too fabulous for words

i had a few joys today. seriously i think sometimes that it gets better & better every day. like the school song we have.

today, we (the cy corps members) led the school words of success in the morning. it was hot, especially when we panicked when the kids were leaving the blacktop to go inside for class and we hadn't started yet. but it made me feel good. and today was a great day. super ups all around. andre gave me some daps. and it was nice. took some pictures at afterschool because i've decided we need to document our activities. and i left my house in 20 minutes today, instead of my usual thirty, which is incredible because, yeah, i got extra sleep.

today we were doing factor trees in class and since i had a substitute, things were rough, but i was sitting on the rug with a bunch of kids, working with them in small groups on the prime factor trees worksheet. and so i explain to mark what is going on and he says ok, i understand. and i'm like, great so draw me a prime factor tree for the number 48 while i help someone else, ok? and he says, ok.

i look back at his paper and he had drawn a tree. like an actual, trunk and leaves thing. i laughed and he laughed because he knew that wasn't what i wanted at all. but there are moments, just the smallest things that make me smile. and that's what a joy is all about.

return to greatness

i've been back in boston since friday night (late, of course -- my flight got delayed and then i was a witness to some doings on the T so i ended up talking to the cops...). i'm excited because i am ready for tomorrow. i made arroz con leche for my kids because i promised them that i would bring them something delicious and that's pretty much my go-to dessert that always tastes good. and its pretty delicious this time if i do say so myself.

i've packed up my backpack, my uniform is pressed. and i am about to get a few hours of sleep to get ready to be at school for a few hours and then team meeting. and then i have a mtg about the DB (daily briefing) and another team event. dinner at chili's. but by the time i get there i'll already have eaten dinner since i can't really hold out that long. i'll probably just have a snack there. maybe not even.

two up, two down (VA)

so i'm here in virginia for thanksgiving.

i called sara yesterday during afterschool, or i texted and then she called, it's all really fuzzy -- she said my kids had asked her where i was and why i didn't come yesterday. and i was like, sara i totally told them like 50 times last week and at least ten times on monday that i was going to virginia on tuesday. and she said, well they were asking anyway. i was like, tell them i say hi.

am i really that necessary now? i think of myself as a distraction in the classroom but if they notice when i'm gone then what is that really saying? what am i really doing?

the thing is that, right now i am so tempted to stay at home and never go back. which i don't want to do. because i can't really leave MY fifth graders. how did it take all of two seconds for 19 random 10-11 year olds to become mine? why is this harder than traveling on my own? it's harder than anything.

pitw #159. this is hard. be strong. (my favorite one of all)

pitw #61

to solve a problem or get a major task done, "release energy."

organizational expert peter drucker reminds us that just like in nature "energy" within an organization cannot be "created" -- it can only be "released." there are almost always enormous resources of untapped energy available at city year, and the best way to solve a problem or get a major project accomplished is to "release" energy around that problem or project. sometimes that means just letting people know about the problem or project -- and letting those with the energy come forward. other times it means creating a special team. for example, in the first year of city year rhode island the organization simply did not have all of the staff resources it needed to conduct the serve-a-thon or graduation. instead the call went out to the corps, and the energy released was extraordinary - corps members were pivotal to making both events outstanding. because city year seeks to be a "catalyst" or spark for broad civic engagement and idealistic action, city year corps and staff must become experts at techniques for releasing idealistic energies.


and that was putting idealism to work #61. (bing! - the sound a lightbulb makes when it goes off in your head.)

after-school calls

made some calls to parents tonight to recruit more kids for our Starfish program & things went well. i enjoyed calling my students' parents and talking to them about the program and how it would be beneficial for their kid.

it was a busy day and tomorrow is service.

a couple of joys

at shaw's (the grocery store near back bay station/the prudential center) -- a random young guy came up to me in the bread section while i was decked out from head to toe in city year gear since i was coming from the office to the grocery store and the following occurred...

ryg: hey, hey city year girl!
me: hi...
ryg: don't give up.
me: ok?
ryg: i really want to thank you for what you're doing.
me: (big smile) ok thanks :)
ryg: (walks away)

at after school andre says to me, hey dawg, give me some daps aka hey, do a the finger snap handshake with me. andre, the kid who spit on me. yeah he peed on the floor today in the hallway... but i mean, a joy is a joy.

black tie, cy style

so i went to a gala event for world unity, inc. it was pretty much one of those city year exposure things and they sent ten quick-emailing/responding corps members out to the even with a guy from external affairs. the food was good, we were too poor to bid on any of the items, but it was a pretty excellent deal for a friday night. i ate delicious things and had a good time laughing it up in uniform and chatting it up when the live auction got a little too pricey and i couldn't pay attention anymore.

there was a gospel choir and a tango show.

but seriously, the most important thing that happened this week was yesterday. i was leaving afterschool, saying a general bye from the doorway of the classroom and andre (the kid that spit on me, kicked me, and slapped my glasses off my face -- all in one day) ran up to me and jumped into my arms and said BYEEEEEE! i was in shock. i thought he didn't want anything to do with me. but then, what?! so yeah. it was a total joy.

also i finished all my RASL (research and systematic learning) data entry stuff today and i am all caught up on the last three weeks!!!!! it's so fabulous i don't even know what to say except for its a PITW that came to mind all at once about when you finish a task that it's like a release of energy (putting it in as soon as i find my handbook...).

oh and i turned in a DB (daily briefing) to be used for visitors at City Year Boston. should be a good document. it looks good this month for sure.

good things all around. and my team led PT this week at Copley Square and it was hot. we had incredible energy and enthusiasm for all the exercises, even when the corps didn't get the new ones we rolled out this week. we were patient and demonstrated everything over again. so yeah, go upromise!

teacher breakfast

we had a breakfast with our teachers last thursday in which we discussed our roles on the team. each of the corps members stood up and said, this is what i do when i am not in your classroom. i feel like, i do a lot outside of the classroom. last week there were two nights that i left the office at 9:30 and then 10pm. this week, as of yet, has been much better due to the fact that i left on monday at 5pm! read that, FIVE pm, BEFORE SIX PM. and i was out of the city of boston by 7pm and sitting down to eat dinner (delicious, home-made dinner) before 8pm, which is when i would've normally left the office on a monday.

yes, city year is eating me alive. sometimes i don't like it. other times i am the one pushing myself to stay late and do work that i need to do because i am committed to it. but one of my goals is to not be at the office late every night and so far i have succeeded mostly.

my kids are enjoying the math that i teach them in the mornings, i did the 24 game on tuesday of this week and today i showed them how to recognize numbers that are evenly divisible by three. there is supposed to be a packet of math that i am supposed to teach them from, but my teacher hasn't given it to me so basically, i make up things on the spot and get them to compete against each other, or push them to come up with multiple solutions in groups at their tables. i am a fan of group work. i don't think they get enough opportunities to work as a group. as such, most of the math work they end up doing for me is done in a group.

i also made myself a new wallet (since my last one was either stolen or lost) out of clear tape with paper inside of it, so it looks pretty stellar from the outside (like a collage). it only took four hours, which i think is not bad, considering i haven't made a duct-tape wallet or anything of the sort in so long.