The past few days have been super hectic - sorry I haven't been updating over the past few days!
So teaching has begun...and I love it. Although I haven't ever worked harder in my entire life, I am really enjoying my work, and I'm super pumped for my career ahead of me.
Before I get into actually describing my first two days of teaching, I want to set the scene (9th Grade Summer Success Objective #R4 --> SWBAT identify the setting of a story) for Agua Fria High School.
Agua Fria was built in 1955, and you can tell. It's also a typical Arizona school - which means it's outdoors. There are a few buildings scattered around the campus, surrounding outdoor courtyards that are landscaped to look like mini-deserts. There is a cactus garden in front of my classroom.
It's way out in the boonies in the East Valley, the poorer, faster-growing part of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The school as a whole performs adequately, but some students, including Hispanic and English Language Learners, are not performing up to par.
I'm teaching the Summer Success program - a bridge program for rising 9th graders who want a taste of high school before the fall begins, or who need some remedial skills before progressing to 9th grade.
There are about 150 TFAers working at Agua Fria - we are an army. Last week at Opening Ceremonies, we got up and shouted our Agua Fria cheer - and the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center was shaking by the end of it...here it is!
AGUA FRIA
BIG IDEA
WRAP UP THE (achievement) GAP LIKE A BIG TORTILLA (topical for the community)
AGUA FRIA
9TH GRADE TO SEEN-YAS
HERE'S OUT YOU SPELL OUT ACHIEVEMENT
A-G-U-HEY F-R-I-HEY (X3)
Maybe how awesome the cheer is doesn't come across in a blog entry.
So that's where I spend my days, from 6:50 AM to 4:20 PM. Now on to the main event...the first two days! More to come in the next entries, but picture me walking out of the desert courtyard and into my classroom at 6:30 yesterday morning...
peace and love from the grand canyon state,
pb
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