I should have posted sooner, but unfortunately, my laptop is currently out of commission. I have been relying upon my roommate and St. John's for internet and word processing. I am grateful that the inconvenience has not been as major as I expected, given the fact that I need to type all of my lesson plans and the worksheets that accompany them.

I have uploaded pictures of my apartment and Meet the Teachers Day, and I hope to post photos of the first Friday Night Outing in a few days. Enjoy!

The first week of teaching has been unreal- between the 15 hour work days, 110 kids, 6 school buses, and thousand page unit/lesson plans, I am completely exhausted. I am only beginning to understand the responsibility, obligation, and reward that accompanies teaching. All of the teachers are between 17 and 22 years old, and, along with Program Director (24) and the Dean of Faculty (26), we are running a school. This is unheard of, and I am constantly swelling with pride because of this achievement. I am amazed that we are respected and trusted by both the parents and students. The Dean of Students and Executive Director are both much older, which is comforting, given that they have plenty of experience.

Last Saturday, we met the students and their parents for a brief orientation to the policies and procedures of Breakthrough. We gathered in our "families," which are 6 groups of about 15 kids and 5 teachers divided by grade level. Our theme this summer is superheroes, and my family is Family #1: Batman! These groups are maintained for the whole summer, and each department issues challenges to the families, which compete for points. For example, next week is the Science Department challenge, and each kid will design an egg drop container and will attempt to score points for the family by best protecting their egg. We also earn points for having Spirit Stick winners- two kids from my family have already earned the Spirit Stick for their enthusiasm, manners, and scholarly attitude.

We had one last day of training on Monday, during which we tried desperately to get our classrooms and lesson plans finalized before school began on Tuesday.

Each day is incredibly long and so busy, but also very exciting. We meet the kids at their buses every morning and make a tunnel for them to walk through while we give them high fives and get them psyched for the day. Then, we have an all-school meeting with spirit chants, daily announcements, a "vision" (inspirational message), and the affirmation. The affirmation is my favorite part of each day, which is fortunate, because we repeat it a lot. "We are Breakthrough, and we commit ourselves to hard work, dedication, respect, fun, and above all: excellence in learning. Go Breakthrough!" The students are dismissed to their first four classes, which last until lunchtime. After lunch, they have one more class, followed by electives and activities. We have one last all-school meeting, where we announce the daily Spirit Stick winner. In general, the kids are very respectful and work hard to be the best student by showing us their excitement and willingness to be attentive in the classroom.

My classes have improved dramatically even over the past week. I am learning to incorporate activities for kinesthetic learners, instead of using the methods with which I was taught math. They were ineffective then, and studies show they are also ineffective now. Lesson planning takes longer with learning style differentiation, but the results are so much better. These kids have been cheated of a quality math education and are, in some cases, still on an elementary level when they should be prepared for algebra next year. We spent the last week on order of operations, properties of addition and multiplication (commutative, associative, identity, distributive), and the very beginnings of variables and equations. This week, they will attempt their first four corner problem, where they will portray an equation in table, graph, pictoral, and verbal forms. The focus this summer is to transform their math experience from a "plug and chug" to algebraic thinking mindset. My mentor teacher, Jeremy, stresses that the kids should know why and how what they are doing works, not just that it works.

My poetry slam elective has been surprising and wonderful. The students write beautifully and about complicated and mature topics. Most importantly, we are starting to build trusting relationships, where they are willing to relate disturbing moments in their lives to me- through poetry. Some of their writing is heartbreaking; other parts are uplifting. I am grateful for their honesty. I also help lead the soccer activity, which is positively scorching in the Houston heat. Still, it's a great switch from nearly 12 straight hours at school each day and 3 more hours of lesson planning at home.

On Friday, we took the kids on their first Friday Night Outing of the summer. They have an activity planned each week, and this week we all went to the Galleria, a giant mall, to go ice skating at the public rink. The kids were absolutely elated- some were nervous or cautious, but ultimately, most were able to spend a good amount of time skating without holding onto the wall or someone else. We were reprimanded by the mall police for singing spirit songs too loudly.

I have also been able to spend a lot of time with my roommate and some friends from William and Mary who are in town. After this week, I expect that lesson planning will become a bit easier and free time will be more frequent. For now, my weekdays are packed and my weekends are dedicated to sleep and preparation for the next week.

If I thought I would have spare time to update a blog or breathe, I was wrong. I have learned better over the past week here.

I arrived on the afternoon of May 24. Eric, a friend from William and Mary and a fellow Breakthrough teacher, graciously picked me up from the airport and escorted me to my new apartment. I am living in an area called Upper Kirby, and my apartment complex is less than a mile from St. John's, the school where I work. Upper Kirby is not far from Montrose and Midtown, areas of Houston that are known to be trendy, artsy, and full of shops and restaurants. There is certainly no shortage of places to eat, grocery shop, grab a cup of coffee, and browse boutiques. Within a five minute drive, I have my own Richmond Cary Town. I have not been able to explore extensively, but I do know that whatever resource I might need this summer is not far from my apartment.

The apartment itself is beautiful and very big. I have my own bedroom (with king-sized bed) and bathroom. The kitchen and living room are decorated in modern, art deco style. My roommate Kelsia, a 30-ish commercial real estate developer, has been so hospitable. I am enjoying getting to know her and her two small dogs, Roxy and Lou Lou. The apartment complex pool is right outside the door, and I'm hoping that I will get to relax beside and in it soon.

Breakthrough itself is daunting and exciting. This week is orientation, or "O-Week," for short. We arrive at St. John's each morning at 7:30am to begin training. The mornings are composed of breakout sessions with mentor teachers, Breakthrough faculty alumni, and professionals, who give us information-packed sessions on adolescent psychology, lesson planning, and classroom management. We are receiving highlights from the complete education school experience. In the afternoons, we meet as "families," or teacher teams, to plan spirit events and academic advisory periods. Then, I plan my poetry slam elective with Eddie, my co-teacher, and meet with the math department for unit and lesson planning. Throughout the day, we are encouraged and kept organized by Dr. Leonard, the executive director of Breakthrough Houston, and Betsy Brewer, the program director. We generally leave St. John's by 5pm, but have been told that when teaching begins next Tuesday, we will not leave before 6pm each day. Needless to say, we are constantly exhausted.

In learning to teach, we often focus on the population that we will be educating. These students are under-served, the most politically correct label for "at risk." Many of them are deficient in at least one of the following areas: financial, emotional, physical, relational, and mental. Not only are most of them low-income, but many of them come from single parent households, abusive backgrounds, and poorly equipped schools. Houston Independent School District, the public school system from which they come, is the 6th largest in the country and one of the least effective in graduating students to college. However, they are all highly motivated and orientated toward receiving a college education. Breakthrough supports them for six years: from seventh to twelfth grade, through school year tutoring and summer school. Breakthrough requires excellence of each of these children, realizing that when the bar is set high, they are challenged to and will reach it.

Still, they are rambunctious teenagers in school during summer vacation. So, we are taught daily about ways to make our lessons exciting and engaging for the students. We are taught positive discipline techniques, incentive and reward systems, and methods to increase classroom participation. The best part for me is thinking of ways to make my classroom unique and memorable. For example, each student in my math class will receive a "Miss Bailey's Math Passport," in which they will earn a stamp by completing a "Passport Problem" related to the day's lesson in order to leave class. (Those of you who attended Passport Camps remember this game.) I find myself constantly thinking about the best and worst aspects of classes from the past- what was least and most effective in keeping me motivated. My plan is to have a constant daily schedule with a pre-printed notes page and worksheet in a format that corresponds to the homework and progress quizzes. This mirrors my current Russian class and my best math class, which was, ironically, 7th grade math. I get very caught up in formatting and laying out my handouts, like the school supplies crazed teacher that I am.

The workload is overwhelming, but we have been reassured that we will have everything prepared and will feel confident by the time we start teaching on Tuesday. The students and their parents come for a two hour morning session on Saturday to meet us and get comfortable with the floor plan of the school. On Monday, we have one last day of orientation, in which we will practice our first lesson plan in front of our peers and mentor teachers. I hope to be well rehearsed and to hide my nervousness as best as possible. Tuesday is coming so quickly!

I will try to write more often, as I get used to my busy schedule. These early mornings and late nights, plus cooking for myself, are definitely taking a toll. In addition to working long days, we will also have several evening and weekend activities as the summer goes on. I am so glad that the faculty have become close in a short amount of time, as we will be spending every waking (and probably napping) moment together.

I never thought I'd miss the humidity of Virginia, but it pales in comparison to tropical Houston. Love you all very much!