Busy Month

Whew - it's been about a month since my last post, so first things first, I apologize for taking so long to get back to the blog world. Something about the real world being pretty demanding too...

Anyway, it's been a crazy month at school, home, around town... pretty much everywhere. We've had snow days, stressful days, lazy days, and the inevitable "oh my god, I'm going to quit" days. We're in the longest stretch of the year now - just one day off in March, as opposed to the ten we had off in January and February. Not only are we putting our noses to the grind, but we're at a point in the year when apathy, lack of energy, and monotony have settled in and make every day a greater challenge than the last. Not surprising though.

Luckily, I have reached a point in my teaching when it has become almost routine and I can relax a little as far as instruction goes, which means I have a bit more time for some new initiatives, for example:

• I started teaching a photography elective this semester with 6 of the best 10th graders, which has been a lot of fun so far, but just adds one more thing I have to be prepared for each day. Thankfully they're all smart enough to pretty much teach themselves and the class runs on its own.
• We've been working very closely with Student Government recently getting ready for some events and trying to start up some student organizations. The biggest problem we've faced so far is that there's been serious talk that the Southwestern Complex will be shut down next year, so we've been fighting to have our voices heard. Closing our building will have serious implications on how our school operates next year.
• Yet again, Teach For America calls. I've recently gotten more involved in the organization itself, taking part in a community networking program in which Baltimore's rich and famous adopt a teacher and follow their experience in the classroom for two years. My sponsor, Juliet Eurich, is a big-time lawyer in the city and a huge education advocate, so I'm really excited to be working with her. Also, I continued with recruitment and was excited to help get some more outstanding Demon Deacons to join the movement. Overall, applications from Wake Forest were up 114% this year, which is great news for us.
• Lastly, I have taken the first step toward actually becoming an employee with Teach For America - something that has become a more and more appealing option for life after my two years in the classroom. I applied to work at the training institute this summer in Philly, and will hopefully find out next week if I'm going to spend a month and a half there or not. Even more recent though was a job I was offered this past week to put together Baltimore Induction - a week-long orientation party for our new '06 corps members - so I'm really excited about that opportunity. Should be a good time.

Well, that pretty much sums it up except for one last HUGE thing. I'm buying a house! I started shopping around this past week and have been meeting with realtors and lenders to get the ball rolling. After just 10 minutes visiting some places, I think I found one that I love, so hopefully things will work out and I'll be a new homeowner soon :-) I can't believe I'm so old...

So that's my life. I promise I'll update more regularly from now on, but I'd like to hear from you too... especially those of you who I haven't talked to in a long while. Don't be a stranger - Profe Clark is always around to procrastinate and chat it up a bit.