I am only in Houston for a short time, and I have even more limited time outside of work to sightsee and hit the hot spots. So, I’m starting a list of things to see and do before I leave. So far, this is what I have: eat at What-a-Burger/ Ragin Cajun, go clubbing downtown (next weekend), have a museum day, visit the Houston Zoo and NASA space center, spend July 4 in New Orleans, go Country-Western dancing, organize a faculty semi-formal affair, and visit Galveston.

Teaching has become more complicated in so many ways. Now that I have the basics of lesson planning down, and have been observed a number of times, my mentor teacher is guiding me on the details- objectives and assessments, in particular. Because my students have received absolutely horrible instruction in their HISD schools, many of them are demonstrating a 5^th grade or lower understanding of math. They are entering algebra next year, but are unsure about order of operations, properties, solving equations, and using inverse operations. What I thought was review is new material for many of them, so my challenge is to make every lesson cater to all my kids’ learning styles so that they’ll remember what I teach and be on track for next year.

As far as discipline issues go, there are very few. For the most part, these kids want to be here and are cooperative in class. It is the summer, so they are antsy and ready for their activities and electives in afternoon. I have one child who is disruptive and distracting in class, which I think is an attention span problem. When he gets off task, if not stopped quickly, he can easily distract a lot of the other students. So, his other teachers and I are coming up with a plan to make his time in the classroom more effective. Other than that, we have had, as a faculty, a couple very large problems- even a major honor violation by a student that revealed some other issues- but I’m encouraged by how well the administrators balance caring for students with excellence in learning. The Program Director, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Students are quickly becoming my mentors and role models- all of us go to them with personal and professional concerns.

The best part about this week, hands down, has been bonding among the faculty. We are constantly stressed and anxious, often sleeping little and working too much, but I feel lucky to be working with such brilliant, supportive people. In doing peer observations, I have learned how better to handle my classroom, be a compassionate teacher, and plan exciting lessons. And now that we are a little more comfortable with time management in the job, we have been able to hang out outside of school. Nearly every day this week, we have stayed an hour late at work accidentally, because we get hung up giving “faculty kudos” during staff meeting. I think we’re all overwhelmed by how close we’ve become already.

This is the third week of the program, which means that the kids are halfway through the summer and, next Saturday, I will have been in Houston for a month! Time’s flying. This Friday is the 8^th grade lock-in and another Friday Night Outing. Most exciting is that in a few weeks, a bunch of us are heading to New Orleans for a three-day July 4 weekend with two of the faculty who are New Orleans natives.

Love and miss you all!

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!

Dear Friends and Family,

This summer, I will be teaching low-income, highly motivated middle school students in Houston, Texas. I am employed by the Breakthrough Collaborative, a national non-profit with 34 locations in the United States and Hong Kong. More than 3,000 middle and high school students participate annually in tuition- free six-week summer sessions and school year supplementary courses. College and high school students serve as teachers and mentors for these students, creating lesson plans, designing elective courses, and leading after-school sports and arts activities.

The position is volunteer with benefits, including a living stipend and an AmeriCorps grant for college tuition. I have been assigned to teach 7th grade math, which is predominantly algebra and pre-algebra, and to co-lead an elective course on slam poetry. The opportunity to teach fell together in a way that I (and the Houston director) can only describe as serendipitous. Though it seemingly has little to do with my career goals thus far, I am convinced that it will have an unforgettable impact on my life goals and priorities. It will also, undoubtedly, be the most challenging two months of my life- I hope to learn patience in the classroom, build meaningful relationships with my students, and better understand how socioeconomic and racial disparities define educational opportunities.

I leave on May 24 to fly from Richmond to Dulles to Bush Intercontinental in Houston. I will return home on July 20 with roughly three weeks to rest, enjoy family vacation, and pack to return to William and Mary.

For those of you who followed my blogging from Morocco last summer, I hope that you will find this to be as exciting, if less exotic. For those of you new to my blogs, I hope that you will watch for my updates and attempt to make sense of my stream-of-consciousness writing style. I am also including a list of related websites in the right-hand column, to which I will add as I find interesting material. Be sure to browse the Breakthrough national and Houston websites- the statistics regarding public education are amazing and often appalling.

"The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology, but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.” John Naisbitt

Love, Bailey