I'm Bad at Keeping Up With This/Institute Weeks 2 and 3

Hey everyone!

So I know it's been quite a while since I've said anything and honestly, I feel like it's been an eternity since I was last in New Orleans, and even longer since I've been in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, quite a LOT has happened since I first arrived at my school site in Atlanta a few Mondays ago.

Institute has gotten more tolerable! I think it's because I've gotten used to the routine of waking up every day at 4:45-4:50 am and being busy until 4:30 in the afternoon. I'm putting in close to 16 hour days, but I think it's safe to say that this experience is shaping me for the better.

Week 2 was our first week of teaching, and it was a BLAST. My kids are amazing and I love them all dearly. They have such different personalities, but it's really crazy how attached to them I've become even though it's only been a few weeks.  Probably my favorite part of the day is when I am doing cafeteria duty in the morning and some of my kids greet me with tired "good mornings."

My kids are superstars though.  My district can't afford transportation for the students this summer, so every child has to provide their own transportation to and from school and some of the students walk 4 to 5 miles every morning to school and then 4 to 5 miles back home again. That's around 1-1.5 hours of walking one way.

My collab and I have a pretty amazing group of kids though. They are smart, sassy, and test us in so many ways, but these kids are also helping us and forcing us to grow as teachers and as adults. It's funny because my kids consume so much of my life. I have them in class for 2 hours and 15 minutes and then I spend the rest of my time I'm not with them thinking about them or talking about them to any and every body!

Friday, during our end of the week school celebration, we were shown a video which was comprised of pictures of some of our students and quotes they said about us as teachers. When I saw my name at the top of the slide and a picture of one of my students, my heart jumped a little, partly out of nerves as to what he said, and partly because when I read what he had to say about me, I was taken aback. This week was not good for me confidence-wise, you can ask A about that, he's been dealing with each of my mood swings.

Anyway, my student said, "Ms. Fairchild is an extraordinary and amazing teacher and she really cares about us. You can tell she's really excited to be teaching."

When I read that I definitely teared up and it lit a newfound fire in my soul, which will be something I carry with me into next week when I'm feeling down or worn out. I'm doing it for the kids, not for myself.

The past few weeks have been a lot of different emotions, but at the end of every day, I try to remember to stay positive and approach each day with a new smile and a new outlook.

The campus of Georgia Tech

Sorry for the short post! I think it accurately sums up everything that's been going on though! But here are some pictures to switch up the monotony of straight narrative.

PS. You might want to scroll through the pictures to get some really special news :)

Because every student should be a Nittany Lion!

Good morning, Atlanta!

Literacy matters, but for real. 

The rules of our classroom

This skyline is amazing at night.

Thank you all so much for the prayers, encouraging Facebook messages, phone calls, text messages, and what not! I've definitely been feeling the presence of those who love and support me and guess what?


I WAS HIRED. 

I'm going to be teaching MUSIC and Special Education at a high school in New Orleans who took a chance on me. God is so good.

So it's real. And it's happening. And I'm so excited.

Institution- Week One

*This is part one of a two part series on Week One of Institution*

So, I started this blog with the best intentions. I had this really awesome vision of being able to update every other day so those of you reading would have an idea of what is going on in my life.

Um....I could not have been MORE wrong.

Before I get started, I just want to take a second to sincerely thank every teacher I've ever had. I seriously did not appreciate you enough. The amount of work you need to do to prepare for lessons, the tiresome hours of grading (I will never again complain about how long it takes for an assessment to be graded), the planning, managing, and crafting of academic and personal growth goals for students... It's a lot, and that in itself is a huge understatement.

I'm learning in 5 weeks (one of the controversies surrounding TFA) everything that you've learned through years of experience in both undergraduate, graduate, and professional experience, and never in my life have I felt more overwhelmed or lost...and it's only the end of week 1, haha!

That being said, if there are any veteran/current teachers reading this, I would absolutely love any piece of advice you would be willing to give regarding classroom management, lesson planning, establishing a classroom culture, etc! Please and thank you!

Okay, so anyway, this past week was week one of Institute. When I rolled in to Atlanta on Sunday (shout out to J and V for being car buddies!), I wasn't really sure what to expect.

Since I'm a visual learner, here's a nifty picture of Atlanta as we approached the city.

We got to Georgia Tech, registered, and found our respective dorm/apartments and began settling in for the night. It was pretty obvious every one was nervous and anxious for what was to come the next day.

We would be going to the schools we will be teaching at for the next four weeks (week 1 is set up to be purely for instruction on how to be teachers, but all instruction is held at our school sites). The school I'm assigned to is called Carver High School, and is a part of APS (Atlanta Public Schools). I had no idea what to expect, so I went to bed Sunday night feeling all sorts of emotions: excitement, nerves, anxiety, fear, nausea, (insert other anticipatory emotions here).

The next day, I woke up at 4:45 am (I'll show you my Monday-Friday schedule later in this post, it's a tad crazy), and was feeling tired above all else. I'm not used to going to bed early and waking up early, but that's something I'll have to get used to haha :)

Drowsily, I threw on my professional attire and made my way out the door. Upon exiting the building, I was immediately hit by Georgia's humidity and attacked by many, many bugs of all varying shapes and sizes. One of the downfalls of being in the south is the plethora of bugs...they're everywhere!

I was greeted by loud, upbeat music and cheery CMA's (Corps Member Advisor) who said brightly, "Good morning!" I tried to respond with the same enthusiasm, but I think the first day I was anything but enthusiastic. We were ushered into the dining hall where we picked up our lunch boxes and proceeded to make our lunch selections (peanut butter and jelly, all the way!). Afterwards, we were ushered into another line to get breakfast for the day (bagels, all day, every day).

The school busses transporting all the CMs (Corps Members) leave at very specific times and if you aren't on the bus when it leaves, it won't come back for you, so it's super important to always make sure you are on the bus.

My bus doesn't leave until 6:15 and as I heavily climbed the steps of the Carver school bus, I was immediately thrown back to when I was a student and rode the bus to and from school every day. It's kind of funny how things tend to come full circle. It's also humbling because at the end of every day, although we are all teachers, we are all reliant on the bus to get us to and from school.

The ride itself wasn't anything spectacular, it was just a normal bus ride, but the whole time, I couldn't help but feel like I was infringing on something I shouldn't be a part of. It takes a ton of time, dedication, work, and resilience to be an educator and I tend to doubt my abilities more often than not. I know that there are so many people who would be such better teachers than me, and who are, and I feel like by going into the classroom, I'm pretending to be something I'm not. Wow, that was super angst-y! Haha!

I don't particularly feel that way any more, but it definitely is something that pops up from time to time. Also, I've realized that I'm missing New Orleans, which is something I didn't anticipate happening so soon! Atlanta isn't bad, but it's no NOLA, you know?

Here's a picture of a gorgeous building in the French Quarter, near the St. Louis Cathedral. There was an awesome street band playing jazz (spoiler, video below!) and the whole day was pretty much perfect.

Anyway, I've been talking for a long time, well, actually, you've been reading for a long time, so I'll stop for now.

I think I'm going to break this post up into two parts because there is so much to talk about (spoiler alert: I met my students two days ago, so expect that in the next post).

A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO: every one who has sent me inspiring messages via Facebook, text, or phone call. You know who you are :) So much love and support! I couldn't want anything else!


ENJOY these guys, they were phenomenal! And excuse the poor camera work, I'm not a professional (surprise!)