O-week is O-ver

Okay, so I probably did not need the extra dash in over, but it just felt right :)But yes, it is true: Orientation is over and the students come tomorrow!!!! As of 7:30 am, I will leave behind Courtney the college kid and become Ms. Angers, BTH teacher extraordinaire.

This past week and a half has kept me so busy. It is true that you really do eat, sleep, and breathe Breakthrough. I haven't been able to write because of how busy I have been, but my lesson plans must come first. However, now as I am starting to get the hang of things, I will try and write a bit more. No promises :)

So, I don't have long, but here are a few salient points that I want to share about Breakthrough Houston. Maybe these aren't the most important, but they are the ones that are sticking out in my mind at the moment.

1-I will never again complain about making a lesson plan for one of my education classes. It is infinitely harder to make a 6 week unit plan (or several unit plans) and a week's worth of lessons on a subject you know virtually nothing about in just a few days.

2-If I had had science teachers like those in my department in high school, maybe I would have stuck in the field. Probably not, but I would have at least enjoyed myself more.

3-It is amazing being around people who are passionate and 100% dedicated to education every single day. Even on my worst days I am inspired by the energy around me. And, it is nice to know that despite our multitude of differences (ages, races, colleges, backgrounds, opinions, etc.), we have bonded like family.

4-I am continually impressed by these people, especially the teachers who are still in high school. I don't think I would have been able to handle this much work or responsibility in an effective way four years ago. I would have wanted to, but I wouldn't have been ready.

5-To borrow a phrase from our affirmation, We ARE Breakthrough. Tomorrow morning we will begin our six week long adventure in which we pour ourselves into our education and our students' education. We will do crazy cheers, stop in our tracks at a spirit check, learn massive amounts of content area knowledge, apply pedagogy some have only just learned about (wait time, multiple intelligences, Dewey anyone??)take risks, and promote breakthroughs. We are Breakthrough, and I can't wait to show it to these students.