Last Day of School

Great Teachers = Great Kids

We just had our last summer school class! Today is the last day of institute!! Unbelievable. Our kids are so amazing and smart and great, I wish I could take them with me.

On Wednesday after their final we asked them to write letters to our future students (Mine in South Dakota and my partner's here in Houston). Here are some of my favorites:

"Dear Ms. S's future students,
I don't really know how weather is in South Dakota, but I don't think that that will affect your ability to learn. Ms. S is a very good teacher she might have some bad days that she forgets how to spell some word, but shoot me if I'm lying, nobody is perfect in this big world... I know I only had her for four weeks, but damn I have learned a lot since she started teaching. I have less problems reading stories when before I even fell asleep when I was reading."

"As you will have seen, Ms. S is energetic and spunky, so if you get as excited as she does you might increase your intake. She's open to your ideas so speak up when you think of something. She's a great teacher."

"Here is some advice for you, pay attentions, participate in class, and follow the rules. She really doesn't have many rule so it will be easy. Work with her, she will give you something in return. She is a really nice person so appreciate her and have fun. Enjoy!"

"For the short time I had her Ms. S was an OK teacher, and in case you wanted to know, I hate practically all of the teachers at school, so being an OK teacher is a big compliment from me. I have to admit, Ms. S is not a perfect speller, no one is, but when she would misspell something class would be so boring that I would get a kick out of seeing how long it takes the teacher or another student to notice. I'm sure Ms. S will be a great teacher to Ya'll, she was to our class."

So sweet... granted they knew I'd be reading these and had yet to give them a final grade, but I'll the same, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back. They were fantastic and we had at least a little bit of fun in summer school. Hopefully they'll never have to be in summer school again! It really is all about the kids... I can't wait to get to SoDak and meet all my kids there that I get to keep for a whole year! I love them already.

eine kleine Pause

I spent all day today sleeping, watching tv with my little brother and pretending to pack, and yet my body and brain still feel like mush after the crazy crazy week of NAFSA conference madness. It was fun it was hard it was overwhelming. I'm so glad I stuck around long enough to actually go, but I'm not at all sad about not sticking out for the next one, it's a lot of work! It's HUGE. I don't think I could ever have wrapped my mind around the hugeness without seeing it, I still don't think I can. Seeing Colin Powel was cool, though I'd have to say some of the other speakers were more focused and inspiring. All in all everything seemed to go pretty smoothly and I'll be ok if this is the last time I ever see that NAFSA logo ;)

Tomorrow I finish packing up and leave for South Dakota. What???!! Oh how I wish I could take a week off and hang out with my friends and family here... it's always so hard for me to leave MN. I was a little sad to be leaving DC, but ready to go, it was a great experience but not my city. I've only been home in Minneapolis for a week and I already don't want to leave. Sigh. There's always 2009! Teach for America is going to be amazing I know. I'm so glad I got in and I'm doing it, I just still can't really believe it! I'm leaving tomorrow! I'm so scattered, I hope it all works out. I have definitely not finished all the pre-institute work that they sent me. Oh well. I don't think they'll kick me out at this point. I'll catch up, or maybe have some time to finish it next week in SD before we drive down to Houston. Could my life be a little more insane and exciting right now? Never a dull moment... I'm too distracted to be writing this right now, but stay tuned!!