The new teaching position started this past week. I am now teaching 9th grade math at Denver School of Science and Technology, an open-enrollment charter school in Denver. They have 100% of their first three graduating classes accepted into 4-year colleges, including Stanford and other major colleges. I'm pretty pumped to be in an environment of highly-driven, data-driven educators that develop the teacher.. who then lead students on their journeys.
Marathon training and teaching? Oh yes....
I set a goal for myself: run a marathon in 4:00 hours or less. I am training and sometimes running is the exact opposite of what I want to be doing. When I knew I had to run 4 miles today, I thought... man, I just don't feel like it. But I knew it was a small step in the bigger picture. I had a BIG goal, a 26.2 mile goal that needs to be achieved. I have high expectations for myself and I also don't want to let myself down. I am my biggest competitor. Plus, I am training with a friend and she relies on me to meet our mile per hour goal.
In my classroom... we look at our math learning goals and through some manipulation, we set a class goal. What should our average be on test? 80%? 90% 35%? If a teacher set their goal at 35% they are in the wrong place... or have tenure.
There are days when I see students trying to hide behind a teammate's back or avoid eye contact. There are days where students give off the "don't even mess with me today" look. And it is convincing. Not enough to deter me. I am relentless.
Why? Why do I allow myself a day off from a 4 mile run but don't let Maria take 20 minutes off of a 75 minute class period?
Perseverance. I suppose it is easier to set goals for someone else and hold them accountable. But I need to model what I want to see from them. Hopefully by making my marathon training goals transparent to my friends..and even those lovely, energetic and often rebellious teenage students, I can hold myself to a high standard and exceed my goals.
There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a student reaction to their amazingly successful test scores.
student, "Is that my score?" "is that what you gave me?"
teacher, "gave you?" " you EARNED that!"
student, "I have never gotten this high of a score in math. I did this?"
teacher, "you worked hard, and you practiced. that is your well-deserved score."
student, "miss, I think I get it. I know what I need to do now."
LOVE IT. I had a student share a story quite like this with me last year. She had NEVER earned passing test scores - why she was moved up grades, that is a public policy decision by our lovely and talented politicians. She experienced success in math for the first time in 9th grade. After that, she continued to work hard and persist, continuing to make improvements and rise to the expectations she set for herself. Sure, she experienced setbacks but that taste of earning high grades was fueling her ambition.
Marathon runners should be teachers. If you don't run, get out of the building. only kidding.... you can be a cyclist, or a swimmer, or a golfer (maybe)...
Setting goals. It changes lives :)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
South American adventures
My travel buddy!
Back in October or so, Liza mentioned taking a trip to Peru to visit Machu Picchu. Well, I had been waiting for the chance to return to South America ever since the day I boarded a LanChile flight back to Chicago. We chatted a few times about the trip, in passing and then came a week in January or February where the talk turned into action. We devised a plan - go to Peru, Argentina and then end in Chile. We did not really think about geography and the distance between Lima and Buenos Aires. Or the fact that southern Chile is enveloped in rain and snow during the winter months. We actually did not plan anything other than our flights and we knew we were going to take Spanish classes in Buenos Aires.
The trip turned out beautifully. We were in Cuzco during an old Incan gods festival, Inti Raymi - Festival of the Sun. The festival takes place the week of the winter solstice, when the sun is furthest from Earth. The Incans sacrificed an animal and called for blessings on their crops and animals. The festival is still huge today. We were in Machu Picchu on the largest and most important date but we were in Cuzco for the days following the winter solstice. As we were enjoying an espresso at a cafe on the Plaza de Armas a large group of people starting parading around the plaza with signs, banners and music. Within a few minutes we realized it was a Christian parade and they were celebrating Jesus! It was a beautiful thing to see. In the midst of their traditional cultural event where the Incans worshiped a sun god, the Christians spoke up about the one true God, our Savior.
To me, seeing a Christian parade in Peru was inspiring and an act of true faith. The Peruvian heritage is Incan and Spanish conquistadors. The family tree includes branches and branches of Incan blood but Jesus was revealed to them and now the Christians in Peru have a cultural history that includes the intelligent and advanced Incan civilization, lost to the world mixed with the one Truth, Jesus Christ.
Back to Liza... she is an AWESOME traveling friend! For 35 days she survived my craziness. Thanks Liza for the idea and your positive energy :)
South American adventures
El lago escondido - The hidden lake
This is one of the many marvelous views I came across on my mountain bike trip in Bariloche, Argentina
South American adventures
On my mountain bike adventure, I came across this beautiful sign along the pass. The short bike circuit I did was in Bariloche, Argentina - part of Patagonia. It actually was not that short, it took about 4.5 hours of constant climbing up and then cruising down. Instead of being in my Spanish class, I was biking up and down mountain roads, no trails - alone, and in the cold. Biking is so rewarding because after a big climb the cruise down feels so freeing.
Anyway, for those of you that want a translation...
"Where there is peace, there is culture (community)...
Where there is community, there is respect
The planet is part of who we are and we are all one
The peace is the path
Love, the answer.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
South American adventures
I hiked up my first 14er this weekend.
For people living in Colorado, hiking or climbing the 14ers is a part of saying you live in Colorado. If you live here long enough, you'll say you've climbed 10, 11 or more of these famous peaks. Why the excitement?
There are different classifications of the peaks and the one we did was a Class I - easy. It is 7.5 miles round trip and took about 5 hours total to summit and return to the campsite. Class III is the most difficult to summit without gear and Class IV and V require gear - climbing gear. Eventually, I hope to get strong enough to complete some IVs. I am going to stick with Class I and II for now - why not, right?
The beauty of hiking to the summit is the change in scenery as you ascend. Starting in a forest and then hopping through a rock jungle and then just hard rock and ground at the top. Another great part - hiking with friends! I went camping outside Breck with 3 new friends that I have met from my new church, Fellowship. Great people! One of the guys with us has just moved to Colorado a few weeks back so he jumped right into what it means to live in Colorado.
A little crazy but I ran a little over 13 miles the day before this hike - not suggested, by the way. My legs were dead and I was drinking a lot of water at the beginning of the trip. Luckily, that 2nd and 3rd wind kicked in with the adrenaline and I steadily moved up.
Living in Colorado is a dream. The mountains, the people and the adventure are snapshots of a deeper meaning to living here - I feel like I am discovering more of who I am here than I have in other cities where I have lived. What I like is knowing that there are no limits.... only the ones we set for ourselves. Here, friends push me to expand my limits and go beyond my comfort zone.
I love living here!
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