Wes' TFA Adventure

No jobs baby no jobs

I haven't been placed yet.

So haven't a lot of 2010 Corps members.

Before arriving at Institute my corps (Charlotte) was told that most of us would be placed halfway through. That did not happen. By the end of institute however 2/3rds of our corps had been placed. It is hard washing friends excited about knowing where they are going this fall while you yourself is still jobless.

What is hard for many outsiders to understand is that simply getting into Teach For America doesn't guarantee a job. In years past the organization had been pretty successful at placing 100% of its corps members into positions. However with the downturn state budgets are tightening and districts are not hiring.

Teach For America tries everything in its power to make sure corps members get jobs. They optimistically tell their corps members to be patient and flexible. They say that they have your back and in the past they have made sure nearly everyone gets placed. However, when it is you on the front lines watching this unprecedented situation unfold with state, county and citywide districts unfold you know that it isn't going to be Teach For America on the hook when you are jobless.

My main concern is about staying motivated during round zero. How do I plan my curriculum when I don't have a classroom or a subject to plan a curriculum for?

Many of my friends in the South Louisiana corps are without a job due to outright hiring freezes. Listening to corps members who finished institute and cannot sign a lease on an apartment but have to be in Baton Rouge to be able to do interviews at a moments notice. Or corps members who have already signed leases and moved their entire family down simply to find out that the position they were offered or temporary recommended for is no longer available due to the unprecedented budget situation.

Here I am in Charlotte with my life on hold. Terrified that I'll get a call saying that I will have to teach high school trigonometry or not have a job. Or that I will not get a call at all. Hopefully it will all work out. Everyone is working very hard to make sure we all have a job next Fall. I just hope myself and everyone who currently hasn't been placed finds out soon and it is in an area where they feel their impact can be the strongest.

All done with institute- ps: it was hell

Institute was a life changing experience. It was pure hell. I do not mean that in a harsh way. All day every day I was being pushed beyond my comfort zone. There was little sleep, little rest, and seldom breaks between one major challenge to the next. There was a constant bombardment of work. I missed my family dearly. I felt like I did not have any control over my life. I felt confined and micromanaged beyond belief. I hated institute.

Did I survive? Yes. It was a positive to get through the expedience. Never before did it feel like so many people would become intimate parts of my life in the absence of family. Looking back its kind of odd the relationships I built at institute. Beecher feels sometimes uncomfortable at my stories of how I bonded with my other corps members.

My days were long. In many ways I feel like my institute experience was more challenging than most. I taught 3rd grade where there was a lot of planning involved. I was only in a 2 person co-lab while most of my peers were in 3-4 person co-labs. I was broke off my ass and couldn't stop worrying about money while away from home. Our school had the earliest bus departure time 5:30 am which meant waking up at 4:30 in order to get dressed, breakfast, and lunch. I was so overwhelmed with work and our schedule most nights I never went to bed until 1. Some nights I NEVER went to bed staying up 36-48 hours teaching, lesson planning, going to sessions, and tracking data. My relationship with Beecher was on the rocks. 

This in turn led to my depression, my inability to in the first weeks get my work done on time, which then led to me being put on an improvement plan which was mainly more meetings, more deadlines, and more check ins rather than formal support. I hated institute until the very last day.

The point of this blog is honesty. Institute sucked. But in the end I made it through. I met lots of great friends. My time when not working my ass off was genuinely fun. I made amazing long lasting connections with so many people. Institute was almost a social awakening to which I am thankful. Finally it gave me added confidence in myself and no longer am I scared of the classroom because I know I can do the work and I know that I can still do this work even on 2-3 hours of sleep, under the stresses of being broke, being near separation with my partner etc. Oh and Im forgetting the best part ever: My kids. Who for the most part were the least of my worries and the source of my joy (well when I properly planned a lesson correctly:)

And for you all reading this thinking they are going to plan better than this when they get in: good luck. Its harder than it looks few manage to do it :)

Now its onward to round zero. I'm still without a placement checking my email every 5 min. but thats for another post