Roma.

 Two days ago (Saturday) I was wandering around St. Peter’s Basilica and I was thinking about ...how I travel.

So the plan was for me to get Daniel on his flight, then meet up with Uncle George, and we would head to meet my dad. Well, I had to leave baggage claim before I had my bags to help Daniel try to make his flight and as we walked through I told him to look for UG, we both did, and neither of us saw him...so I helped Daniel get to where he needed to be. Then at that point I needed to find my luggage, so I headed to Delta because we missed our flight from ATL I didn’t know if the luggage had made it. So I waited outside for the shuttle to T5 and met two old men who had been in Rome for two days and had so many problems they were leaving. They were so nice to me and funny; they were from Oregon and one had been in the Korean War and had been stationed in Alabama when he was in the Army.

We finally got the shuttle and walked into the T5 terminal and it was completely empty. No lie. There was absolutely no one there. So I said goodbye to them and walked back...it was a hike. So at this point, I walked to the arrivals section and walked around for about 20 minutes and saw a sign for left baggage and got pretty excited because that’s what I needed...when I got there, I realized the translation error, it was checked baggage, like a place to store your baggage. At this point I’ve been looking for my luggage and UG for about 2 hours and I’m tired and discouraged. Communication has been extremely difficult, I've been up forever and the airport was confusing...I just wanted to find someone I know, so I headed to St. Peters to meet my dad.

Well, I didn’t know how to get there. I went to the train station and saw a sign that said TOURTIST and knew that they would speak English (I had been having problems with the language barrier up to this point). They did and said that it would be 15 euro to take the train to St. Peter’s plus I’d have to take the metro or I could take their shuttle for 30 euro. At this point I am not feeling adventurous at all, so I paid an arm and leg and took the shuttle. I was hanging on the hope of seeing my dad and having him help me figure everything out, so when I arrived at St. Peters and walked around the first time and didn’t see him I was a little discouraged. However, we were supposed to meet on the hour and it was a quarter after. I kept on walking around just in case (and it was cold when I sat down). I did that for another hour and then decided I need to get back to the airport.

At this point, I am in the Vatican City by myself, I don’t speak Italian, I don’t know anyone in Rome, I don’t know how to get in touch with my family, so the plan is...figure out how to get back to the airport and buy a ticket to Cantania which I know is close to my home and figure out how to get home from there. So I walk down one street and remember that I was given $50 for Christmas from the Silers (my only cash) and figure that if I’m going to get to the airport I’ll need some euro, so I found a place to exchange it. Well, the place that I exchanged it I met Luca, who ended up saving me. I asked him to tell me how to get the airport and he wrote down a bunch of street names and told me where to go. He was nice and helpful, but I didn’t understand exactly what he said, so I ended up getting lost. It took me awhile to get lost, and after that I asked someone else for directions and he gave me directions to the St. Peter’s train station. I made it there and someone came up to me and asked me a question in Italian (something that happened more than once) and I said “I don’t speak Italian, sorry..” and saw that there was no one else besides these people who had questions and everything was in Italian and I was going off of what this guy said, so if I missed my stop I would be even worse off because I would really have no clue where I was, so I decided to go back and see if the place that exchanged money would take my debit card and then get a taxi to the airport.

I walked back in and told Luca that I got lost and told him my new plan and he said that a taxi would be very, very expensive and said he could close his shop for 2 minutes to point me in the right direction. So, he walked me to the street the metro was on and explained how to get to Termini Station and when I looked confused he asked if I could wait 2 hours and then he would take me. At that point I had nothing to do but get lost so I said yes; I had previously asked if he knew of a place to get on the internet and he said that this street would probably have a place to do that. So I set off to find a place to get internet and he went back to work. At this point, I am hopeful that I will get home, but hungry. So I head to a “Bar” which I had discovered are sandwich shops and got a sandwich, I am not sure what it was, but it was good. I asked about the internet and was introduced to Massimo, he spoke very good English (!!!) he was home on Christmas break from some college in NYC. So we talked about NYC for a little while then his dad gave me directions to an internet café.

AND I MADE IT. It was 1.5 euro for an hour, so I got on skype and was able to talk to my mom!!! She had been so worried because they hadn’t been able to get in touch with me or Daniel; Uncle George bought a refundable ticket to go look for us inside security, they had called Delta, talked to the police, you name it, they had done it (EXCEPT STICK TO THE PLAN!). So, my mom gave me dad’s phone number and we came up with a new meeting place. Then we just talked for a little while; there is no way to describe how I felt after getting in touch with my mom. I was never scared for my safety (my dad was) or scared that I would be able to get home, but I was tired, alone, and discouraged. I almost cried on three separate occasions, but didn’t because I didn’t want to be an easy target :P So, I went back to St. Peter’s and enjoyed it because I was no longer looking for anyone. The Christmas tree is HUGE. It was incredible. There really are no words to do it justice, I am pretty sure it is bigger than the tree in Rockefeller Center; although the one there is decorated prettier. Then I walk back to meet Luca. I told him that I was able to get in touch with my parents and asked him to take me to Termini Station. He was so nice, he did and let me use his phone to call my dad...so long day over, I found my dad and Uncle George! They invited Luca to dinner, but he declined so we dropped our stuff at the hotel and I decided to go to sleep. And that, is how I travel.

...I would be happy never to travel that way again though. What I have learned from this situation that I already should have known: have some sort of contact information; if at all possible a cell phone; STICK TO THE PLAN (I didn’t learn that, my dad and UG did)...things that were reinforced: you can control your attitude, even if you can’t control the situation (at one point I was counting my blessings and singing Christmas songs); I am capable; asking for help is a good idea.

My last post for Mustard Seed.

In thinking about how my time here at Mustard Seed is coming to a close I am really sad. I have come to love spending my days here in the Resource Room, getting to know Wendy and Jodi and all of the regular students. I have enjoyed the relaxed, spontaneous community; and have grown to love lunch time in the faculty lounge where stories of the present and past are shared, along with advice and humor paired with mutual admiration and love. What a privilege and a blessing it has been for me to be a part of this place for such a short period of time. 

Walking away I have a lot to think about and process through. I have a lot of Orton Gillingham material to read (graciously provided for me by Jodi). I will be thinking about (and missing) the Mustard Seed style of worship. I will be more conscious about how to be purposeful in all my actions because at Mustard Seed I see purpose in everything and have been impressed by how that affects people. I will be thinking about what it means to work in an environment of diverse Christian backgrounds and will be missing lunch talks about the beauty and the mystery of our God. I will miss the bright atmosphere, the walls covered in art, the beautiful song dancing through the halls during a music lesson. I will miss discussing books with students. 

Do I want to teach? I am still not sure. However, I am sure that whatever I do I would be lucky to work in such a precious, loving place as Mustard Seed. 

Alegbra.

I took Algebra twice and I still have a hard time spelling it. I always switch around the "g" and the "e." The first time I took it was in Ft. Leavenworth, KS with Mrs. Berlin. I did not like that class at all. I sat in class for 45 minutes each day right before lunch and had the most difficult time understanding the way she taught math. Then I would go home and spend at least an hour each night with my dad teaching me, there were many nights that were a struggle; however, those struggles gave me a solid foundation in math and I am thankful for that. I ended up with a B in that class, so I had to retake it in 9th grade when we moved to FL; my teacher was Mr. Hall and that class was really easy--because my dad had provided me with a solid foundation. 

My dad made me show ALL my work, even if I know 2 +2 = 4, I HAD to show it...which was at times frustrating, but really reinforces what you have learned and shows you where you have made your mistakes. Sitting in Mr. Lawrence's 8th grade Algebra class yesterday afternoon made me think about all these things dealing with math-particularly Algebra. It is vital to have a solid foundation in this subject, because all other math is built upon it. I saw a teacher who loves his students yesterday; who makes his students figure out where they made their mistake; who encourages; who is extremely knowledgeable; and who is great at explaining in a very patient manner. 

Mr. Lawrence is a beautiful example of what it means to be doing what God has called you to do. He spent 19 years banking and decided that he really wanted to teach math at Mustard Seed. He loves his job and it is obvious; but what he loves more than his "job" (teaching math) is his students. 

Prince Caspian

Yesterday was the first time (I think) that I've ever been on a field trip as a chaperon instead of a student. We took all the 4-8 graders in the school (the whole upper school) to see Prince Caspian. For the past week they have been reading the book leading up to this monumental field trip. It actually went very smoothly with no major mishaps.

 What did I learn? Well, I learned that it doesn't matter how much help you have, if you haven't planned well you will not be able to effectively use the help available. I learned that most kids prefer movies to books; I could be wrong, but I really think that the whole thought process behind which better (books or movies) has changed since I was in fourth grade (although I know it wasn't that long ago!). I don't think there is a movie that I enjoy over a book---and even though as a child I lived in a media saturated world, I still had (and have) a great appreciation and enjoyment of the written word. I know that Mustard Seed does an excellent job at making sure that its students are readers and enjoy reading (they have to read one book a week outside of what they are reading in class) however, I think that there is still a greater appreciation for media than your own imagination. Of course this is a broad generalization, but something that I noticed yesterday. I guess that leads me to ask the question, how does/should that affect your teaching style? Should you use more media because it is what they (students) want or should they (students) be forced to read/learn more traditionally without much media. I would imagine the answer is somewhere in the middle, a balance. This makes me wonder how much more media drenched society will be in the next ten years....

The Spring Concert for the Lower School was last night. It went fabulously. I think that heaven will be full of little children singing, because I'm not sure that there isn't anything more precious. 

Testing.

This week both Jodi (Mrs. Miller) and Wendy (Mrs. Fernandez) are not teaching regular classes because they are doing assessments. This morning two assessment tests were given and afterwards we spent a good while sitting and talking about what we learned from the tests and they discussed why they enjoy giving the assessments. 

Two kindergardeners were tested at separate times. The first one tested was an ELL (English Language Learner) student who clearly had more difficulty taking the test than the second student who really did exceptionally well; however, something that really struck me was that they were both able to go through the same amount of the test, they both stopped at the same time. In my opinion that really points to excellent teaching. Although the first student did not have each concept completely grasped, he did have a good overall understanding of each concept. With a little help from the Resource Room he will be excelling in the same way as his peer. 

One of the main reasons that Wendy and Jodi enjoy assessment week so much is that they are able to have a better grasp on what students understand, what their strengths/weaknesses are, and how they process information. Their excitement has definitely rubbed off on me, I am excited to understand the students that I have been working with over the past two weeks better...unfortunately I will not be able to put any of that information into practice since Thursday is my last day, but I will have a better understanding of the process! 

Tomorrow is the first performance of the Spring Concert! 

The LIVING Wax Museum

When people travel to New York City it is not uncommon for them to go to Madame Tousso's Wax Museum; however, do those wax images come alive?! Well, Mustard Seed just happens to have a LIVING Wax Museum on Notable Americans once a year and it just happens to be this week! 

All the second graders work on this project for weeks and weeks and weeks. They choose one notable American to research and become. Through the process they not only learn about their own notable American, but everyone else's as well. They make their own costumes, create puppets, record a speech, and write a book by the end of the project. The living wax museum takes place in the community room. There are places all around the room with their "name" which they stand lifeless in front of or behind until their voice comes on (its a recorded speech), at that time they COME TO LIFE! It is an incredible project that gives a voice to all the students and is an amazing experience to be a part of. The students pick incredible people that mean something to them for some particular reason-it says a lot about each individual student and what is important to them. I almost cried after I watched it this morning for the first time because two students in particular were amazing (I work with them in the Resource Room) and I was so proud of them. 

TGIF. 

Patience

Yesterday I was unable to get on a computer to write my journal...so this is for yesterday. 

The upper school (4-8) is going to see the movie Prince Caspian next Tuesday, so their lives at the moment are consumed by reading the actual book written by C.S. Lewis. Yesterday the 6th grade even had a "RAD" day (read all day); so, at the end of the day I had a reading group with 2 students reading Prince Caspian out loud. I love reading. Love, love, love reading; so having a reading group you would think would be the perfect job for me. Well, not so much. I am a pretty fast reader, especially when I am enjoying what I am reading. I enjoy all of the Narnia books, so I would have loved just to fly through the book and enjoy it myself. Instead, I was forced to practice patience as one child read slowly and stumbled over every few words. It was good for me; I had to focus on someone other than myself, make sure that they were getting the meaning, that it was able to affect them as it had me so many years before when I read it for the first time. Throw in a girl with an attitude like a roller coaster and you have my afternoon. I think one of the reasons why teaching is such a difficult profession (when done correctly) is that it forces you to look at your weakness and then model the opposite. When everything in me screams to be selfish, I must model patience. Therefore, one might argue I am actually learning the most. 

Paperwork. It's part of life.

Today I have been doing a lot of paperwork. I am not really fond of paperwork and I definitely see it as a downside to the Resource Room. Mrs. Miller has said that at larger schools their counselors take care of paperwork for the teachers, so that the teachers can focus on the children. However, I highly doubt that those "other" schools have as fabulous students as I do. I really am loving what I am doing. Yesterday one of the teachers told me that her students really enjoy being in the Resource Room because of me! I was so tickled when she told me that :) What made it even better is that those feelings are definitely mutual, those are the students that I have spent the most time with building a relationship and it is just lovely to know that they are enjoying our time as much as I am! 

On a different note I am really enjoying the hostel life (minus the smell, the mice, and the stolen food). I love coming back from a long day at school and hanging out/playing pool with my new friends from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and England! 

Of MICE and students...

Last night I was unable to get to sleep for awhile due to the mouse that has come to call our room home. Instead of eating our food (he can't anymore b/c it has been removed from the room) he is now eating the wall--which of course makes more noise. Needless to say, last night was not a very restful night, so I woke up this morning tired and really not wanting to spend my day at school. (I didn't want to spend it anywhere other than my bed).

Today has been one of those days that God gives His children to encourage them. This morning was filled with delightful conversations with Mrs. Miller about particular students needs and how she is flexible and makes mistakes at times and then changes lessons when she figures out what needs to happen. It was spent playing math games with 2nd and 3rd graders that emphasized "greater than," and "less than," concept. I was able to play with two different groups of students, one group struggled with the concept the other caught on very quickly. It was a beautiful example of learning style diversity--everyone learns in a different way. Then at lunch I had a long passionate conversation with a parent who majored in Economics at MIT about micro-finance, community development, and biblical framework; those are subjects that I love discussing, especially when people share my passion and views! And the cherry on top of my day was proof-reading a students essay on "People Who Changed the World," he chose his mother. She seems to be an incredible woman who has changed the world, her moto is be light in dark places, and through her son she reminded me why I was interested in teaching to begin with. I am interested in teaching to bring light into dark places, because I believe that all truth is God's truth and truth is light piercing darkness. I was encouraged and uplifted. :) 

My STRONG dislike for cats...and my first teaching experience by MYSELF!

Dr. Kaufmann's son and his family were kind enough to open up his home to our Covenant group for dinner yesterday evening. Oh my goodness, was that dinner delicious! The rice salad was something I've never had before--it was rice, chopped up mango, green beans, and grapefruit, with a tiny bit of coconut seasoning...mmmm. Well, after dinner we went inside the house and listened to Ben Kaufmann give a presentation on NYC's architecture (a prelude to the walking tour we will go on this afternoon). I have always known that I was slightly allegoric to cats, I would sneeze and my eyes might water if I spent too much time around them; well, my eyes began itching shortly into the presentation and then my left eye began swelling up almost to the point of closing! I'm sure I looked hilarious, but I was not feeling well at all. Mrs. Kaufmann gave me some benadryl and right when I got back to the hostel I fell asleep. This morning I woke up and my eye was still red and puffy, but it feels a lot better and I think the swelling is completely gone. 

On to what this blog is really about...my experience at Mustard Seed. This morning I worked with two students (all by myself :-P). The first student was a girl in third grade, we read a story together and then went over the main ideas of the story and character qualities of the main characters. I definitely see the importance allowing students extra time and attention to practice such important skills, such as reading comprehension. This girl is very bright but benefits from the Resource Room immensely; this is such a huge asset I see Mustard Seed having--the opportunity to give students the one on one time they need to develop because of its small size. The next half hour was spent with a little boy in first grade playing a math game. We focused on counting from where you left off. So, if you have 30 pennies and add 2 you don't need to start from 1 and count all the way to 32 because you know that you already 30, so you can just count 31, 32. I see a great importance for lessons such as this because if you don't have a strong foundation in early math, it will never get easier and you will never be able to enjoy math. He'll be back on Wednesday and we'll play the same game again...he beat today, but maybe not on Wednesday! 

The Nest

Whew. Well, technology is my best friend and worst enemy...today it was my worst enemy-so frustrating! 

This morning I spent the day at "The Nest," which is the preschool of the Mustard Seed. I was in the Rivers class, which is 12 four year old, Mrs. Norman, and Ms. Santos (and me, today). I want to go back to pre-K and be in the Rivers class because it is basically the funnest class ever. This morning we celebrated Pentecost which is the birthday of the church, so we had cupcakes for snack! Happy Birthday Church! Thank you Lord for sending the Holy Spirit! We also sang songs, read books, did drama, made cards for our moms for Mother's Day, wrapped presents for our mom, played with Legos, talked about the death of Mister (class fish), and laughed. What I was most impressed with was the structure that enabled the children to explore, imagine, learn, and create. Mrs. Norman had such a handle on her class that everyone was able to enjoy themselves, learn, and not disrupt everyone. I really see the Nest as being a huge tool for the Mustard Seed; if you have students coming into Kindergarden who are already familiar with all the customs, traditions, and rules of the community then it will be an easier transition for everyone who does not because they will have examples to look to in their own class. 

Four year olds are precious. Everyone should be at least one day with them sometime. 

Mi manana en clase de espanol

Here is the post from yesterday: 

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Mi manana en clase de espanol

So I spent this morning in Spanish class. I really enjoyed it; most of the classes were learning about the Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean dictator who was responsible for at least 3,000 deaths and over 29,000 people being tortured. We listened to the song that brought international attention to this problem by Sting called "They Dance Alone (Gueca solo)" and attempted to watch a video on YouTube (didn't work as planned). At the end of one of the class periods the students were asked to think about "what a Christian response to this type of situation?" 

That question made me think on two issues. First, the obvious, "what is the Christian response to such issues?" And it made me think about an issue I discussed in my previous post on Mustard Seed and religion. I am a strong advocate for knowing what is going on in the world around us; how are we, as Christians, supposed to seek justice for those for whom justice is being perverted, if we are unaware where justice is being perverted? So, I was really excited to see that issues outside another countries cultures, economies, and such are being explored AND what is even more exciting in my eyes is that students at such a young age are asked to look at these issues critically and think about what their responses as Christians should be. This particular exercise made me more excited to see how MS deals with religious content because I really felt as though as if students were not being taught doctrine, but in having to think about what their response should be they were able to form their own beliefs in a safe place with guidance. 

I decided today that the Resource Room will probably be my favorite place in the Mustard Seed School, not necessarily because the teachers in here are fabulous and cooler than all the other teachers (although they are fabulous), but because class room management is not an issue in here like it is in other places. Today in Spanish there were a few classes that really struggled because of students not doing signals and not listening as they should--it really only takes one student to mess up a whole class; however, in here (the RR) usually you only deal with students one-on-one or at the most two-on-one, so classroom management is not really an issue. 

Tomorrow it's off to the Nest.

Today I just spent a good bit of time trying to figure out how to get on my old blog. (Old as in two days new). Well, I couldn't. So then I spent a good bit of time trying to figure out how to get this. One new email account later: viola! So...here are my old posts: 

Wednesday, May 7th 

Today is my second day at the Mustard Seed School in Hoboken, NJ and I am excited to see what it holds for me. I am working/observing the Resource Room, which is a place where children can come if they need a quiet place to get away to do their work, where teachers can send students for a "time-out," but the main purpose is for students who need help in specific academic areas or struggle with learning disabilities. It is an incredible resource at an amazing school. 
Favorites of the School thus far: 
1. Casual dress...I am wearing jeans right now and loving it. 
2. Embracing the arts...art is everywhere around me and it just makes me happier (and the students as well)
3. Optimism...everything is done in a genuinely positive way.
4. How conflict is handled: it is not pushed aside, students are not disciplined without purpose. 
That is something that I have found to be a theme throughout this school: purpose. Everything done is purposeful. There is a reason for everything, and when students ask it is explained. That is something I have found quite innovative; I was talking to Mrs. Miller this morning about a particular student who did not find imaginative spelling to work for him because when told to spell a word how it sounded he replied by asking how he was supposed to spell a word like it sounded if he had not been taught what the correct sound for letters were (this was a kindergardener!) and so he was taught another way. A way that made sense to him. 

Yesterday during seminar the principal of Mustard Seed came and spoke to our group. At the end of her talk was a Q&A period. One question that was asked was about religious teaching here. Mustard Seed is a non-denominational school and is an open school, which means you don't have to be a Christian to attend here-so the religious make-up is quite diverse. It is interesting to explore (in my mind) the implications for that because I have always thought of Christian education as Covenantal education (for Christians-only). Worship is done everyday, students are required to lead in worship at certain times and the gospel itself is seen very overtly all over the school. However, because of the type of school there are no doctrine classes and stories are much more prevalent than "truths," that's not to say that the stories are not presented as truths, but they are told as stories. It will be interesting to get a greater taste of this type of education and the implications of this over the next few weeks.