwin—“You’re a bad teacher”…Me “Well Edwin, sorry you feel that way but I’ll work on being a better teacher if you will work on being a better student!”

      Today was still full of behavioral problems with the class and I tried to give them a good pep talk about taking ownership of their learning and respecting their classmates time while we are all trying to learn and that there would be consequences for their actions but I don’t know how receptive they were. I did implement a competition between me and the students and if I had to ask the class to respond to a question more than twice I got a point and if they participated than they got a point which helped because they are trying to accumulate class points by the end of the week in order to receive a treat. I did have to send Edwin to the principal today because he was so bad in class and the faculty advisor told me that he shouldn’t even be in summer school because he disrupts everyone else’s learning time. Which to me is so sad because he had a strong personality but he just doesn’t have any guidance on how to act appropriately. 

     I do have to realize that it was only my 4^th day in the classroom and its not like I am an experienced teacher so I’m trying not to be so hard on myself. Funny moment of the day was Edwin goes, “Mis, Mis, why are you here teaching us anyways?” and I said “Because I wanted to come to this school and teach you so that you could move onto the 9^th grade” and he goes “Oh well you’re an awful teacher” and got the whole class shouting and stuff soI just responded with “I’m sorry you feel that way Edwin but I’ll make a deal with you, I’ll try to be a better teacher if you’ll try to be a better student”. Not going to lie my feeling were a little hurt but you just have to let that stuff roll off your shoulders because they are just doing it to get attention. Later on in the day the head of our program came to talk to me and Edwin’s other teachers because he has been such a problem we have one more day with him and if there isn’t any improvement we might have to make the decision to kick him out of summer school which means he gets held back. I don’t want to have to do that but he does disrupt the rest of the students trying to learn. Lets just hope it doesn’t come to having to make that decision. 

     Thank you mom and dad for your encouraging emails I could use all the prayers I can get. On another not I have some good news. I have been placed at a Charter school in Dallas. I didn’t even have to interview with the school system they just placed me based on my resume and a recommendation from Teach for America. Here is the website if you would like to check it out. I am at Dallas CAN Academy at their Oak Cliff school. It is about 15 minutes away from where my new apartment will be once I sign the lease so not too bad of a commute. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be teaching with my Fort Worth friends that I have made here but I’m sure I will make some good Dallas friends too. I have to finish a bunch of paperwork by Friday for my employment application so that just adds on to my workload. 

     I have two lesson to plan for tonight and I am being observed while I teach tomorrow so I know tonight will be a long night. I just can’t seem to ever get into bed before 12:30 and this morning I was so tired it kind of affected my teaching so I am really looking forward to the weekend. Today Angel leaves for Scotland and I wish I was being packed in her suitcase! I am so jealous, she is going to have such a great time and I’m glad she is getting to have this experience. She promised me she would blog every detail! On another note I would like to give a special SHOUT OUT to a birthday girl this week. Ms. Sarah Silverstein will be turning 22 tomorrow!!! Whoop whoop! Wish I could be there to celebrate but know I am thinking about you! Here is the link to the school I will be working at if I pass my exam (please keep praying for that!) and I will keep you updated on Edwin!

http://www.dallascan.org/Index.asp

http://www.dallascan.org/academies_oakcliff.asp

Love,

Molly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH I LOVE YOU!

Get Me Out of Here!

     Today was not such a good day. My class was out of control and I could not seem to get them to follow any directions. They basically made fun of me and my discipline system for the entire class. Would not be silent during independent work. Talked back to me and would not follow directions. Basically the entire class was an entire joke and I’m not sure that they learned much of anything. It was really discouraging and disappointing because yesterday had gone well and I was hoping for continual improvement. I feel like honestly they just don’t care and don’t grasp the importance of having classroom rule, be respectful and really caring about their education. I am going to have to come up with some new methods of classroom management because toady I was just counting down the minutes until the class was over. Edwin, Eric, and Thomas are my biggest trouble makes and they took over the classroom. My classroom. I even had three students who turned in the quiz and had crossed through the quiz and drawn all over it…obviously they thought we were in art class instead of English class. It probably didn’t help that last night I was up really late working on lesson plans and trying to study and that my body seems to be crashing along with some of my motivation and energy. I want the lessons I teach to be fun but it is hard to cover so much information and keep all 22 students interested. I have a mandatory study session for my social studies exam tonight from 6:00-8:00. I won’t get back to Rice until 5:30 so I won’t have much free time to grab dinner or do much of anything. I am already looking forward to the weekend. It had just been a rough day. This whole process just feel like a big test…Teach for America just gives us so many deadlines and different documents do at specific times that it can be very overwhelming. Okay well off to work some more…will write soon!

Love,

Molly

Edwin…Please See Me In the Hall….

     Woah, second day of teaching actually went well I felt as though my kids really did understand the material and they participated more than they did last Thursday. This morning before the lesson started I called role and had each kid tell me their favorite candy and then they also filled out a survey for me. I caught a glimpse of a couple of the boy’s answers to what they were most excited about this summer and their answer was “girls”…maybe I should be teaching a sex education class??? Then we talked about goals and how they have to get to the 9^th grade if they want to reach that bigger goal of going to college and I talked about the University of Alabama and about my experience being able to study abroad and how college can open so many doors for them. In my lesson today we learned about similes and metaphor and how they are used in sentences and within text. My lesson was about an hour long and they had a quiz at the end. I have already graded them and most of the students seem to have done well and understood the material. The biggest problem with today was how my students behaved. I had to handout lunch detention to 3 kids for being disrespectful. I have them on a check mark system. First check is a warning of what you are doing wrong with a reminder of the consequences, second check mark is first five minutes of lunch is silent, third checkmark is moving seats and writing an apology letter to the class for taking away from their learning time, fourth check mark is full lunch detention and fifth check mark is a referral to the principles office. I will just tell you I am not afraid to give out check marks. Today was different because I got to Edwin on his 4^th check mark he was just being a prick and I didn’t want to send him to the principle’s office just yet so I asked to see him outside while the rest of the class finished up their quiz and we had a little heart to heart. He has severe ADHD and is at an incredibly low reading level with behavioral problems, which is not such a good combination. It is amazing to see first hand how our education system has failed these kids. They are in 8^th grade and can’t even read on a 4^th grade reading level yet year after year teachers have just pushed them along. I worry that I am not going to make a big enough impact in such a short amount of time but I am doing what I can and trying to make my lessons as interesting as possible. I am incorporating some Tupac poetry into some upcoming lesson. I will probably have a long night tonight because I have so much work to have turned in by tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. Hopefully my body will adjust better to the lack of sleep this week. I wish yall could see me in the classroom its like a totally different confidence and fear of being able to lead the kids in the right direction and teach them what they HAVE to know to succeed. So a long week ahead and I’m so excited for Angel because she is going to Scotland this week and I want to jump into her suitcase!!!! I will be up late tonight but I took some pictures of my classroom today that I will try to upload to facebook if not tonight tomorrow night! Hope everyone is doing well!

Love and miss you,

Molly

Ahhh, its the Weekend :)

Hey!
    Well, lets just say everyone was excited about it being the weekend. On Friday a lot of people went out but my roommate wasn't feeling well and we decided to stay in and study for our Social Studies test that we have on the 25th. So Friday after we finished up sessions for the day I went to the resource room to make some posters and then went for a really long run. They have a nice trail that circles the entire campus and it is a pretty good run. I saw a lot of familiar faces while running...I think everyone needed a little stress reliever. So I stayed in on Friday and studied until about 10:30 and then I let myself watch a movie before I went to bed called "The next three days" (I remember David saying he had watched it) it was pretty good. It was even better to just not think about anything before I went to bed except the movie. I set my alarm to wake up at 8:30 on Saturday and when I got up my roommate, Emily and I went to target to get some things we had been needing like school supplies, a laundry basket, note-cards, and other boring stuff. Target is like our escape out here, thank goodness it is a super target! Then I came back to campus and did some work, went on a run, played beach volleyball with some guys for about an hour and it was so much fun but I am so sore this morning from diving for the volleyball. Then at 9:30 last night after I had been working for a couple of hours I decided to go out with the other Dallas people so I got ready in literally 10 minutes and met them downstairs to head over to an area called Rice Village. We went to a bar called Ginger Bar (which is a beer bar) I stayed there for like 30 minutes and then met up with some people across the street at a bar called Baker Street and from there we all ended up at this bar called "The Bronx" (David you would have liked it with all the lights and music...your kind of place haha). Everyone was having a blast and we were dancing and just letting loose. I stayed out later than I wanted to but it was worth it to have a little fun. Now it is Sunday morning and I am writing my blog this morning because I am about to go work all day! I have 3 Lesson plans due, have to finish getting ready for my lesson tomorrow, have a group meeting at 4:00 and also have to fit in time to study for my test. (Thank goodness I did my laundry yesterday...no time to fit it in today!) So I will just be working all day and hopefully I will get to go to bed at a descent hour...but here you never know. I hope those of you at the lake are having fun I miss you and love you! I will try to get better about calling!
Love,
Molly

Hi I'm Ms. Silverstein and I will be your 8th Grade English Teacher...Whoop Whoop

      Today was my first day of teaching! I up late last night finishing up three additional lesson plans but I was able to make it into bed around 12:45. I didn’t really have time to practice my lesson plan on context clues because I decided it was more important for me to get some sleep. I went to bed pretty calm and confident. You wouldn’t believe how many melt downs I witnessed last night…I know shocker I have haven’t had one…yet…but anyways I woke up this morning and jumped in the shower to wake myself up and realized that I had printed out all my worksheets and copies of my lesson plan to turn in but had forgotten to make copies for me to use while I taught my lesson! Stupid…(in an Uncle Headley voice J) so I got ready super fast and had to make it to the printing room before picking up my lunch, breakfast, and making it to my school bus on time. Let just say I was starting to get a little nervous. I made it in time and on the bus I got a little pep talk from Dad about how to start my class off and I think I implemented it well. For the first day I wore black dress pants, wedges, a pink shirt and black cardigan.

Surprisingly enough I got in the classroom and felt very confident and in control. My voice wasn’t shaky and I was actually ready to teach my lesson. It was a good feeling. I teach early in the morning so my students were a little groggy and I did have to deal with some behavioral problems such as Thomas constantly falling asleep and me have to say “Thomas please wake and have your eyes on me” I think I said I need all eyes on me about ten times. My most challenging student is going to be Edwin or should I say “class clown” he is a cute little black kid but he just talks without raising his hands, makes inappropriate comments. I have decided to make him my Paper Manager so that he had an “important” job and is able to get out of his seat during class to shake off some of that energy. I have gotten better at writing on the board and learned a lot about what I need to do to get to know my kids and try and keep their attention. After I was done teaching I attended a classroom management session for about an hour and half and then after school was out we had more sessions/seminars until 4:30. We have to accumulate something around 500 hours these five weeks so we are constantly lesson planning, going to sessions, and listening to some boring meetings.

Over all today was good I feel like I did a good job and I’m excited to learn and implement some more techniques. They gave us little diplomas before we got on the bus for making it through our first day of teaching so now I just have to keep trucking through all theses assignments and try to stay positive! I got “home” to Rice University at 5:30 and then had to go to a mandatory study session from 6:00-8:00 and then I have a meeting from 8:00-whenever we are done with all the other 8^th grade teachers at my school to finish up our management plan and investment plan. I really hope it doesn’t take long but you never know. So that was my day!

Here is the note my Leader left me after observing some of my class “Molly, Good job waking students through reading strategies during your lesson! Nice teacher voice! Maybe write your strategies or notes on chart paper before hand to save time.”

-Eric

Love yall,

Ms. Silverstein :)

-Oh I will try to take pictures of my classroom when it looks a little better but we aren’t allowed to take pictures of our kids :(

What a Day...

     Hey guys sorry I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday but it was a crazy day and I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep every night. Yesterday I was at the school all day learning how to create a lesson plan because I had to turn in one complete lesson plan to day along with three additional vision plans. I have a partner that I have been working with and he is Indian and his name is Sharan and he is cool. We have been working well together. The only problem is that we were up until 2 in the morning and then I still had to get up at 5:00 so I have been trying to keep my eyes open all day. I have to make changes to my final lesson plan tonight and finish three more by tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. Guess what? Tomorrow is my first day of teaching. I have 24 students and I'm only suppose to have a maximum of 20! The principle told all 8 of the 8th grade teachers that he wants us to be really hard on these 8th graders because apparently they have had a lot of behavioral problems with them and that if we can deal with these kids we can deal with just about anything...great...just my luck! Guess I will have to bring out that strong teacher voice sooner than I thought. This has seriously been the hardest week of my life I don't think I have ever worked so hard or gone with out as much sleep. Sometimes I go through moments of thinking that I can't do it and I don't have any idea what i'm doing here or how to teach these kids but then I take a deep breathe and know that God wants me here and somehow I have to get this work done and get through to these kids. My lesson plan tomorrow is about how to use context clues within a sentence or text to held identify unfamiliar words. I start teaching at 8:50 so be praying for me....before I start teaching I will be going over with the class all the rules and expectations of my classroom (this should be interesting :). Last night I got back to campus at 5:30 changed clothes, grabbed dinner in 10 min, went to a mandatory study session at 6:00 then had to go to an English Language Arts planning session from 7:00-8:30, after that I was in the resource lab until 11:30 working, then the copy room until they closed, then the 24/7 computer lab. Lets just say it was a long night. I'm going to try to go to sleep earlier tonight because I have to teach tomorrow but I still have a lot of work to do and another session tonight. I can't wait till I have some free time and can go for a run or hangout without people...I need a little break. We got to go into our classroom today and I tried to add some color to the extremely boring room by making some bulletin boards and writing on the board and putting up some inspirational quotes but I didn't have much time so it will be a work in progress. My room number is 218. So anyways as you can tell it is non stop work i'm actually writing this blog while I am on my back to campus on our yellow school bus. Its the only time I have to do it!!! Missing you all and thinking about you. Sending love your way!
Love,
Molly

And It Begins...5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This morning began not bright and early but in the dark of the morning hours. I clenched my eyes shut as I heard my first alarm go off at 5:00 a.m. and my second alarm go off at 5:10...it was time for me to pull myself out of bed and get in the shower. I think I was half asleep as I was showering but I tell you the truth that it was the only things that woke me up. After I got out of the shower I woke up my roommate and we grabbed our handy dandy lunch boxes that are basically these blue cooler with Teach For America on them and walked down in our pajamas to the West Servery were we went through a line to fill up our lunch boxes with an ice pack, an entree, a side, three snacks, and a drink. After that we went through the breakfast line and carried it all back up to our room so that we could eat and get ready for our first day at school at the same time. I wore a cute black dress with a peach cardigan and flats. I had to be at the bus stop ready to board the yellow school bus at 6:30 on the dot. Don't worry I was on time and ready to go Patrick Henry Middle School. When we got there the school was not as bad as I was expecting and we spent the rest of the day in what we call "sessions" learning about various things we would have to do such as lesson plans, setting goals for our students, teaching techniques etc. I have been assigned for the next five weeks to teach 8th grade English. Patrick Henry Middle School is expecting 1100 students for summer school starting tomorrow. I won't begin teaching until Thursday morning but I am already nervous. There are four different surrounding middle schools that will be attending summer school and we were told that for safety reasons all teachers must be in the hall ways while students change classes because most of the schools are rivals and they want to prevent any type of violence or misbehavior. Lets just say it is going to be interesting :). My school was the last school to make it back to Rice Campus around 5:30 and then we had to grab dinner and go to opening ceremonies. It was fun and we had lots of pump up chants to scream. Now I have some work to complete before tomorrow morning and also have to study for my TEXES exam. I'm running on low energy so pray I feel refreshed tomorrow morning...I will be waking up at 5:00.
Love yall,
Molly

Rolling into Houston...

Hi guys,
     We left checked out of SMU this morning at 9:30 and made a huge caravan down to Houston...boy is it hot here. The ride was fine I studied for most of the time...we stopped at Subway for lunch and I have been going through orientation for Rice University. They have a beautiful campus but the dorms we are in are quite weird. They are new dorm and have gone "green" so the lights are automatic with motion sensors and cut off every 15 minutes, the air conditioning will shut off if you have your window open or door propped open, and let just say a very unique bathroom. I luckily have the same roommate from SMU, Emily, which is good because we get along well and we can study for our TeXes exam together. I spent my free time today unpacking and learning about what I will be doing tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to be ready to board my bus at 6:30 in the morning and head over to Patrick Henry Middle School where I will be teaching and "learning to teach" for the next 5 weeks. I don't know what grade or subject I am teaching yet but I am sure I will find out tomorrow when I get to the school. It all very exciting and overwhelming at the same time but I am learning to take lots of deep breathes. I was able to talk to my friend Allie McKinney today which was an awesome surprise and I am so excited about her engagement and it was so good to catch up with her. I found out I have the HONOR of being a bridesmaid in her wedding and could not be more EXCITED!!!!!! Okay well I am going to grab dinner and then head to target and get some things before heading off to bed for an eaerly start tomorrow at Patrick Henry Middle School! (By the way I will be teaching my first lesson plan on Thursday...keep me in your prayers)
Love yall,
Molly

Why Yes Mr. President I Would Love To Have Dinner Tonight!

Well,

Lets just say that yesterday was a fabulous way to end Induction and get ready to leave for Institute today. The day started off with our normal early morning rise and breakfast around 7:30. We spent most of the day in session/meetings. The first meeting was about “Owning your Core Experience” it was great because they had a panel of people who had just completed their first year of teaching and they came to give us advice and share some of their personal experiences. It was also a chance for them to explain to us what we will actually be doing at Institute in Houston. Basically lets just say it is a Teaching and Learning boot camp! We wake up and 5:00 spend all day teaching and observing at a school and then take classes and make lessons plans at night. It is a tough 5 weeks of little sleep and lots of hard work but I am going to try and remain as positive as I can throughout the whole experiences. The only challenge will be completing all my Institute work as well as finding time to study for my TEXES exam June 25. Our second meeting of the day was about “Diversity” and it was interesting but I got a little tired towards the end but I think that was because it was lunchtime and I needed some energy. After lunch we headed to closing announcements and chants???? I was a little nervous about the chants but it was so much fun. Basically Dallas is know for being the craziest and most excited group at Institute so we had a competition to see who could come up with the best chants to scream at opening ceremonies in Houston. We have two really fun and crazy chants to use and were told to make Dallas proud because we have a lot to live up to! They also gave us cowbells to use and opening ceremonies haha. Then we had to two hours of free time. I spent the time going for a run, showering, and then packing up my stuff so I would be ready to leave in the morning. Then we had to be back at the building we are having our meetings in for our “Mystery Dinner” we had know idea what were going to be doing but were told to dress “snappy casual”. When we got there the staff was freaking out and acting mad because they said our institute paperwork had not gone through and we were behind schedule and needed to hurry in and re-due all the paperwork. When we all filled in and took a seat there was a little blue envelope at every seat. They were kidding about the paperwork and told us all to open the letter and it was an invitation to join President Bush and his wife Laura at their home in Dallas for dinner! Everyone was freaking out! They hurried us off to buses to go to their house, nice buses that the President had paid for!). Once we got there the President and Mrs. Bush were waiting for us in their driveway and shook each one of our hands and thanked us for all of the hard work we were about to undertake and for helping out the education system. There home is beautiful and very simple. They have a beautiful front yard that had tons of round tables set up for us to sit at for dinner. They were covered in green table clothes with sunflower arrangement centerpieces. (Mom you would have loved the set up!) There was an open bar and country music playing in the background. I had a chance to talk to President Bush once and Mrs. Bush twice. He is absolutely hilarious and so easy to talk with. He asked me about how Alabama was doing since the tornados and we talked about football. I tried to get him to give me a roll tide but he wouldn’t and said he was at that national championship game! We also talked about how he went Mountain biking this morning and then played 18 holes of golf this afternoon. I said, “Man, that’s a rough life” he just laughed. We talked about how Mrs. Bush just came and bought their house while he was still president and when he got down here he made sure there was a putting green in the front yard. It couldn’t have been a better experience. They made us feel so welcomed and appreciated. He gave a little speech and so did Mrs. Bush just wishing us luck this upcoming year and how proud they are of the decision we have made to work in education. Oh you’re probably wondering what we had for dinner!? Well, they had President Bush’s favorite restaurant cater and it was a buffet of salad, beef tenderloin, some type of corn dish called homely, and fried catfish. The food was soooo good! I actually was behind him in line to get food. Overall a great experience. We weren’t allowed to take pictures but I was sneaking them in on my iPhone. I will try to post them when I can. I am sad I missed spending time with yall at Sarah’s deb ball but I’m sure you all had a blast and I am so happy Angel was able to fill in for me! The night was just a great experience and I wish yall could have shared it with me!

Love you all I’m off to Houston!

-Molly

Study Day!

Howdy yall!
    Great news I was actually able to sleep in today...well at least until 7:30 but that's a major improvement! Today was a study day and I was actually very productive. My group decided to get out of the dorm and we headed over to Barns and Noble, which we can walk to, and studied there for about a good 3 and half hours. I'm starting to understand more about the best way to teach myself the information which is good since I'm the only History teacher who wasn't a History Major or Minor. Sometimes I get frustrated that I don't know the information but I realize that I have 3 more weeks to study before my big test at the end of June. Speaking of June I can't believe it is already June 3rd! Where did May go? After our first study session we had a two and half hour break for lunch and whatever we wanted to do. I actually went to the pool for and hour and then went running. It is pretty hot here but today they had a nice breeze so it wasn't that bad. Our group met up again before we had a whole group meeting at 6:00.We had Alumni dinners tonight we went to a guy named John Chase who was a member in 2001 and is now an attorney here in Dallas. We had grilled fajitas for dinner and they had the most beautiful back yard! It was a grand time. Now I am about to go to the bar with some people to have one drink because we have to be up super early tomorrow and have a packed day. Everyone needs to relax a little bit! Okay missing everyone and love you!
Love,
Molly

District Day

Well, time is flying by and I am glad to know that yall are actually reading my blog! This morning I went for a run at 6:20, I'm not getting to work out or run as long as I want to but I have to make sure that I am getting in at least 5 1/2 hours of sleep each night so i'm not too tired to function in the next day. Word on the street is that the hardest part about Institute in Houston is that we have a severe lack of sleep but I'm sure I will be fine...I can sleep when I am dead. Funny thing, Pudge has already gotten some attention from my roommate...Emily said she put her bear into storage because she wasn't sure anyone else would bring theirs and I told here that Pudge goes everywhere with me and always as carry-on! She did make fun of him a little bit by calling him nappy but I think that it shows character! Today is District Day and since I am tentatively being placed in the Forth Worth School District (this isn't for sure but we have to be "flexible")... with that being said there were 50 of us, including some cute boys :), that made our way to the Fort Worth area to have lunch at "Cousin's BBQ. We had a chance to check out the downtown area and the cultural district and I surprisingly impressed by Fort Worth. Then we went to the Fort Worth School District and had some meeting and we were able to meet with some Principles which was nice because I got to practice some of my interviewing techniques. We didn't get back to SMU till 6:00 and then we had a group meeting at 6:15. We were broken up into group for dinner and went out with 2010 corps members. It was nice because they gave us a lot of advice about Institute and how to mentally prepare for the challenge. Dinner ran late until about 9;15 and then I had to go to my study group session until 11:00. At that point my brain was just fried and it is taking everything in me to stay awake and type this blog. Tomorrow I will have some free time which will be nice but I will need to use it to study. I think the test is going to be harder than I thought. So things are going well I'm just getting tired from the lack of sleep and missing being with you guys for Sarah's special weekend. I know it will be a lot of fun and I will be thinking about all of you! Miss you and love you!
Love,
Molly

T.C. Marsh Middle School

After some much needed sleep last night, I felt like Dad this morning as my alarm went off at 5:40 a.m. to awaken me for a much needed jog. There really wasn't another time to fit it into our busy schedule and what I really didn't expect was for it to be dark outside! It was nice to see the sunrise over this beautiful campus and don't worry Mom my run was safe I stayed on the main campus road and saw about 4 patrol cars throughout my run. It felt good to be active after having to sit in meeting and study groups all day yesterday. The only thing I was not looking forward to this morning was the community shower...it wasn't that bad and I survived...thank goodness for shower shoes! After getting dressed in my business casual attire and grabbing some breakfast (a banana and granola bar), I went to take a practice Social Studies 8-12 test. I finished around 8:30 and then we headed over to T.C. Marsh Middle School for the rest of the day. We spent all day there and had the opportunity to listen and ask questions to parents from the community, principles, and students.  A 12 year old name Caesar talk to us and he was so cute and hilarious it was nice to interact with the students. It was also nice to see how excited they all were that we are here and how much they appreciate and value Teach For America teachers. Today we really focused on what type of leader we want to be in the classroom and what type of environment we want to create for our students. They brought in Jason's Deli box lunch's (yay for turkey sandwiches). We finished around 4:00 and then headed back to campus for "free time" which means that I studied and reviewed for our evening study group up until dinner with alumni at 7:00. I had the best group at dinner tonight I met so many interesting people. My roommate, Emily, and I get along great and we usually sit together but our table was hilarious we had a really good time. I have yet to meet someone that I cannot have an intelligent conversation with, which is nice for a change! It was a BBQ on top of the roof of one of the buildings here so we had nice view and a good breeze. I might have met a couple of cute guys :) I just got back from dinner (I had a veggie burger and fruit for dinner...you would be surprised how many Vegans there are here and they all get special meals). Right now I am about to go to our study session until 11:00 and then it is off to bed! Overall a good day, I'm meeting new people but its hard to remember names so I am thankful we always have to have on name tags.
Love yall!
-Molly (6-1-2011)