desert rat

I’m writing this from a plane about to depart from Cleveland for Chicago.  From there, I will trade the Midwest for the Southwest, the lush canopy of deciduous trees that shaded my childhood and college years for the spiny cacti that splash color across the ruddy desertscape, the region of the Great Lakes for the state of the Grand Canyon.  I guess I shouldn’t make a fuss about leaving Ohio, since I haven’t really lived there for the past four years.  Having the chance to challenge myself so comprehensively at Carolina me more comfortable and better equipped for starting over so far from my family and friends in Ohio and my beloved friends in Chapel Hill.  I feel far more relaxed about my move southwest than I did about my move south.  I think that largely reflects how seamlessly details of my life in Phoenix with TFA were stitched together the past two weeks.  

After completing the SEI course (Structured English Immersion, as dictated by AZ law) online, I felt better prepared to face my own classroom.  Though I can’t say I fully agree with the approach to teaching ELLs (English Language Learners), some of the methodologies translate well to Special Education instruction.  Anyway, while I was working to finish the online class, TFA asked me to apply to the Glendale School District located in the city of Glendale just northwest of Phoenix.  I didn’t hear back with any immediacy about a phone interview, and about a week after I submitted my application TFA contacted me letting me know that the district hired me and I would be interviewing with specific schools.  Perhaps foolishly, I assumed the interviews would happen in person. 

Well.  Yesterday morning, as I was writing a to-do list of last minute things to coordinate, I received a call from the Vice Principal of Melvin E. Sine Elementary School.  She asked when I would be in Phoenix and able to interview.  When I told her I was arriving the following morning (June 8), she asked if I was available for a phone interview in two hours.  Of course I said yes, though I’m not sure how I managed to get the words out.  I was so surprised by the call and nervous about the immanency of the interview that I couldn’t remember what elementary school in the Glendale District she represented.  I ended up resorting to googling her phone number.  It was definitely not one of my more composed moments. 

Anyway, potentially long story short, I rapidly prepared for the phone interview, my first phone interview ever.  My nerves were running high (still), and I really struggled with the format of the interview.  When I hung up the phone, I was convinced I had completely blown it.  It’s been a while since I had such an overwhelming sense of disappointment with myself.  I was certain I had completely fumbled my way through the interview, that my responses had be ramblingly incoherent rather than succinctly powerful.  That instead of articulating my desire to become a great teacher, my passion for students with exceptionalities, and my genuine excitement to have my own classroom, I had just sounded inexperienced, ignorant and unprofessional.  

Well, I guess whatever barometer I was using to gauge my performance under pressure was completely miscalibrated.   I aimlessly walked around my house, trying to forget the ever-tightening knot in my stomach by attempting productivity.  An hour after the interview, I received a call from the principal informing me I had a placement in her school.  Once again, I had difficulty focusing on the information she was telling me, but this time because I felt relief and excitement rather than surprise and anxiety.  I learned that I will be teaching K-3 Special  Education in a resource room!

So!  here I am.  On this plane.  A little sad to be leaving familiar Ohio and beloved North Carolina for the hotbed (both in terms of politics and temperature) that is Arizona, but also feeling really…good.  A boring adjective, yes, but it encompasses the desire to start anew, the anticipation to once again test my self-reliance, and the pride to have earned a job that puts a smile on my face as I type.  So much awaits me.  

Like 115 degree weather.  

So.  This accounts for my first post.  Considering the bouts of tears that punctuated the past seven hours, I feel this post is quite warranted.  

Over the past week, I learned that Arizona changed its legislation regarding the Teaching Intern Certification process that allows me to teach as a Teach for America corps member.  Instead of receiving training to teach English to non-English speaking students while I go through institute, I instead need to take an online course during the month of May to train me to teach exclusively in English.  This training, as the legislation stipulates, must be completed before I can initiate any sort of program that will result in my ability to teach. 

My immediate reaction, of course, was that this legislation was entirely the result of the xenophobic immigration legislation passed in the past two weeks.  I emailed various TFA and Arizona State University contacts to further investigate this hunch, and all have denied any connection between the immigration legislation and changes in the education expectations.  Yet the new immigration legislation will have debilitating impacts on the demographic I will be teaching.  How many of my students will have their parents deported?

I do not want to be implicated in this blatant xenophobia and intolerance.  I applied to TFA because I felt that I could be an effective teacher.  I thought that I could help students who might be neglected by current education standards and practices. I still adhere to these ideals, and must look at the changes in Arizona adding urgency to my desire to effectively teach.  To provide my students with an oasis of consistency in an otherwise frightening, rapidly changing city.  I will go teach, because my classroom will always be my locus of control.  

Loading… Hide notes

© Tumblr, Inc. Help About Themes Meetups What’s New API Content Policy