The first day just keeps getting closer and closer . . .

Today was our last training day for TFA. We are finally free to go into our classrooms and teach. In some ways I feel so prepared and in other ways I feel totally lost.

The things that I am feeling good about are all the things that TFA has been drilling into us for the entire summer: classroom management, investing students, high expectations. What I'm really at a loss for is what it is that I'm actually going to be teaching my students. I know that I am responsible for the English language acquisition of my students but I don't know how I'm supposed to go about teaching it. Should I do it in the context of English Language Arts, or should it be in the context of the content areas. And then there is the whole thing about significant academic gains. I know that I can track and take responsibility for their mastery of English (speaking, reading, writing and listening) but what about content areas. Today we had an ESL break out group and we were repeatedly told to not forget about the content areas. In many cases we (the ESL teachers) may be the only educator providing any comprehensible content to our students. We can't forget about the content areas. But how am I supposed to plan lessons around several content areas for nine different grade levels? Especially when I may have some students for just 180 minutes a week.

Another question that comes up is how do I plan my rules and procedures for such a wide grade span? It's hard (if not impossible) to come up with procedures that would be the same for Kindergarteners as well as 8th graders. Should I break the grades up into K-3, 4-8 when planning rules and procedures, or even into three groups? I think that I may have around 18 total students (if I can trust the school's web site). It's hard for me to envision how my classroom will look and sound when I don't know what the groupings will be like and how many students there will be in each group. I feel like a lot of management strategies that we have learned are geared to a classroom of 25+ students. How do I adapt that to a smaller group of four students who are stepping into a classroom for the first time in this country?

All summer I've been thinking that there would be this magical day when I would suddenly know what my situation would be like and then I could start planning. I'm starting to realize that that day isn't coming.

I was given some advice (and I know that a lot of other corps members are doing this too) to just plan for teaching procedures and classroom culture lessons in the first two weeks. Like I explained before, I'm feeling like I can't do even that. I'm scared that the first day is going to come and I'm just going to show up at school knowing nothing.

So, having worked through all these anxieties by putting them down on paper (or the computer screen) I do have some next steps. First, I hear that principals should be back at schools on Monday so I'm going to try and contact mine and finally speak to him for the first time since my interview. Second, today I was given the number for the ESL coordinator in my region. That could possible be a good person to get some information. Or at least ideas on what ESL teachers do in other schools.

... and, to add to all of the stress, I STILL haven't found a place to live. It's starting to get to the point of desperation.

New Teacher Training

The Department of Education New Teacher Training just ended today. I can't say that it was really that useful. Basically we just had a two day overview of all of the things that we've been learning all summer. It really made me appreciate how well we were prepared during Induction, Institute and Orientation. Everything that was covered in the two day training was information that we had already discussed extensively during sessions at Institute and then put into practice in our classrooms. It was nice to know that at least they are trying to help new teachers out. I do wonder about people that don't already know the basics that they were presenting though. Really I feel like all of my questions and concerns are school specific at this point. I'm told that all of the principals report to school on Monday, so I'm thinking that I'll take a trip to my school and see what I can figure out. I really want to be as prepared as possible but at this point there are just so many variables that I don't know what to prepare for.

I just have to say, in praise for Teach For America . . . Orientation just ended on Thursday and today we got an email saying that they went over our feedback from the four day orientation. They told us the sessions that we said we found most/least useful and then the changes that they will be implementing for not only next year's orientation, but for our Professional Development Day this Saturday. This organization never ceases to amaze me with their responsiveness and efficiency.

Still So Many Questions

The first day of school keeps getting closer and closer and I still don't have a clue as to what I will be doing the first day/weeks of school. The only thing I know about my job is that I am teaching K-8 ESL. The principal didn't tell me anything about the position (other than I'd be doing push-in/pull-out--and he only told me that much because I asked). I looked on the school's web site and saw that there are only 18 ELLs in the whole school (though I'm not sure how accurate that is) and I am responsible for all of them. That's not so many kids but I'm not sure how that works when they span 9 grade levels. I have sooo many questions to ask the principal. Basic questions that need to be answered before I can start any planning. I wrote him an email the other day only asking the three most pressing questions and still haven't gotten word back. He's probably on vacation now or something but I talked to another new teacher at my school and she emailed him 2 weeks ago and still hasn't gotten a response. I definitely don't feel like it's time to start panicking just yet. There's still time to get organized. But I'm wondering what's going to happen if I don't ever get my questions answered and I show up to the first day not knowing anything! I know that a lot of my colleagues are in the same position of not having a lot of information to go on but I feel like it's harder being an ESL teacher. If you know you are teaching 3rd grade, you can look up the standards for third grade and at least start to come up with a long term plan. In my position, I don't know how I am going to have my days structured, how I will work with the general education teachers, what I will be expected to teach the kids, how long I will have them. It's really a lot to think about. I'm not panicking yet though.

Oh, and as for the housing search--I still haven't found anything!

Classroom Library

I'm going to submit a proposal on Donorschoose.org for a classroom library. I'm trying to compile a list of books to include. Anyone have any essential books (K-8) that shouldn't be left off the list? I'm especially interested in books that portray characters from a variety of backgrounds and recent immigrant stories.

Homeless in NY

It's not easy finding a place to live in New York. I'm currently staying with some other corps members in Brooklyn while I look for an apartment. Yesterday I saw one place and I have a few appointments for tomorrow. I hope something comes up soon. It's very unsettling being in a new city and not even having a place to call home. There is so much to do (get ready for school, organize my finances, buy furniture, etc.) but I can't really do anything until I have a place to live. Not to metion I want to start enjoying my first summer in New York! I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Institute: And we're off!

Institute is over. Now the 750 of us who have spent the last five weeks eating, sleeping, working and teaching together will scatter into our regions to begin teaching in the fall. Only six weeks to get ready for our students who will enter our classrooms for the first time in September. There is still so much work to be done!

The last day of teaching (Thursday) was great. We reserved the last hour of school for games and a party for the kids. They had so much fun (and we did too). We let them ask us questions. The most frequently asked questions were How old are you? and What's your real name? At the end of the hour none of the kids wanted to go home. Some were crying (including our "tough girl" who was our biggest behavioral challenge and who in the end scored the highest on the final assessments). In particularly girl in the class stood out. I had been working individually with her in reading for the four weeks of summer school. She's going into seventh grade in the fall and on a low first grade reading level. At first I didn't realize just how low her level was. She's gotten pretty good at faking her reading over the course of her elementary school career. Using context and the beginning letters of words, she can guess correctly most of the time. Finally, I stopped to assess her actual level and realized we'd been working on books that were way above her level. I realized that we had to start with the basics and we began working on phonics and reading beginning first grade decodable books. At first she was reluctant to read these babyish books. The other kids were reading 4th and 5th grade level books out loud fluently and she was struggling to decode first grade words. Eventually, she started seeing the progress she was making and became excited to read. Then there were days when her face lit up as she read an entire page without stumbling and others she struggled with one too many words and became so frustrated that she put her head down on the desk cried. Together we made some progress this summer, but four weeks just isn't enough. I was concerned that I wouldn't be there to help her in the Fall. Her school doesn't have a special reading program for kids like her who've been looked over and are now going on 13 and still can't read. I made a summer reading project for her to work on before the school year and tried to encourage her to ask for help from her 7th grade teacher. She promised to practice all of the words and sentences that I gave her. As she left the classroom on the last day of summer school she gave me a card that said "Best Reading Teacher Ever." Inside she wrote that she hated reading before because she didn't know how and now she wants to learn. She wrote her phone number in the card and said I could call her to make sure she was reading over the summer. Once again she was crying. She said "I don't want you guys to go!" It was the hardest thing to say goodbye to these six kids that we had just started to get to know and see make some small steps towards academic achievement. Now more than ever I can't wait to begin teaching in the Fall. It's all about the kids.

Institute: The Final Stretch

I can't believe how time flies! I'd intended to write so much more here at Institute but there literally has been NO time. This past week we all taught one full day of teaching rather than four 45 minute blocks. Although it seems like teaching only one day rather than four would be less stressful, it was actually a lot of work having to think about an entire day rather than just one period for the first time.

It feels like things are winding down here as we finish our fourth week. We only teach four days next week. And we're giving assessments on the last day. It's weird to thing about leaving these kids that we're just starting to get to know. My collaborative teaching team only has six kids in our class, so it's become a close community. Next week is going to be a lot of work to wrap up our four weeks of teaching and five weeks of Institute but the end is in sight. The first week felt like three but I can already see that the last week is going to fly by.

I'm soooo happy that it's Friday! I'm off to NY to meet my aunt who is visiting from California. It will be nice to get out of the dorm and the WORK, WORK, WORK environment for two days at least. I still haven't found an apartment yet, or really even put much effort into it, but that's not on my agenda for this weekend. I really just need a couple of days to de-stress.

Institute: Made it through my first week of teaching!

Wow, what a week. So as it turns out the second week is when the fun starts. Being with the kids for half the day really made the week go by faster. I was surprised by a lot of things this week. First, my 6th grade class only has six kids (we started out with four!). Managing six kids is such a breeze compared to some of the other classes I've observed (namely the 7th grade class full of rowdy boys who definitely DON'T want to be in summer school). It's funny how after the first day you start calling your students "my kids." After four days in the classroom I'm already pretty attached to them. And, I know that I shouldn't be surprised about this because we all know why we're--our kids are seriously below grade level--but, knowing that your students are going to be behind and then seeing a 13 year old who's about to enter the 7th grade reading on a 2nd grade level is pretty shocking. We only have 19 days with our kids this summer. It seems almost impossible to make any real progress. It's hard working with these kids all summer knowing that they're going to move on to 7th grade and there's only so much that you can do with them. Another surprising thing is how comfortable I felt in the classroom. I put down as one of my goals for my first week of teaching to be assertive in the classroom. That turned out to not be much of an issue for me. Asserting your authority over kids is a lot easier than adults, it seems. Sort of related to that, I found that I wasn't nervous at all this week. Not really even on the first day. I've just had this calm about me all week. Even on Thursday when we were at out schools until 4:30pm, I came home, had dinner and wrote two lesson plans by 7pm then went to a learning team meeting from 7:30-9 and a professional development workshop from 9-10. I can say that I am soooo happy that it's Friday! I think the last thing that I was really surprised about this week is that Institue isn't as hard as I imagined. Don't get me wrong, it is really intense, a ton of work and responsibility and overwhelming at times. I think that I am actually doing so well because I was mentally prepared for how challenging it was going to be. Because of that I made a pact with myself to get to bed as early as possible every night and not to stress no matter what. I didn't think that that would actually help but I know that it has. It's also helped to have a positive attitude about everything as much as possible. I've purposefully been avoiding people who start getting negative because it brings me down and I don't want to feed on negative energy. (So any future TFAer that may read this, that's my advice for surviving Institue!)

On the ESL front, I'm getting more and more excited about it every day. Our ESL learning team meeting on Thursday really got me psyched about learning everything there is to know about it. I'm also really excited to get to my school and figure out exactly what I need to do this year. I really don't know if my school is going to give me a ton of advice or none at all. The only thing that I know for sure is that I'm going to be the only ESL teacher for K-8 and I'll be doing push in/pull out. Thanks to all of you that commented about ESL. I really appreciate it.

As for the apartment search, basically there has been none. I haven't had time! In three weeks I am going to be homeless in NYC so I need to get on that ASAP! I'm teaching way out in Brooklyn (Brownsville) so I think I'm going to stick to looking for a place in one of the nicer areas of Brooklyn (and possibly, but not likely, the East Village.) Luckily my school is right near where four subway lines intersect so I have a good choice as to where I can look. I just have to decide how long of a commute I'm willing to deal with. (And seeing as I'm not much of a morning person, I think not very long). So I think that will be my project for this weekend.

Institue: One Week Down

The last two weeks have been so crazy that I haven't even had a chance to check my email, let alone blog. The first week in New York was busy with our meetings starting every day at 9 am and running until about 6pm. Then dinners and social scheduled through the evening. That was nothing compared to the first week at Institue though. We get up at 5am every day to catch the bus at 7. All day long we have sessions trying to get us ready for teaching next week. At 430 we head back to the dorms only to eat and get ready for more sessions, group work, and lesson planning well into the night. A lot of people have been staying up until 2am or even pulling all nighters, but I made a pact with myself to not stress and to get things done as early as possible so that I can get a decent amount of sleep. So far it's working and I've only stayed up until midnight once. But that was just the first week. Next weeks the kids come. I've heard from some advisors that this is the easy week and next week is when it really gets hard. I've also heard, on the more optimistic side, that next week is when it starts getting fun since we'll be teaching. It'll definitely be nice to have a chunk of the day (9am-1:15pm) where we won't be sitting in our sessions. My gut feeling is that next week will be pretty stressfully with the first week of teaching and getting over the anxiety of standing up in front of the class while being observed, but then the third and fourth weeks of teaching will start to get easier. All in all, I think last week has been very long and draining but not the most stressful week of my life like I've heard others say.

There are 750 of us here at the Institue in Philadelphia. We're all from NY, Philadelphia and New Jersey. During the day, they bus us to different schools throughout Philadelphia where we teach summer school to kids who didn't meet the requirements to pass on to the next grade level. Even though it sometimes seems like we're just going to be "pretend teaching," it's the real thing and these kids actually do need us. I think that next week when the kids get here it will start to seem more real. The elementary school that I'm teaching at in Philadelphia is completely comprised of ESL students and all of us teachers are teaching ESL in the fall so it is nice that we have that community. (Some people are teaching high school English in the fall but teaching math here in Philly.) So, for the next four weeks I am teaching 6th grade. There are four of us teaching each class and we rotate between teaching math, reading, and writing. My first week I'll be teaching writing.

I titled one of my first posts ESL, what is it exactly? Well, as it turns out, that was the million dollar question. I kept thinking that once we got to Induction or Institue the information would start flowing. Not so. Basically what it comes down to is that this is the first year that TFA New York is placing ESL teachers so they don't have a lot of experience with it. ESL is also kind of controversial subject and no one can agree on what is the right or most effective method. I've been really excited to teach ESL (and still am) so I think that I am more able to be flexible and go with the flow, but I've found that a lot of people didn't want to teach ESL and so the lack of information is really frustrating them. Also, there are so many models of ESL that it's hard to imagine what teaching in the fall will be like. Will I have my own self-contained classroom? Will I teach a push-in/pull-out model? Will I teach five different classes of ESL each day? I guess I am lucky in that I got placed during Induction so I know just what I'm going to be doing. I am teaching at a K-8 school where I will be teaching a pull-out/push in model. It's definitely not what I had imagined when I joined TFA but I'm getting really excited about it. I found out that I am going to be the only ESL teacher at my school so I'm really going to have to become the expert. While that's a little stressful, I'm excited to learn all about ESL and come up with some programs to not only help my kids but to give support to their general education teachers. This week we start our "learning teams" which means we will meet in groups with other corps members who are assigned to teach the same thing in the fall, so I'm hoping that I'll start to get a better idea of what to expect. In the meantime, I've started some research on the internet.

Off to New York

It's finally here. Tomorrow I leave for New York. I'm not sure if I am mentally prepared for the six weeks of madness that are about to begin. Monday begins "Induction" which lasts for one week in NYC. Then all 600 of us new corps members from NY get bussed to Philadelphia where we join other corps members from different regions for 5 weeks of training known as the "Summer Institue." For those who don't know, the summer institute is supposed to be--in a word--INTENSE. A day in the life of the institute consists of teaching summer school in the morning followed by workshops and seminars in the afternoon, then planning for the following day's teaching in the evening (and well into the night). From most accounts we should be expecting to get about 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Back in March I found Andrew's blog, where I got my first real description of just how intense the summer was going to be. I can't believe that now it's only a week away. What I didn't know is just how jam packed our Induction schedule was going to be. Yesterday I got a preliminary schedule in the mail and they have us busy from breakfast all the way through to dinner plans. Somehow in that week we are supposed to find housing for August first when we get back from Philadelphia. I'm not sure how that is going to get accomplished as it seems we are barely going to have time for bathroom breaks.

I did finish just about all the reading in preparation for the Institute (seven texts in all) which was no small feat considering I had just a month to do it in and I was working over 40 hours a week. I didn't do it exactly how they set it up for us (in the neat little exercises followed by classroom observations) but I did get it done. I only did 4 of 9 observations, but seeing as I got back from Italy just two weeks before the end of the school year, I think that I did pretty well. I was shocked when I was talking to one current corps member, whose classroom I observed, and she said "It's so good that you are doing these observations. When I got to Institute I met a lot of people who hadn't done any." I didn't think that was an option, but I'm glad that I got most of it completed.

Though I didn't do all nine observations, I think that I sort of had an alternative series of observations. I found that a lot of what I was reading in the seven TFA texts sounded quite familiar to me. Reading teacher blogs over the last few months has taught me a lot, I think.

So . . . tonight I take the red eye to NY! Wish me luck on the 6 weeks of madness that I am about to endure!

To the Bronx . . . Or not.

Today I got a short and sweet email telling me that my region has been changed and I'm now going to be teaching in Region 5 (Brooklyn/Queens). I guess it's not nearly as dramatic as it could have been (changing subject area or state), though I'd started getting attached to the idea of teaching in the Bronx. I'd only had my placement for a little while though and now I have plenty of time to get used to the idea of teaching in Region 5. This does majorly affect the housing search. For that I'm really greatful that the news came early on.

Time's running out . . .

Less than two weeks now until I'm off to NY. I feel like there is so much that I need to do to get ready. I've only been back in the States now three weeks and I'm already having to think about packing up again! I'm working over 40hrs a week to try to save every bit that I can before I go. I won't get my first paycheck until September and seeing as I just got back from a year abroad, I don't exactly have any funds saved up. In addition to working, I'm trying to get through the pile of reading that needs to be done before summer institute. I'm focusing on the literacy texts because I know that they will be useful for the Multi-subject CST that is coming up at the end of June. There's really a lot of information there that I am completely unfamiliar with. I hope that I can get it all internalized before the test. Finally, my family. I feel like I haven't had enough time to spend with them. This month is going by so quickly. At least NY isn't as far away as Italy.

That said, I am really excited about getting to NY. I'm especially looking forward to meeting a lot of new people. Through the TFA website, I've made contact with a lot of interesting people. I'm definitey excited for this new adventure in my life.

South Bronx

I just found out today that I'm going to be teaching in the South Bronx (region 1). It's exciting to know even just a little more information on where I'll be teaching. I didn't give any preference for where I wanted to teach in NY--at this point, it's all the same to me. It helps to know where I'm going to be teaching though because now I can start thinking about where I want to live. I'm glad that I got to spend a bit of time in the city this past spring or I would be completely lost. When I was there I had plenty of time to wander so I kind of got my bearings in the city. So, can anyone give any recommendations as to where they would live in the city knowing that they would be teaching in the Bronx? I don't want to have a crazy commute. I'd like to live in a neighborhood that is really colorful with interesting bars, restaurants, shops, etc. A place where I can witness and take part in the "city ballet."

Classroom Observations

Last week I did the first of my classroom observations that I'll do before the summer institute starts at the end of June.

The first day, I observed two Teach For America teachers teaching bilingual classes at a charter school. Both classes seemed very well behaved. All the students were attentive and classroom procedures went so smoothly that you almost didn't notice the transition between activities. I also noticed how quietly and quickly minor disruptions were handled by the teachers. I think that is one of the main things that I learned from watching their lessons. I think back to last summer teaching English at summer camps in Italy and I realize that minor disruptions by students were multiplied by the teachers (or "counselors") when they stopped the entire group activity or lesson to address a single student who was acting up. Last week I saw teachers walk around the room while talking to students. They were constantly putting a student's hands back in their own lap, tapping a student on the shoulder and pointing to the "time out" table, or picking up a student who had sprawled out on the carpet during circle time. All these disruptions and more were handled without ever speaking or stopping the lesson. (The classes I observed were kindergarten and 2nd grade, by the way). Lesson learned.

I'm sure that order and efficiency of the classes I observed is the fruit of the year's labor. I had the fortune to visit the class at the end of the year after they've had nine months as a class together. To the casual observer, classroom management seems easy. I actually did observe one student in the first class who was constantly talking out of turn, getting out of her seat, and generally being disruptive. The teacher told me immediately after the class that she just transferred to the school and has had some trouble adjusting.

The second day, I watched a 2nd grade class in a regular school (also taught by a TFA teacher). At first glance, the school was quite deceiving. It's only five years old and a really nice facility. All around the school construction of new homes is taking place. I arrived at the school just as the school bus was pulling up and letting all of the uniformed students off the bus. You would have never known that this school is in one of the worst performing districts in Phoenix. Inside the classroom, the differences between the students in terms of being on grade level wasn't immediately obvious to me. Students seemed to be all participating in the morning carpet time and "stations." After lunch, I was given the chance the work with the students individually on reading. That's where my shock came. I started out working with a student who could read the words on the page, only very slowly. Then I worked with a student who could barely sound out the words and often invented words based on the first letter of the word. Finally, I worked with a few students who fluidly read all the words without stopping to sound them out. The gap in learning was huge.

My main observation the second day was based on a question on the observation form. The question asked if students worked together and seemed supportive of each others' learning. To that I would have to say no. During the morning "stations," students were put in groups where they rotated between five stations. In one of the stations students worked with the teacher on reading, in the other four stations students were basically left to work on their own and in groups. Here I saw students that seemed to be competing with each other rather than being supportive of each other. I constantly heard students saying "That's easy!" when another student was working to solve a problem or read a sentence. They were always quick to point out who couldn't read. Some students had taken over the reading for their partners when they were supposed to be reading to each other. "This is what we do because he can't read," one girl told me. Overall the atmosphere wasn't cooperative. It must be so discouraging for a student to be constantly told by his peers that what he's working on is "easy" and to have all the students point and say "He can't read." This has me thinking of ways that I can really emphasize a cooperative classroom environment where students want to help those who are struggling.

Hopefully next week I will visit some upper elementary classrooms. I am kind of leaning toward wanting to teach lower elementary though.

Busy, Busy.

I haven't posted in the last week as I've been in constant travel between cities. The bag made it OK to London (I didn't even have to pay excess baggage fees!). Then I went back to Sardegna for my last two days of teaching. Then it was back to London for one night. I collected my bag and proceeded to the airport with two 65lb bags and a backpack. I was in NY all weekend. I took the LAST on Saturday and attended a "Placement Kick-off Event" for TFA on Sunday. In between all that I spent time with two friends that I met and worked with in Greece back in 2003. It was good times. I returned to Phoenix late last night exhausted! Today I'm recouping and getting ready for my classroom observations that start tomorrow.

Suitcase to be delivered

Suitcase
Originally uploaded by Ms. M.

I'm off for a quick little jaunt to London before I head back to the states. The sole purpose of this trip is to drop off this suitcase. My flight to New York leaves from London on May 12th. Much to my irritation, the only easy way to get off this island is to take Ryan Air and they have ridiculous baggage restrictions (fifteen kilos between two bags!). After much research, I figured out that it was just easier (read: cheaper) to personally deliver one of bags to London myself. When I go back to London on Wednesday I'll take the second bag. Madness. Luckily I have a good friend living in London, so it's an excuse to visit her.

Alghero

IMG_0239_edited
Originally uploaded by katenadine.

It was a beautiful day in Sardegna today. I went with some friends to walk around Alghero. (30 minutes from where I live.) I brought my camera with me but the battery died after one picture. (That's always happening with my digital!) So, here's a photo of Alghero taken by someone else. Beautiful!

English in the Italian Language

One of the things that I find really interesting about teaching English to Italians is finding out where they obtained their previous English knowledge. Unlike the French, who go to great lengths to keep English language and culture from invading their own, Italians tend to embrace all things English. The Italian language is full of "adopted" English words. (Bar, privacy, beauty case, computer-to name a few). Often I'll be teaching a lesson, introducing what I think will be completely new vocabulary, and my students will shock me by already knowing the word. One such occasion occurred last week in my Level 2 class when I was presenting new vocabulary associated with "telephoning." I was miming the steps involved in using a pay phone.

Me: First you . . . *uses thumb and pinky finger to mime a telephone, then lifts "receiver" to ear
Students: Ah! *Shake their heads at me* (Their usual indication that they get what I'm doing but don't know the word in English)
Me: . . . pick up the receiver
Students: Ah. Pick up the receiver.
Me: Then you . . . *mimes putting coin into phone*
Valeria: Insert coin!! (She responds, thrilled that she knew the word)
Me: *look of astonishment* Huh? How do you know that word?
Valeria: Video giochi. (She responds in Italian. Video games, similar to slot machines, found in most bars in Sardegna)

Eliciting for previous knowledge is standard procedure in teaching English and usually I just respond with a simple "good" when the student already knows a word, but when it's a word that they would have never learned in class otherwise, it kind of throws me off. We all usually get a good laugh out of it.

A lot of their knowledge comes from songs. For instance when I was teaching my English 1 class "to be born," one of my students responded: "Bruce Springsteen. Born in the USA." Right.

Just the other day I was introducing the verb "to spoil" to a Level 2 student in one of my private lessons. We had just come up with a list of things that went wrong on our imaginary vacation.

Me: Did all of these things SPOIL your vacation?
Student: What means spoil? (The expected answer since I am teaching a new word)
Me: For example when you have milk and you keep it for one month, it spoils.
Student: Ah, spoils. Like spoils system. In government. In Italian we use the same word. There is no Italian word for spoils system.

English is everywhere in the Italian language. I have yet to meet an Italian student who is an "absolute beginner."

Sometimes though, the abundance of English words in Italian can get them into trouble. Sometimes they English use words differently than we do. For example in Italian they use the word "slip" and it means underwear. Of course, they just assume since the word is in English that that is the correct usage of the word. My personal favorite is the use of the word "footing" in Italian to mean jogging.

Preparations

This last week has been all about paper work, phone calls, and emails. There's so much to do to get ready for the summer. TFA sent me a three page "to-do" list of things they need from me. (I am quite proud to announce that I'm almost finished with the list!) I do have to say that as an organization, they are quite organized with the mailings and updates that they send us and they are really good about responding to emails ASAP.

Now the main thing I have to worry about is preparing for the NYSTCE exams that I have to take. I'm taking the LAST on May 14th. I still haven't received the prep book that I ordered from amazon.com but I'm trying to work with the online resources. Apart from the LAST, I'm particularly concerned about the CST (multi-subject) that I have to take in June because if I don't pass it, I won't have an opportunity to re-take it, and therefore won't be able to teach in NY. Stress I tell you! Anyone taken the exams and want to give me some encouragement?

Today I got the ball rolling on setting up the classroom observations that are part of my "independent work" that I have to do before the summer institute. Since I'm not getting back to the States until May 15th, I have to cram nine observations (and the readings that go along with them) into one week. The second to the last school week of the year. It should be interesting trying to accomplish all this in the jet-lagged state that I'm going to be in when I get home.

Well, only two more weeks until Sardegna starts to fade into a distant memory . . .

ESL. How does it work, exactly?

So far, all I know about my TFA assignment is that I am teaching ESL. I still don't know whether I will be teaching elementary or secondary.

When I applied to TFA I listed elementary as my first choice and I was 99% certain that I would be assigned to that since my degree is in Italian (therefore I'm not qualified to teach, say, science or history). Now, being assigned to ESL, there is a possibility that I could teach high school. I would still be OK with that, though I had imagined myself teaching 3rd grade (because I love that age) or 4th or 6th grade (because those were the years I had my two favorite teachers).

I'm not sure what it will be like to teach ESL or even what an ESL classroom is like since I've never been in one. I vaguely remember there being an ESL class in my junior high school. (For some reason we had a large number of Russian and Ukrainian families in our area). So, I imagine that in high school or middle school I would teach a few classes to a few different groups of students, but how would it work in an elementary school? Wouldn't ESL students be integrated with the rest of the students? Would I teach a "mixed" class such as that? Or, would I maybe be a sort of "floating" teacher working with students in other classes? I'm guessing that the situation is different for each school/district. How does it work in your schools? I spent some time today looking for a blog by an ESL/ELL teacher but didn't have much luck. Anyone know of one?