Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Allow me to re-introduce myself...

I am a 25 year old African American male, and I have made the decision to continue my journey in life as a New York City Teaching Fellow. I got a job working at a Junior High school working within the realm of Special Education.

I have decided to write this blog because I am looking to be a part of a community where I can share some of the beauties, joys, and pains of teaching and being part of NYC Teaching Fellows. I have just completed the 7 week pre-service training, which in essence was a crash course to becoming a teacher. Teaching Fellows are required to successfully complete a combination of two graduate classes at our assigned university, as well as participating in a course taught by a "veteran" teaching fellow, as well as student teaching in the morning.

I am looking forward to reflecting on and in my journey as a new teacher in New York City. Stay tuned...

10 comments:

HappyChyck said...

Good luck on your exciting adventure!

Miss A said...

I am definitely looking forward to hearing more about your year!

NYC Teaching Fellow said...

no doubt! thanks

rabi said...

hi! I can't believe they're up to cohort 14 already. I'm a cohort 6 fellow (also in brooklyn). hope you're enjoying your few weeks of vacation!

Anonymous said...

Welcome and good luck!

Ms. M said...

Good luck. It's going to be an interesting year, I'm sure.

Hugh O'Donnell said...

Staying tuned. Thanks again for the reinforcement. ;-)

Anonymous said...

what district you in? i went back home to brooklyn in 2000. got placed through communities in school. was 24 yrs old. taught 5th grade in brownsville. can't remember the school. the actor omar epps' --love and basketball, juice, house-- mom was the principal. unfortunately, i became another one of those first year stats. didn't make it to thanksgiving. on weekends i'd be in my apt in the fetal position for hrs. couldn't do it. the reality tore at me. the kids needed more than what i could ever give from 8:30-3:00 PM. found another job at a private anglican school with mostly first and second generation caribbean kids. total different vibe. my first day there was sept. 11, 2001. remember going up to the roof and watching the towers fall. thankfully, my year there wasn't as disastrous. still want to teach. teachers have been too important in my development as a human being not to honor them with my life. don't know if i want to be in a classroom though. i have to be around young people who find value in what is being offered. they have to want to be there for some reason. i wanted to be in school for many reasons. getting away from my house, safety and love being the more prominent. i applaud what you are doing. keep sharing your thoughts this first year.

by the way, i grew up in east ny off utica avenue. went to IS 210 middle school near st. johns and rochester and then brooklyn tech. if your students ever need to hear how to get from there to a full scholarship, college athletics, grad school, married and raising a four year old, i can be a pen/email pal.

i actually began writing about my experiences growing up and learning life in brooklyn. you will not have time to read it. i know what the next 10 months will be like for you. but maybe your students can find some of themselves and their lives in the pages. i've been sitting on the manuscript for years now. time for it to do some good for the people it's meant to help. you can keep it in the classroom and have them read it whenever they want.

let me know. bygpowis.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I am a 27 year old african american woman who will be finally graduating from college with a degree in biology. I have a couple of questions to ask you, first how did you go about getting into the fellowship? I currently work at one of the poorest YMCA's in the city of Houston that caters to minority children whom a lot of them are in foster care and have been through things that as adults we could not even imagine, this is when I decided I wanted to go into education. How was your gpa?Because mines is not the greatest it is like a 2.7. Can you please give me some insight?

AllanF said...

Congrats, i have my interview this Saturday!