This weekend, in short, was an awesome experience. About 60 of the incoming St. Louis TFA corps members arrived at the downtown Hilton on Thursday...and let me tell you, the staff wined and dined us all weekend. We sat through some seminars on Thursday and then headed out to dinner where everyone introduced themselves and got to know one another. It was great to see all the colleges represented. Wash U easily had the most people there, which makes sense considering the huge presence of TFA on our campus and the proximity of the school to inner-city STL. St. Louis University (SLU) has a strong contingent as well. The running joke from the SLU students all weekend was that they weren't multi-millionaires and thus couldn't attend Wash U. (I must not have received this memo - the last time I checked, my family is pretty middle class.) There were people from Yale, Vanderbilt, Rochester, Butler, Notre Dame - you name it.
Friday began with a classroom observation at Vashon High School. Along with three other secondary English teachers, I observed a class of sophomores learning literary devices via YouTube clips. The teacher who we observed was a second year TFA corps member, and he conducted his classroom extremely well. It was obvious that he had the respect and admiration of his students, and he was great at individually instructing them throughout the class. The kids were great. I was amazed at their concentration, and they furiously took notes during the lesson. I got a chance to talk with several of them, and I quickly found out that Vashon High is known for their football and basketball teams. One of the kids told me to talk to the Wash U football coach for him because he wanted a full-ride scholarship to Wash U. I attempted to explain to him that Wash U doesn't give out athletic scholarships, but I assured him I would see what I could do. The school was only three years old, and it was beautiful. Their gym was fantastic, and it was obviously a point of pride for the students. We got to speak with the assistant principal, and he was extremely helpful and complimentary of the TFA teachers in his building.
Saturday was interview day. We headed to Gateway Elementary on Saturday morning for the first annual TFA/St. Louis Public School interview fair. About 20 principals showed up, and most of us got to interview with at least one principal. To say the least, my interview was quite the experience. I was told I would be interviewing with Carnahan High School, so I walked into the gym and looked for the Carnahan table. The principal was all business and wasn't there to mess around. She was flanked by two assistant principals who took notes throughout the interview.
The first question that I fielded was: "I'm going to be honest. You're white. You've been priviledged your entire life. How in the world are you going to teach black kids who you know nothing about?" Wow, what a tough first question. I explained to Dr. Roach that I could have easily fled to the suburbs to teach more wealthy students, and there would be nothing wrong with that. But I have decided that the education gap in this country is unacceptable and it has become my passion to help close it. I explained to her that I wouldn't be sitting in that chair if I wasn't 100% committed to her (my) students. I told her I was willing to stay after school, come in on Saturdays and Sundays, coach, do anything in my power to reach students. I then told her about Brooklyn's story and how she inspired me to apply for TFA. If a little girl left to die in the middle of China can receive a good education, why can't the kids who were born in the richest country in the world receive the same?
She asked me what I would do if I was cussed out in front of the class (clear rules, consistent and firm consequences). She asked me if I would be embarrassed to be seen with my students out in public (of course not). She asked if I was ready to "get down in the trenches" (if I could start tomorrow, I would). Throughout the interview she remained expressionless with no hint of a smile or understanding head nods. Near the end of the interview, however, she faintly smiled and said "I think I like you." Up to that point, I didn't know if she liked me - and if I had to guess, I would have said no. But it was great to get a sort of stamp of approval from a lady that has a small chance of ending up as my boss next fall. As I walked away at the conclusion of the interview, I could hear her whisper to her colleague, "I like him." A smile covered my face as I exited the room.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Busy
Just a quick post, and I'll post something longer early next week. The past several days have been really busy. I was in Chicago from Friday to Sunday last weekend to watch the UAA track meet. This week is full with finishing up papers for the last week of class. I am also giving TFA presentations this week in three different classes in an effort to recruit people for next year. Thursday begins the three day TFA conference in downtown St. Louis and I have a lot of laundry to do before then (Mom, where are you??). Next Monday, I'm giving a speech at the Wash U Athlete Banquet regarding SAAC's accomplishments this year...I'll try to pull my best Barack Obama.
I'll have more time to post next week. Until then, watch out for those earthquakes!
I'll have more time to post next week. Until then, watch out for those earthquakes!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Teaching as Leadership
I've been immersed in my pre-institute work for Teach For America for the past couple days. TFA uses a "Teaching as Leadership" model to train its corps members, and the model emphasizes that teaching is like any other leadership endeavor. Setting big goals, tracking progress, constantly re-assessing your methods, working relentlessly toward the goals that you have set, effectively planning steps along the way by working backwards from your main goal, and investing multiple people in the success of your students are several concepts that TFA stresses. It has been quite striking to me that I am already really familiar with this model -- in fact, this is exactly the model I have been working under for the past 8 years in running.
I look back to my sophomore year of high school, and I remember Brandon Lewis, Mark Brandenburg, and I looking up at the school record 4x800 time that hung on the wall of the gym. We all made it a goal, right then and there, to put our names on that wall before we graduated. That certainly was a big goal. In running, tracking progress is both easy to do and paramount to success. Although there will be ups and downs along the way, generally the trend is upward if the effort is there. I know that we constantly re-assessed our methods as well during our four years together. As we gained experience, we found ourselves able to handle more mileage and harder workouts. We challenged ourselves more and more as our times got faster and faster. We always had that main goal in mind: setting a school record. Once we set the record as juniors, we set our sights on a state title -- we were never satisfied. If we would have won the state title (we ended up second), we would have wanted to win the national title, etc. We were always working backwards from our main goal(s).
Collegiate running has been a very similar process, although more refined. As a captain the past two years, I've had to test several leadership strategies via trial-and-error. Through this process, I learned what worked well and what didn't work so well. Big goals were a theme that I tried to impart on our team. Wash U hadn't made cross country nationals in a decade, and last year we made it our goal to get there. The season had many ups and downs and we probably had our least talented team in my four years here, but we ended up running in the national meet. We were all on the same page; we all had one goal.
I have already decided that the theme of my classroom is going to be my college coach's definition of success. To Coach Stiles, success is "taking advantage of your daily opportunities to the best of your ability under your given circumstances." The kids that I'll be teaching will each have their own circumstances and their own God-given abilities. Every day we are presented with opportunities -- we can either take advantage of those opportunities or let them pass. Success occurs when we take advantage of the opportunities we are given within our own context. Success looks different to different people. If running success was just based on time, then there would always be someone more successful -- there will always be someone who is able to run faster at a given distance. I want to create an atmosphere where everyone can succeed in my classroom. I want my students to understand that success isn't a fixed entity. Rather, success is something that comes to people who won't be denied in their quest to reach a goal. Just as in running, success in the classroom is a function of how much effort is expended. Success won't look the same to everyone, but it sure is rewarding when you get to taste it.
The kids in my classroom next year are every bit as capable of tasting that success as the kids who attend Center Grove. There is no reason why we can't set a class goal to have everyone improve at least 2 grade levels in English by the end of the year. There is no reason why students in my classroom can't go onto college. There is no reason why they can't succeed. They just need to be given the chance.
I look back to my sophomore year of high school, and I remember Brandon Lewis, Mark Brandenburg, and I looking up at the school record 4x800 time that hung on the wall of the gym. We all made it a goal, right then and there, to put our names on that wall before we graduated. That certainly was a big goal. In running, tracking progress is both easy to do and paramount to success. Although there will be ups and downs along the way, generally the trend is upward if the effort is there. I know that we constantly re-assessed our methods as well during our four years together. As we gained experience, we found ourselves able to handle more mileage and harder workouts. We challenged ourselves more and more as our times got faster and faster. We always had that main goal in mind: setting a school record. Once we set the record as juniors, we set our sights on a state title -- we were never satisfied. If we would have won the state title (we ended up second), we would have wanted to win the national title, etc. We were always working backwards from our main goal(s).
Collegiate running has been a very similar process, although more refined. As a captain the past two years, I've had to test several leadership strategies via trial-and-error. Through this process, I learned what worked well and what didn't work so well. Big goals were a theme that I tried to impart on our team. Wash U hadn't made cross country nationals in a decade, and last year we made it our goal to get there. The season had many ups and downs and we probably had our least talented team in my four years here, but we ended up running in the national meet. We were all on the same page; we all had one goal.
I have already decided that the theme of my classroom is going to be my college coach's definition of success. To Coach Stiles, success is "taking advantage of your daily opportunities to the best of your ability under your given circumstances." The kids that I'll be teaching will each have their own circumstances and their own God-given abilities. Every day we are presented with opportunities -- we can either take advantage of those opportunities or let them pass. Success occurs when we take advantage of the opportunities we are given within our own context. Success looks different to different people. If running success was just based on time, then there would always be someone more successful -- there will always be someone who is able to run faster at a given distance. I want to create an atmosphere where everyone can succeed in my classroom. I want my students to understand that success isn't a fixed entity. Rather, success is something that comes to people who won't be denied in their quest to reach a goal. Just as in running, success in the classroom is a function of how much effort is expended. Success won't look the same to everyone, but it sure is rewarding when you get to taste it.
The kids in my classroom next year are every bit as capable of tasting that success as the kids who attend Center Grove. There is no reason why we can't set a class goal to have everyone improve at least 2 grade levels in English by the end of the year. There is no reason why students in my classroom can't go onto college. There is no reason why they can't succeed. They just need to be given the chance.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Welcome!
Hey everyone -
I told myself about a year ago that I wanted to create a blog once I graduated from college to keep people updated on how my life is going, and more selfishly, to give me an outlet to write. While I'm not graduating until next month, I wanted to start it early because things are going to get pretty hectic beginning in late May. I'm going to try to update the blog multiple times per week, so check back often if you'd like.
Graduation is quickly approaching. Classes end in two weeks, and commencement is on May 16th. April and May are exciting times around Wash U, as there are a bunch of senior activities going on, banquets to attend, etc. I'll have more on the emotions surrounding graduating from college in later posts.
One of the things that has kept me busy this school year has been serving as the co-chair of Wash U's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The big undertaking this semester was the planning of Wash U's first annual Athlete Formal. Last summer, I traveled to Pittsburgh for the UAA (which is the conference we play in) SAAC conference. I got the idea of bringing an athlete formal to Wash U after hearing that the University of Rochester has done this in the past with success. The planning that began last semester and that continued in earnest this semester finally culminated on Thursday - the day of the Formal. From all indications, the event was a success. We completely sold out with 280 athletes attending. The night included bus trips from Wash U to a venue near downtown St. Louis, salsa lessons, dinner, performances by Wash U singing and dance groups, lots of dancing, and the naming of the Formal King and Queen. I am not personally a fan of formals (not a good dancer and hate to get dressed up), but being in charge of this event was a great experience. If you know anything about Wash U, you know that money is not an obstacle in anything that goes on here. Having a budget of $8,500 was great - we were able to hire a DJ, cater food, rent out a nice place, pay for transportation, hire entertainment, and have great decorations. We were also able to donate about $1,200 to the YWCA, which is a charity that helps inner-city women. (The picture included in this post is of me announcing the Formal King & Queen.) To see the night go off without any major hiccups was very relieving. Hopefully this is an event that will continue well into the future.
In other news, Teach For America is putting the St. Louis incoming corps members up in the downton Hilton from April 24 - 26. One of the things I'll be doing during the weekend is interviewing with Saint Louis Public School principals. Hopefully I'll know where I am teaching sometime soon after the interviews, but many times the school placements aren't known until the summer. In any case, I'm looking forward to the weekend. In several weeks, I will be traveling to Houston during the first week of June for a five week intensive training institute. While in Houston, I'll teach summer school and participate in workshops detailing lesson plan creation, classroom management, learning theory, etc. It will be intense -- 16 hour days.
Running has been non-existent for the past month. I came down with mono four weeks ago, and Iwas pretty much bed-ridden for the first week. I am now starting to gain back some energy, which is nice. Missing my senior outdoor track season has been rough, but I've thought a lot about putting things into perspective and I am content with how things have turned out. I have focused the energy that I have been able to muster on thinking about how I'm going to structure my classroom next fall, and I have attempted to make an impact on the track team in other ways than running...which has been rewarding.
OK - this is too long for one post. Upcoming topics will hopefully include: IU hiring Tom Crean, my take on the presidential election, my thoughts on the American educational system, TFA updates, graduation updates, Brooklyn updates, and more! Feel free to leave a comment -- I'd love it if you did!!
Best,
Brandon
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