So, I took this day off, before realizing that I don't really have anything to do when I am not at work! Luckily, my parents are in the area and I am going to meet up with my mom and go check out some houses in the Detroit area.
To go off on a slight tangent for one second that has nothing to do with my year of service... Rory, please focus intently on this next part. If you choose to stay for a third year, I will personally come down there and beat you senseless! This is going to get slightly selfish, but what the F man. I get that you are doing an awesome thing down there and that you are absolutely loving it (which I am stoked to hear :D ), but you left at 24 and you are going to come back and I will be 24... That's FUCKED. I don't get these years back with you, and I don't want to keep losing them! I guess what it comes down to is that I miss you dude. Sometimes, I try to remember some of the last things that you and I talked about before you got on the plane, and all that comes to mind is me forcing you to do the "Fin. Noggin'. Dude." thing, despite you fighting me to do so. I would like to formally thank you for that, it is one of my favorite memories to access when I am thinking of you. Off my soap box, I am glad to hear that you are loving your service, and that this experience is truly opening your eyes to different ways of life.
NOW, to come back to what this blog was originally intended for...
After my classroom switch, I have spent the last month or so of my service working with a substitute that had taken the approach, "I am just a babysitter." Which as a CM in her room, was slightly frustrating, because my students were not doing any work, or the work they were doing was below their levels. I am proud to say that my sub has since been hired as a long term sub (not because she is a great teacher), but because my students will now start to follow a lesson plan, and I will actually be tutoring students.
I am hoping that the lesson plan will begin to fix the behavioral issues that have been happening in my class as a result of the substitute (and what I attribute to being bored with no work), but only time will tell that. I will keep y'all updated for sure.
-----------------------------------
If you have been following the Detroit news at all, you may have seen news of a student at East Detroit High School (my school) that was hospitalized one week ago today, following a tragic accident in the swimming pool. It is with great sadness that I inform you that student (whose name I am not sure I can state for legal reasons) passed away on Monday night. It is hard to state just how I feel regarding this loss of a young child, but I think that frustrated would sum it up very well.
I do not mean to lay this news on anyone at the end and just leave, but I am not sure how else I could inform you of what happened. I am trying to look into how I can do something for the family (legally, that is within the boundaries of my Americorps contract) and if you have any ideas, please share them!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Class Switch
Hey everyone, I know it has been a very long time since I last updated this blog, but here goes...
This is a post I had started writing during my first week, but never finished, yet I am putting it in anyway:
So as y'all know, I have been placed in East Detroit High School in Eastpointe. The school is HUGE, not even exaggerating at all. I have been lost inside that place more times than I can count, but getting lost did help me find my way around much better than I thought it would. School started on Tuesday with registration and a half day of classes. Registration was pretty much unorganized chaos, which as you can imagine, was just chaos! Once that was finally over, which took most of the half-day, classes seemed to be over. We stayed in school until about 3:00pm to work on some things as well as help out the 9th grade teachers with last minute things. Wednesday was our first true day in class, working with students, and explaining to them what City Year is! Unfortunately, there was not much work to do because teachers were going over the syllabi for their respective classes, but that meant there was plenty of time to interact with students and just get to know them. The kids are super cool!!! It has only been a few days and they are already so receptive to us, it's awesome!
I have been working for the last month or so making/creating this staff appreciation event for the 9th grade teachers that we work with, and now that it is almost here, I cannot wait until it is over. Luckily I have a great team of CMs that I work alongside, so I know we will be able to make it a success no matter what goes wrong.
Up until this point, I have been in a 9th grade English Foundations class, but tomorrow morning I will no longer be in that class. I am getting switched into a new 9th grade English class, where I will serve my final 9 months (or so I hope)! It will be a little weird to be a new kid in a class again, but on the plus side I know most of the kids in the class I am getting switched into. They are reading a different book than the class I was in though, so I am in a mad scramble to try to catch up in The Pigman, which is what this class is reading.
I will keep y'all posted with how my class switch goes, and how staff appreciation day goes! Here's hoping they both go well!
This is a post I had started writing during my first week, but never finished, yet I am putting it in anyway:
So as y'all know, I have been placed in East Detroit High School in Eastpointe. The school is HUGE, not even exaggerating at all. I have been lost inside that place more times than I can count, but getting lost did help me find my way around much better than I thought it would. School started on Tuesday with registration and a half day of classes. Registration was pretty much unorganized chaos, which as you can imagine, was just chaos! Once that was finally over, which took most of the half-day, classes seemed to be over. We stayed in school until about 3:00pm to work on some things as well as help out the 9th grade teachers with last minute things. Wednesday was our first true day in class, working with students, and explaining to them what City Year is! Unfortunately, there was not much work to do because teachers were going over the syllabi for their respective classes, but that meant there was plenty of time to interact with students and just get to know them. The kids are super cool!!! It has only been a few days and they are already so receptive to us, it's awesome!
I have been working for the last month or so making/creating this staff appreciation event for the 9th grade teachers that we work with, and now that it is almost here, I cannot wait until it is over. Luckily I have a great team of CMs that I work alongside, so I know we will be able to make it a success no matter what goes wrong.
Up until this point, I have been in a 9th grade English Foundations class, but tomorrow morning I will no longer be in that class. I am getting switched into a new 9th grade English class, where I will serve my final 9 months (or so I hope)! It will be a little weird to be a new kid in a class again, but on the plus side I know most of the kids in the class I am getting switched into. They are reading a different book than the class I was in though, so I am in a mad scramble to try to catch up in The Pigman, which is what this class is reading.
I will keep y'all posted with how my class switch goes, and how staff appreciation day goes! Here's hoping they both go well!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Placement
Hey y'all!
Last week Thursday I was fortunate enough to be placed into the school I will serve in for the next 10 months! Myself, along with an amazing team of 6 other corps members and our team leader, will be heading out to Eastpointe for a first year partnership with East Detroit High School. I still do not know that much yet, but I will keep you all updated once I do know more. The little I do know is that we will be working in 9th grade (maybe 10th) with math and english teachers. As far as my actual job goes, I know more about that too! I will be a tutor and mentor to students in East Detroit, but will focus my work on those in 9th grade. In addition to my work during the school day, I will be working after school tutoring programs, as well as helping out with after school programs already in existence. I have inquired a little as to whether or not I will be able to create a new after school program, but as I am only there for 10 months, and CY (City Year) wants a program that lasts after me, it becomes a little more difficult.
As I learn more, I will post more information! But for now, here are some Detroit pictures that are long overdue:
Heidelberg Project
My living room
View from my living room windows. Includes: Canada, Belle Isle, Lake St. Claire, and Detroit River
Comerica Park
Heidelberg Project
Last week Thursday I was fortunate enough to be placed into the school I will serve in for the next 10 months! Myself, along with an amazing team of 6 other corps members and our team leader, will be heading out to Eastpointe for a first year partnership with East Detroit High School. I still do not know that much yet, but I will keep you all updated once I do know more. The little I do know is that we will be working in 9th grade (maybe 10th) with math and english teachers. As far as my actual job goes, I know more about that too! I will be a tutor and mentor to students in East Detroit, but will focus my work on those in 9th grade. In addition to my work during the school day, I will be working after school tutoring programs, as well as helping out with after school programs already in existence. I have inquired a little as to whether or not I will be able to create a new after school program, but as I am only there for 10 months, and CY (City Year) wants a program that lasts after me, it becomes a little more difficult.
As I learn more, I will post more information! But for now, here are some Detroit pictures that are long overdue:
Monday, August 19, 2013
One Week Out!
So, it has been a while since I have written in this, but that is for good reason. In my last post I mentioned that the Americorps does a GRRRRRREAT job of keeping their corps members in the dark on everything, which I promise I am not exaggerating here. In the most recent month, I have since learned that I have a registration date on August 7th, at which I will probably fill out paperwork and get my uniform, but all i have been told officially is to arrive at headquarters at 8:00 am. I do know that I begin my year of service on August 12th at 8:00 am, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine!! To try to help build up our hype and excitement, we have been playing Detroit trivia through our Facebook page. I must mention that I am surprisingly terrible at this, but I have committed to not looking up any questions on the internet, so that is my excuse.
Now, on to more exciting news... I HAVE AN APARTMENT!! Jimmy Johnson, along with myself, have signed an apartment in Detroit, in the Lafayette Towers! We are on the 17th floor of the East tower, with a breath-taking view of Belle Isle, the Detroit river, Windsor, and Lake St. Claire. As Sarah Palin would say, "We can keep an eye on our neighbors to the North from our apartment!" Yeah, I just tossed that out there. Also from our super sweet apartment, you can see the Dequindre Cut. For all you that don't know what the Dequindre Cut is, it is a trail that connects the Eastern Market to the RiverFront. It is about 1.6 miles, and only for runners and bikers... well walkers too! It is great for runs, although despite the well lit path, I am still afraid to run at night when it is only lit by lamps.
Now, for all of you that live near the city, but rarely venture out because, well, Detroit has the reputation it does, I would highly encourage you to reconsider. The city, at least it appears to me, is safer than you may think it is at all hours of the day and night! A few things I have noticed in my few weeks there:
1. Dan Gilbert is THE MAN! The things this one guy has done for the City is crazy. If you have an hour for lunch, go to Campus Martius Park, just do it. In slight spoiler alert, you will find sheds with all the great restaurants & bars in Detroit selling mini menus of some of there best foods! Also, you will notice there are these white bikes locked up outside the Quicken Loans/Chase tower. Not entirely sure what they are yet, but I have heard they are free and you can borrow one for a few hours, bike around the city and check stuff out and return it to one of many of these bike racks throughout the city!
2. GM puts on free concerts on the riverfront every Friday night!!! There are only a few left, so I encourage you to get out there while you still can. After all, who turns down a free concert?!
3. Detroit is just a blast to walk around. There are so many great things happening here each day, as well as so many hidden gems in this city!
Now, on to more exciting news... I HAVE AN APARTMENT!! Jimmy Johnson, along with myself, have signed an apartment in Detroit, in the Lafayette Towers! We are on the 17th floor of the East tower, with a breath-taking view of Belle Isle, the Detroit river, Windsor, and Lake St. Claire. As Sarah Palin would say, "We can keep an eye on our neighbors to the North from our apartment!" Yeah, I just tossed that out there. Also from our super sweet apartment, you can see the Dequindre Cut. For all you that don't know what the Dequindre Cut is, it is a trail that connects the Eastern Market to the RiverFront. It is about 1.6 miles, and only for runners and bikers... well walkers too! It is great for runs, although despite the well lit path, I am still afraid to run at night when it is only lit by lamps.
Now, for all of you that live near the city, but rarely venture out because, well, Detroit has the reputation it does, I would highly encourage you to reconsider. The city, at least it appears to me, is safer than you may think it is at all hours of the day and night! A few things I have noticed in my few weeks there:
1. Dan Gilbert is THE MAN! The things this one guy has done for the City is crazy. If you have an hour for lunch, go to Campus Martius Park, just do it. In slight spoiler alert, you will find sheds with all the great restaurants & bars in Detroit selling mini menus of some of there best foods! Also, you will notice there are these white bikes locked up outside the Quicken Loans/Chase tower. Not entirely sure what they are yet, but I have heard they are free and you can borrow one for a few hours, bike around the city and check stuff out and return it to one of many of these bike racks throughout the city!
2. GM puts on free concerts on the riverfront every Friday night!!! There are only a few left, so I encourage you to get out there while you still can. After all, who turns down a free concert?!
3. Detroit is just a blast to walk around. There are so many great things happening here each day, as well as so many hidden gems in this city!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Hunt for Living Quarters
So, despite all the pre-conceived thoughts about Detroit (that it may be run-down, or vacant, or a dump), finding a place to live is actually quite hard because, for the most part, none of those things are true. Detroit is, in fact, coming back! I just recently learned too that the guy the runs Quicken Loans is pouring money into the city trying to help revive it, so props to him, he sounds like quite THE MAN! That is slightly off the topic of this blog though...
Anyway, Jimmy and I are running out of time to sign a lease, and as we are not going to be receiving very much money to live off over the next year, our rent needs to be considerably inexpensive, which again, narrows the renting pool. Tomorrow we are planning on heading into the city to tour the Town Apartments, Lafayette Towers (super nice, but may be a little above our price ceiling), Greektown Lofts, and the Lofts at John-R. We are hoping that they are all quite stellar places, making our decision a little more difficult, but at least we will get the choice, ya know?! I have been trying to get a hold of a lady that leases houses in Woodbridge (beautiful area) for very reasonable prices, but she never called me back. I guess she didn't think I was serious, or just doesn't want to make money every month for 12 months that bad...
I am hoping that tomorrow goes smooth and that Jimmy and I have a place signed by the end of the week so that this feeling of dread about where we are going to live can be behind us (or me at least). If anyone has any ideas on some nice places to live for a reasonable price, let me know please!!!!
#makebetterhappen
Anyway, Jimmy and I are running out of time to sign a lease, and as we are not going to be receiving very much money to live off over the next year, our rent needs to be considerably inexpensive, which again, narrows the renting pool. Tomorrow we are planning on heading into the city to tour the Town Apartments, Lafayette Towers (super nice, but may be a little above our price ceiling), Greektown Lofts, and the Lofts at John-R. We are hoping that they are all quite stellar places, making our decision a little more difficult, but at least we will get the choice, ya know?! I have been trying to get a hold of a lady that leases houses in Woodbridge (beautiful area) for very reasonable prices, but she never called me back. I guess she didn't think I was serious, or just doesn't want to make money every month for 12 months that bad...
I am hoping that tomorrow goes smooth and that Jimmy and I have a place signed by the end of the week so that this feeling of dread about where we are going to live can be behind us (or me at least). If anyone has any ideas on some nice places to live for a reasonable price, let me know please!!!!
#makebetterhappen
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Living Arrangements
So, I understand that this is way early, that is, to begin the process of documenting my Americorps year as a member with the fantastic people of City Year Detroit; but, I'm psyched to be doing it, so why not start now! The process has begun, contract has been signed, however, as I have broken the parents heart by not living with them next year, the apartment hunt begins!
I will be living with Jimmy next year, and for all of you who don't know him, he ROCKS! Right now we are hunting some different lofts in the city, looking to move in August 1, so if anyone has any connections or any places they think would be good, let us know!
As for what I will be doing next year, I only know the basics that I will be mentoring, tutoring, and assisting in anyway needed with a team of other corps members in a school in inner city Detroit! It will be an amazing year, and a truly life changing experience. I cannot wait for what this year will hold and the people that will be changing my life, just as I hope to change theirs.
#makebetterhappen
I will be living with Jimmy next year, and for all of you who don't know him, he ROCKS! Right now we are hunting some different lofts in the city, looking to move in August 1, so if anyone has any connections or any places they think would be good, let us know!
As for what I will be doing next year, I only know the basics that I will be mentoring, tutoring, and assisting in anyway needed with a team of other corps members in a school in inner city Detroit! It will be an amazing year, and a truly life changing experience. I cannot wait for what this year will hold and the people that will be changing my life, just as I hope to change theirs.
#makebetterhappen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)