Teacher In-Services

Ever wonder what your teachers did in the last few weeks and days before school started? Well now I know. They sit through endless all day in-service meetings about test data and school policies and state standards. I have so very much to do, it's kind of frustrating to have to sit through so many meetings. But I'm going to stop being negative. There is some good information. Certainly knowing about testing and where the kids and they school is at is very important, and this school as got some serious work to do. And it's exciting to meet all the teachers and administrators and start getting to know the people I'll be working with every day. It seems to be a good bunch. It's very mixed between native and non-native. One thing people around here are good at is laughing a lot. Humor is a huge part of the culture, so at least long boring power points are occasionally interrupted with jokes poking fun of people and laughing all around.

Everything is a little bit chaotic right now. There's no class schedule. They're still missing some teachers (if you have any interest in teaching P.E. or Industrial Arts in South Dakota let me know). Oh, and we can't get into the new high school building yet because it didn't pass the final inspection and they're doing more work on it. So all of the desks, tables, books, computers, and materials that belong in the high school are currently still in the gym of the elementary school. yikes! And there's still no word on when we will be able to get into our classrooms to set up. But I'm going with the flow.

Meanwhile I'm supposed to be planning my classes... setting goals, making long term plans and assessments, writing the first Unit plan and lessons for the first weeks. Ah! I'm not quite freaking out yet because there is still nearly four weeks. But I see a little bit of flipping out in the near future.


I'm also beginning to realize now the things that I took for granted at institute. Don't get me wrong, institute was a mildly painful process, but there were hundreds of people there with a common mission to constantly remind each other what we're working for and why we're doing this. Being here is much more isolating and while all the teachers at the school clearly want what's best for the students, they come from a variety of education backgrounds and have drastically different mindsets. It's very easy to be overwhelmed with sudden attacks of "What the heck I'm I doing here???? I have no idea what I'm doing!!!" Although, in many ways it's nice to not be constantly labeled as TFA. Here we're just first year teachers who need lots and lots of help.

So that's my teaching rant, now to back up a little to life in general- The trailer is nice. I'm not feeling faint or nauseated or anything like that. We're pretty squished with three of us and zero storage space, but we're managing. We have central air!

Last weekend a large group of us went camping at Lake Angastora. It was fun. We went and saw the Wind Caves and went swimming in the lake and were ridiculously silly I love it. I love teachers.
On the whole I'm very happy to be here. I've been going running with my roommate Katie in the evenings and it is so beautiful and peaceful and... open here. I love the space. I will try to take some pictures soon. We're going to make a trip to Rapid City this weekend to buy some shelving and paint and fabric to cover the somewhat hideous sofa we inherited. I'll post pictures once it's all put together and cozy.

I'm ready to push through the next few weeks of meetings and preparations so I can make it to the good part- teaching the kids! It's going to be great.

Buffalo

I finally saw them :) tons more pics on Flickr.

P.S. I'm home in MN! And about to go to sleep for a long time- Do Not Disturb!

Home Sweet Home South Dakota

Sunset behind the Rosbud Casino and Quality Inn. 25 exhausted but happy TFA corps members arrived back in South Dakota Sunday night after two looooooong days of driving from Houston. I don't think you could find another TFA corps more thrilled to be home. This place is beautiful/amazing/magical/otherworldly.

Yesterday I went to St. Francis where we found out that our trailers are not actually here yet, nor have they actually secured them yet. They are supposed to be getting unused or unneeded FEMA trailers leftover from Katrina, but apparently lots of other people want them as well, so we'll see. What they do have at St. Francis is a BRAND NEW high school building which we got to go inside and it was so exciting! I actually had goosebumps looking in at a classrooom that could be mine in the fall and seeing myself in front of that white board delivering excellent lessons. There is so much potential in that building, so much learning and growing that can happen in there. It's going to be a great two years. Today we started our sessions which we'll continue tomorrow and Thursday. The orientation sessions here really focus on creating a vision for our class and setting goals and planning the first few weeks. Reading the South Dakota 9th grade English standards makes me a little bit giddy. I kind of love English :) I have so many ideas and thoughts on what we could do in that classroom with those standards--projects and books and essays and presentations oh my! so much fun and yet so terrifying and overwhelming because now I have to actually decide what we're going to do and how and what my students are going to come out of my class with at the end of the year. Wow. Me. I have to do that. My students' learning in my classroom is all up to me now. I can't even express how happy I am to be here doing this right now or how enormous this challenge is or how happy/scared I am to be taking it on.

More goal setting and unit planning to come...

AND- Three days to Minnesota!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frugal Traver visits SD

Three people have sent me this article now... so I figured I should post it!

Scraping By With a South Dakota Tribe

Over the Rainbow (almost)

We went to Pine Ridge reservation today, but our line up of activities didn't quite pan out due to inclement weather as seen above. Tornado! We actually stood outside the badlands visitor center and watched this funnel cloud form and touch down a few miles away. Crazy. So I'll have to go back out there soon to see the heard of the badlands and visit Wounded Knee. [More pictures in flickr --->]

Made it!

I'm not quite together enough to get any pictures us right now, but I will say it's beautiful out here! Like no other landscape I could ever imagine. Hills and plateaus and grassland with sage growing all over and cows and horses and the endless sky! You just have to see it, it's amazing, like breathing for the first time.

I'm currently at the Rosebud Casino Quality Inn 20 miles south of Mission, SD and 10 miles north of Valentine, NE, literally a matter of yards from the state line. There are 26 of us new TFA people here and we have had a very warm welcome. This week is "induction" and we have a very structured schedule filled with lectures and visits from various tribal leaders, professors and school administrators all of whom have been very warm and very inspiring. Their culture is so rich and deep, I feel honored to be here and learn about it and be a part of it for a while. We are also occasionally driven around in two large vans to see some of the cultural sights. Tonight we ate Indian Tacos and had a performance from a drum and dancing group and even did a bit of dancing ourselves, part of which involved potatoes. Tomorrow we're off the the Pine Ridge reservation and I can't wait to see the Badlands!! We'll also be visiting a resort ranch which should be cool. It's almost like I'm finally fulfilling my childhood dreams of becoming a cowgirl. Last night we went out to a bar in Valentine. There was pool and darts and a game called shuffleboard (not the old people kind) and lots of country music. It was fantastic! I will not at all miss the trendy/preppy DC bars. This is real life, I'm going to need a new pair of cowgirl boots :)

On Thursday I'll be interviewing for an English High School teacher position at St. Francis High School on the Rosebud reservation, so that's most likely where I'll end up. Woo hoo! I'm super excited and pumped about this whole adventure and my next two years here and all of the challenges I'll face and the good things that I will see and do.

I am also incredibly exhausted and can hardly believe that I'm still as chipper as I am right now, but I'm pishing through. I feel like I've done this whole orientations meeting new people thing so many times I'm kind of an expert ;) The other corps members are some pretty great people and I'm looking forward to getting past these first few awkward days and weeks of 'getting to know you' questions and building real friendships.