whole class support

This week we started providing whole class support to our teachers and classes, which has been great.  I definitely understand the tactic of easing corps members into service, because it is a lot to grasp and handle, even when you're eased into it. That being said, I'm loving the interactions with the students (most of the time).

I've been walking around the classroom, trying to interact with students and help them with classwork.  It's so funny to watch them.  It's definitely not cool to want to talk to a teacher and since City Year CMs are teachers to them, they don't want to be seen talking to us.  It's tricky for them, though, because we're young and only a little bit older than them, so they want to talk to us, but it's this weird lingo. One time, I caught one of them staring at me and when we made eye contact, we both said "Hi" and the girl quickly looked away. I had to laugh.

It's so different from NHCS, though.  There is no real behavior management system, so we get lots of attitude and talking back when there's nothing we can really do.  If someone yells out or gets up out of their seat, the only thing you can do is ask them to sit down or raise their hand.  No demerits, no sign ins and no detention.  It's so different.

Overall, it's been a lot better.  I miss Boston and NHCS a ton, but this week was a lot better because I feel like I really got a chance to interact and connect a little with some students. There's a group of girls in one of my most difficult classes that have a lot of attitude and push back. If they were at NHCS, they probably would have gotten a few sign ins and demerits, but once they got working, they calmed down and really weren't that bad.

In other news, Quinci and I assembled my bedside table last night with the help of some athletic tape.  It made it through the night without collapsing, which we were genuinely concerned about, so I consider it a success.  The next obstacle to overcome is the three shelf bookshelf.  Once that is up, hopefully my room will be complete.  Let's hope!

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. - Nelson Mandela