About this Blog
Anonymously chronicling the variety basket that is this year.
A scrambled and somewhat incomplete recap of observations and thoughts coming from a first-year CM/CPS teacher on the first (last?) day of the CTU strike in Chicago.
My school is very pro-Union. During my first union meeting this summer, before a strike date had even been set, teachers were talking angrily in the meetings and seemed ready to strike already. After the meeting, I heard some other opinions with more mixed feelings, but I never heard any feelings completely against the strike.
Once, during a union meeting in late August, this happened: Our union representative was telling us about CPS’s early contingency plan, which consisted of keeping schools open, having the kids come in, and sending in scabs to essentially babysit the students while we picketed outside. Describing the babysitters, he said, “CPS is going to send in scabs and TFA and subs to run the classrooms…” Two or three teachers in…
It’s 10:17 p.m. CST on August 1st, and I sit here on my couch, watching the Olympics and looking at my Twitter feed aflutter with tweets about Michael Phelps, gymnastics, and … the TFA 2013 application going live. ( Oh, Twitter, that’s why I love thee. You’re always there to remind me of those special…
read more »How does anyone have any free time at Institute? (I am fully aware of my automatic contradiction of this statement by blogging right now.) I drank TFA’s Kool-Aid during the first week of Institute, but I feel like I’m going to need a few more strong cups (preferably with some 5 Hour Energy) before next…
read more »I need to give a quick shout of thanks to Garrison Keillor. Yesterday was interview day, and while it didn’t produce the results I wanted, it at least gave me a comforting experience with one of the interviewers. “So,” he said, looking at my resume. “Did Garrison Keillor drive you down here,” (I laughed) “and are…
read more »Ever since I stumbled upon Teach For Us, I’ve dreamed about writing my own blog on the site. One day, I thought… Well, that day has come, and it’s been a long one. After spending the night in a Ramada on Lake Shore Drive, Mom and I pulled up to the Illinois Institute of Technology…
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