It's always so great to be back at school because I can always ensure something will happen. I've pretty much been observing and helping out Ms. Moulton with busy work while I get acclimated to the class and become more comfortable with the kids.
Today was my first day taking the kids to and from recess by myself, which is a big ordeal. The playground is across the street (welcome to inner city schools) so we have to walk down a floor, outside and across the street all in a line. We managed to do it pretty well on the way there and recess went smoothly. On the way back though, we had a little more difficulty. By the time we made it to the dining hall (not the cafeteria), I was glad we were there. I've also been in charge of giving out tickets for good behavior during things in class. When they circle around on the carpet, I sit at a desk and watch them to see who should earn more tickets. It's a nice way for them to see me as the disciplinarian, but not as the main teacher.
After being in the class all day, we met as a team to debrief and such. Today, we had a bunch of time (since we didn't have to practice PT!), so we were going around saying ripples, joys and appreciations. Ripples are actions that inspire change. For example, if I was on the T and someone asked me what City Year was and was then inspired to join City Year, that would be a ripple. A joy is something good that happened and an appreciation is for someone who you would like to appreciate. We don't do them every day and you don't have to say one, so they are pretty special. Erica, my TL (who I love) raised her hand and looked at me. She was saying how she had a joy for me watching me deal with two kids as we were coming back for recess.
When we were walking back from recess, one of my kids, KC was running which isn't allowed. Normally, they all line up in number order. They know their number and which order they are supposed to be in, so if it's not in the right order, we know someone is missing or not following directions. KC was running because he was close to the front, so I sent him to the back so he wouldn't be able to run. The girl who is number 20 and last in line, KS, is very proud of the fact that she's last in line and makes a big deal out of it. I should have known that moving KC to the back was a bad idea. As soon as KC goes back, he and KS start arguing. KC is saying that he's last in line, while KS is saying she's number 20. They were actually both right, but they wouldn't drop the argument. So, when we got inside and everyone was in the dining hall, I pulled them aside and fed them lines to fix the problem. Basically I would say "KS, I'm sorry I was arguing with you" and KC would repeat it. I did the same for KS and in the end, the problem was solved. Erica could see from her office and I guess it was the first time she had seen me in action, so that was her joy. It made my day!
Tomorrow we are back at the office and in trainings all day, but oh well. It's been an exciting week!
"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the
events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation. . . .It is from
numberless diverse acts of courage . . . [and] ... belief that human history is shaped. Each time a person
stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a
tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those
ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. "
- R ob e r t F . Kenn e d y , Da y o f A f f i rma t i o n Add r e s s
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