fellowship

The National Teaching Fellowship: Service That Closes The Gap

The Citizen Schools Teaching Fellowship is a two-year AmeriCorps service opportunity that allows committed people to support students in their critical years by building relationships with their families, their teachers, and an extraordinary range of community members.

Here’s former Teaching Fellow Lia Sheperd, who served as part of a team of caring adults who invested their time, talent, and resources to put students on the path to success in high school, college, and career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHIwRH627bQ&feature=youtu.be
Learn more about the Citizen Schools Teaching Fellowship here. 

Teaching: There’s a Cat for That – Teaching Inferences with LOLCats

Sara Kelleher work in the Campus Talent Recruitment Department and is a former Teaching Fellow

To a select group of people under the age of 14 (and some in the 24-44 years old range), I have quite the reputation…as a cat lady.

It’s not that I love or dislike cats, or even see myself having multiple furry creatures to accompany me during this “growing up” process; it’s that cats, specifically the virtual “LOL” kind, can teach some pretty great lessons.

Although I have since moved from Teaching Fellow (apply today!) to the Talent Department, one of my favorite teaching memories involves above mentioned “great lessons.”

In brainstorming ways to teach inferences, the whole process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion, I had students look at photos like the one below and using context clues, justify the caption.

Write your own caption, kids.

For example:

From the birthday hat, facial expression, arm and leg movements, we can reason the cat below is uncomfortable.  Our prior knowledge tells us that cats do not typically wear hats, or clothes of any kind, so we can reason he is probably not happy.  Also, given our prior knowledge of birthday parties, we know that birthday cake is usually served.  Thus, “But I want Cake!” is a justified caption that makes us laugh because it is a hyperbole for a feeling of disappointment if we miss out on the sweets.

Your turn!  Using inferences, what caption do you think effectively captures the below image?

Write your own caption, readers!

Submit your captions to the above picture and share stories of creative lessons plans you’ve used!

 

 

Teaching Fellows Wear Many Hats

Ashley Kirklen is a Second Year Teaching Fellow at Eastway Middle School in Charlotte, NC

Over the past year and a half, I’ve learned to be able to perform many roles.  As a Teaching Fellow you have to be able to wear many hats. Two of the hats that you’ll wear the most are educator and confidante.

Middle School is a tense time for all involved.

First, let me put on my educator hat.  When I put on this hat, students don’t think I am as cool and “real” as they would like me to be. They tend to say things to me like, “Ms. Kirklen, you’re boring” or “You just don’t understand what it’s like to be in middle school” as if I miraculously teleported from kindergarten to my 20s!  Though my students can be a bit dramatic, I understand why they cannot relate to me when I am wearing my educator’s hat.  I remember thinking my teachers were in this little box and they were only teachers.  In my mind they didn’t have other responsibilities, they didn’t have problems, and I didn’t see them as human.  When I saw my 10th grade Spanish teacher smoking a cigarette as she pulled out of the school parking lot I felt like someone had just told me Santa Clause was not real!  Now I am one of “them” and students have the same ideals about me.   A student once saw me out at the grocery store and looked at me as if he’d seen a ghost.  Of course he probably thought that I bought my groceries from the magic teacher store that we all go off to in abyss so we are not seen by our pupils.  This hat is great for teaching lessons, but not so much for relationship building with the students.

When you get to know students, they can really look up to you.

Next, there’s the hat or role of confidante.  This role was not in plain text when I read the Teaching Fellow job description, but it happens to be my favorite!  When I put on this hat students trust me and they begin to open up in a way that they don’t feel they are able to with morning teachers.  As adolescents, they go through so many emotions and ups and downs (more of the latter), so they need to know that someone is in their corner.  I must admit, sometimes I would rather they didn’t spill their middle school beans to me about who’s dating who, issues in their homes or questions about everything from A to Z.  Other times, I am grateful I can be there to listen and give sound advice.  Just when they think their teenage world is crumbling to pieces, I assure them that I have a PhD in adolescence and if I made it through, so will they.  I am also happy to debunk some ridiculous myth they heard from their friend in 3rd block.  A student asked the other day if it were true that students in college have to go to class from 8:00am to 3:00pm like in middle school.  I sparked her enthusiasm for higher education by explaining that in college students are able to make their own schedules which usually consist of 3-4 classes per day.  There’s a privilege to wearing this hat, you become human.

On both sides of the coin it can be challenging, but is always rewarding.  There is a time for each role to be played and it’s inevitable that you will have to play both.  I didn’t only sign up to teach, I signed up to care.

“You can pay people to teach, but you can’t pay them to care.”  ~Marva Collins

What other hats do teachers and Teaching Fellows wear?

5 Tips for New Teachers Balancing Family and Work

Connie Terry is a second year Teaching Fellow, wife and mother of two children.  When she’s not the Citizen Schools North Carolina State Data Captain, you can find her spending time with family as well as being active in her church and the community.  She has been with Citizen Schools since 2008. 

“Maintain a good balance.  A personal life adds dimensions to your professional life and vice versa.  It helps nurture creativity through a deeper understanding of yourself.” ~ Kathy Ireland

The author impacting children in North Carolina

A new teacher has a great opportunity to have an energy level of excitement and motivation to help children advance in academics.  Using the skills you have will help enhance your extended job description, but realize that the work can seem heavy at times.  Find time to balance work and personal family life.

 

To do this:

  1. Set up a work plan on a weekly/monthly schedule- This helps eliminate having too many projects clutter together at the same time, and helps to set deadlines.  Communicate with the Campus Director to go over campus and leadership priorities.  Use the outlook calendar to set important dates and as a reminder.  Don’t be too quick to say yes to every project; say, “I’ll get back with you.”  This allows you to check your calendar and priorities you already have in place.
  2. Share the work load and share best practices-   This will eliminate feeling too stressed.
  3. Take constructive feedback as a helpful tool to better your position as a teacher and never take it personal as criticism.  It is important to have a balanced lifestyle between work and your personal life.
  4. After work, try not to take any work home with you.  If you must, limit that to a short time and always record time worked.

    The author and her family

  5. Use valuable time to relax and rejuvenate by getting proper rest, eating healthy, andhaving some fun time with family and friends.  Your family is a great support, so keep the communications going, along with shared time.  Have a personal calendar to keep up with a balance lifestyle.

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” –Flora Whittemore

How to Live (Well) on a Teaching Fellow Stipend

Ann Lambert – Teaching Fellow Irving Middle School Roslindale, MA

If you’re the type whose quick-fix, feel-good strategy is a shopping spree, a nice dinner out—or any type of dinner out—indulging in sweets, treating yourself to Starbucks coffee, or [insert something delicious but expensive—AKA over 5 dollars—here], then living on an AmeriCorps stipend is rough.

Rewind:  Senior year of college.  An acceptance to the Citizen Schools Teaching Fellowship.  Decisions, decisions…

The author working with her students

The work was exactly what I wanted; but I was super nervous about how I was going to live in Boston on sub-$20,000 a year after taxes.  Granted, I didn’t have any concept of what it was like to budget and live on my own outside of a dorm setting.  Room and board were conveniently provided each Fall that I returned to school, and swiping my student ID card at the dining hall magically translated to food on my plate… But still… 22K??  Yikes.  I weighed my options and signed the contract with Citizen Schools—if I was doing what I loved, the money stuff would figure itself out.  I hoped…

A lovely variety of dinner options

Fast forward: August 2010…Week 1 of living on the stipend.  Grocery shopping.  I did not veer from the canned and dried food isle.  I stocked up on canned beans, canned vegetables, canned fruit, dried noodles etc.  30 dollars later, I was stocked for the next 2 weeks.  Not ideal, but I was proud of my purchases and savings nonetheless.  Did I mention I had no concept of budgeting?

Apartment: check.  Food: check.  Job: check.  Bring it on, real life.

Day one of the fellowship: Bright-eyed and optimistic with a plan for everything and visions of 7th graders confiding their deepest fears and greatest hopes with their new Citizen Schools teacher (me).  Hah. Day two, three, and four of the fellowship: Slightly disillusioned because my 7th graders were more into calling me “aggy”, asking me to stop “forcin it”, and using choice words combined with a roll of the eyes to tell me to go… well, you know.

As I arrived home each night and scoured my cabinets for the perfect treat that would make my days slightly less miserable, I found myself lost in a sea of canned beans—black, green, kidney, pinto—it was a chili lover’s dream; but definitely not a discouraged Teaching Fellow’s.

A happier, well-fed author with a balanced budget, teaching her students a thing or two about pillow fighting

Fast forward: September 2011.  A year and countless dinners out, nights on the town, trips around the country, and morning visits to Starbucks later… I am still living on the stipend and am a much happier Teaching Fellow.  Yes, living on the stipend is hard.  I won’t lie—you have to make some cutbacks and you won’t always be able to keep up with your accountant and investment banker friends who are living in the lap of luxury (I swear I’m not bitter).  But you certainly don’t have to live on canned food for 2 years.  It’s doable and it’s not that bad once you get in a groove and figure out where you want to splurge and where you need to save.  I figured out the secret to sustainable stipend-living.  The secret to taming 12 unruly seventh graders?  Now, that’s a whole other can of beans…I mean worms.

Teaching Fellows and Alums share stories and tips from your life on the stipend in the comment section!