First Week of School

            Little introduction to my room. It is sports themed. Our Team Contract is "Do You. Do Us. Do Work. Just Do It." Everything is presented in a way that frames teamwork. I do not have a reward system. My kids reward each other by giving shout outs to individual students for good behavior, because if one person scores a point a sports game, the whole team gets that point. I have two classes, whichever class has the most points for good behavior shout outs gets the giant trophy under their class name. They are obsessed with that trophy and are all about looking out for the good actions of others. We also have an individual behavior chart. You start off on “In the Game” and if you land all the way up on All Star, you get to shoot a basketball in the basketball hoop in front of the WHOLE CLASS. It is a very treasured moment. If you land all the way down on fouled out? Mmm. Ms. Berlin has a special team, the parent team. If you foul out, everyone puts their head down and listens to you cry your eyes out to mom or dad about how you did not follow the Rules of the Game.  And Ms. Berlin, feeling no sympathy, stares at you the whole time with her arms folded and a merciless look on her face. Because "it was your choices that led you to this place." My kids sit in table teams named after colleges. Tables get team points. Whichever College has the most point at the end of the class gets to pick a cheer that the whole class has to do for them. They go psycho for it. Notice all these rewards are free? No candy bribery in here. Because I don’t have the money for starbursts, kids. We have a playbook of 4 rules to live by, a locker room, a MVP Wall of Fame, and a photo wall of each student showing their “Game Face”. We call the FCAT (our state test) the Championship, because it is against the rules to ever utter the word FCAT in my classroom.

 Best moment of the week. I had my kids come to the carpet. We had just done a lesson on what respect “looks like, sounds like, and feels like” and I gave an introduction that we were about to enter into a Sensitive and Serious Simulation that was meant for fifth graders, but I thought they could handle it. They nodded, very pleased to be considered so mature. I gave 7 of my 34 children a pink card, 14 an orange card, and 14 a yellow card. I then let them know that they were each given a card randomly- it had nothing to do with them as people, it was just for the purpose of the simulation. I told my pink cards to raise their hands. “Congratulations, you all are the best. You are the best because you are pink. Because you are pink, you are the luckiest.” I told my orange cards to raise their hands. “Because you are orange, you are ok. You are satisfactory because you are orange. You are not good, but you are not bad. Orange is just so-so.” I asked my yellow cards to raise their hands. “I am so sorry you are yellow. Because you are yellow, you are the worst in the class. It is very unlucky to be yellow.” Then I asked them to discuss what just happened for one minute with their neighbors. Afterwards, I said the exact same thing, except this time, I made each group come to a corner of the room to have a “secret talk” with me (that really everyone could hear.) Then, I asked them to discuss for one minute a second time. Afterwards, I asked each group to share how it felt to be the color that they were given. Fourth graders feel things. There is a lot of feelings in such little bodies.  It didn’t just feel good or bad- being pink “feels like I could do anything I want to do! But I also felt sad that my friends could not be with me.”  Being orange “felt horrible because I think I am something special, not just something that’s ok.” Being yellow “felt like I was stuck. Like no matter what I did good I would always be bad because I was yellow.” Then, everyone put their cards down, and I asked them to close their eyes and listen carefully to four questions: 1. Have you ever felt like other people are better than you? 2. Have you every felt like you or anyone in your family is unlucky? 3. Have you ever felt like you are not as smart as other students in your grade? And 4. Have you ever felt like you have fewer opportunities than other people? Almost every hand went up for every question. Once they opened their eyes, I gave everyone a pink card. We talked about how when you enter into school, when you enter into my classroom, every one of us is a pink card. We are all the best- no one is better, smarter, or prettier than anyone else. We all are equally capable of achieving greatness, and we all achieve greatness together as a team. I asked the students who originally had the pink cards if they felt better or worse now that everyone was a member of the pink group. All of them felt much, much better to have all their teammates in the Best Group.  I asked the students who originally had orange and yellow cards how they felt about being pink. All of them felt much, much better to have joined their teammates in the Best Group. I sent the students back to their desk and again, I handed out 5 pink cards and 4 orange cards to random students. I asked the pink cards to stand up. “Last year, 17 out of 100 third graders at our school got a 3 or 4 on the Reading Championship. There were no third graders who got a 5. The 5 students you see standing represent the 17 out of 100 third graders who passed the Reading Championship.” I asked each student standing to say how it felt to be standing up knowing that you represented the 17 students who passed. Again, I got answers saying “I know I am on the path to success,” “I feel like I am ready for fourth grade,” and my favorite “I feel like I could run for mayor!” (I love kids.) Then, I asked a few people sitting down to share how it felt sitting down and representing the other 83 kids in third grade who did not meet reading proficiency in Reading. I got answers like “I am happy for my friends but disappointed in myself,” “I feel like I am not smart,” and “I feel like my work in third grade was wasted.” I did the same exact routine a second time, but this time only 4 kids stood up, representing the 14 out of 100 third graders at our school that scored proficient in Math. I asked the same questions to both the kids standing up and sitting down, and I got similar feelings as before. Then, I told everyone to stand up. And I yelled. Loudly. “THIS IS HOW MANY STUDENTS WILL STAND UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR. ALL OF US, 100% OF US WILL SCORE A 3 OR HIGHER ON THE READING CHAMPIONSHIP. ALL OF US, 100% OF US WILL SCORE A 3 OR HIGHER ON THE MATH CHAMPIONSHIP. LOOK AROUND YOU. WE ARE A TEAM. WE HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE. IF ONE OF US FAILS, WE ALL FAIL. WE ONLY SUCCEED WHEN WE ALL SUCCEED.” Boom. Began cold calling on students to share how it felt to be standing as one. The feelings that were shared were incredible. One of my teensiest boys who needs to become a pastor when he grows up puffed up his little chest and began a motivational speech: “Ms. Berlin, I am looking at some college bound fourth graders today! We say teamwork makes the dream work because we can only reach our dreams when we work as a team! I believe in us! Let’s stand tall and proud together! If we can believe it, we can achieve it!” What a gem. I then had two students come up and hold our big goal poster so that I could reveal our three Big Team Goals, complete with a drum roll for each one. They were so excited, we were screaming “1.6 YEARS OF GROWTH!!!!!!!!!”, “100% MEETING OR EXCEEDING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP GOAL!!!!!!!!!!” and “80% MASTERY ON ALL ASSESSMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!” It was powerful, even if most were probably more excited about the one in a million chance to use their forbidden “level 4 voices” and bang on the desk with two fingers for a “controlled drum roll” than the actual goals. Still, it was a moment where I was hit in the face with how much I love these kids and my job. Another favorite lesson was our “Fair doesn’t mean everyone gets the same thing. Fair means everyone gets what they need.” I gave each kid a different index card and they had to act out the injury- an upset stomach, broken leg, bloody nose, etc. However, for every person, I gave them a band-aid on their finger because supposedly, “fair means everyone has to get the same thing.” They thought it was hysterical. We then talked about how that didn’t make sense- it wasn’t fair to give someone with a broken leg a Band-Aid on their finger just because everyone had to get the same treatment. We each have different needs. So if we get a worksheet that looks different, extra homework, after school practice time with Ms. Berlin, we will not get upset because we must make sure we are fair and give everyone what they NEED to learn in Math and Science.

            There were many more highs this week. I have story after story about moments with different kids already. One little boy brought me in a perfume sample he tore out of a magazine as a gift. It was so dear and earnest I got teary eyed. I think it frightened him. During our end of the day class shout outs, I got a shout out saying “Ms. Berlin, you get better at handling us everyday.” Notice he said handling, not teaching. Most of my kids came to Back to School night (with or without their parents) and three students asked if they could work on the math centers while they waited.

There were also many lows this week. I had one student get escorted out by a police officer due to violent behavior.  I have a student who is 12- he should be in the 7^th grade. He asked me how to spell “Math.” I have a group of 5 boys that I go to battle with every single day. I have started eating lunch with them so that I will build a relationship that causes each student to want to work with me and not against me. I also do it because all of them got referrals for throwing food at the PE teacher, and that cannot happen again. I made my students walk in a straight silent line with their eyes forward, mouths closed, arms by their sides and two steps behind their neighbor for 35 minutes on the first day until we got it perfect. Three children cried because their feet hurt from walking so long. I said “One of the rules of walking in line is silence. Crying is not silent. Go to the back of the line and fix it.” I have to demonstrate that I follow through with every single rule, even the less important ones, in order to show that I. Do. Not. Play.  So, if I see one kid touch the wall when we walk in line, that child loses recess for the entire class. Because if one of us fails, we all fail. I had one student yell “I hate your class!” I took his team contract off the wall and told him to sit at Home Base until he was ready to sign on to the team again. He signed and hung it back up, sobbing hysterically. At the end of the class, I got a big hug from the student and a “I hope you have a great weekend Ms. Berlin!” Kids have the memory span of a goldfish.  I dropped money I do not have on ugly orthopedic sandals because my feet hurt so bad. $10.00 Target flats are not cutting it for standing/walking 8 straight hours a day. I come home, workout for 1 hour, eat, lesson plan until 10:30, and go to bed around 11. I wake up at 5:30. I pass out before 10:00 on Friday nights. I am not saying my life is harder than the lives of other people. In fact, I am saying it is much easier. I have worked one week and already have immensely more respect and humility for teachers and nurses and other professionals who do this work and then come home to a family and children, or even just a pet expecting things like dinner to be ready for them. Or clean clothes out of the laundry. How? Please, someone help me understand how that is possible. I don’t have animosity about the stressfulness of my work. I want to do this with my time. I can’t imagine not doing this with my time. I am obsessed with my students and their progress. I got my first paycheck on Friday. It was not that much money. But what do I really make? I make a difference. For 180 days, I go to work, and I make a difference. Nothing else really matters when I take a step back to realize that I have a purpose- that I am making a tangible, real, and direct difference in the lives of children I love deeply. There is no higher privilege.

Institute

1. Jacksonville is something else. I am happy here. It has a lot of quirks but in all good ways. Very sprawled out but lovely- the river goes through the city and the ocean is on the outskirts. There are lots of neighborhood pockets, each with a strikingly different character, which makes exploring fun. However, it is also very segregated, and that didn’t happen by coincidence. Every single one of the Title 1 schools are clustered in the North. This creates a ripple effect. It means that the least educated, lowest socioeconomic bracket of people live in one small area of the city, and failing schools in that small area do not give kids the opportunities needed to rise above those circumstances. Many of our kids have never been to the other side of the St. John’s river. The north district is literally “the other side of the tracks.” It’s all backwards. For instance, there is a high school in the area named after the founding leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Sixty three percent of students who go there are African American. How is that acceptable? People who live elsewhere are unaware of the problem. On the first day of summer school, our bus driver said that she had never been to “the hood.” She also said she has lived in Jacksonville her whole life, and I would guess she is in her sixties. It is so blocked off that people on the outside either don’t know the disparities exist, or they choose to ignore them.

6 am commutes across the river

2. Institute is reliving freshman year of college again, but instead of training for college, you are training for a job.
 3. It is also a bit like a mission trip experience- you get to know everyone extremely well, extremely fast. When you start the day eating breakfast with people at 5 am and end the day cramming to meet deadlines by midnight with those same people, deep friendships develop in record time. Proof I have friends:

 4. Being in elementary, 24 of the 27 people are girls. There is a lot of estrogen in the workroom at our school, and a lot of tears and laughter happens there daily. We are stressed out of our minds, in love with our kids, and challenged by our advisors. Good days are amazing, and bad days are horrible. Even though it is way too much sometimes, I think it is important that we feel things, really feel things. You need to attempt to understand the educational and socioeconomic issues you are facing so deeply that when you have a bad lesson or are unsuccessful, it moves you to tears, because you understand that having a bad lesson does not improve things for your kids. If people weren’t distressed when they failed as a teacher or learned something upsetting about the challenges our students face, then it would mean they didn’t care, and that would mean they weren’t here for the right reasons.
5. The three guys on the elementary team are incredible. The kids are totally captivated by them. The presence of male figures, especially black males, in the classroom has powerful implications for our kids. I think it is one of the most important pieces in closing the opportunity gap.
6. It is cool to be in a place surrounded by people are truly passionate about the same thing you are. People here get it- what is at stake for our kids, why doing this is urgent and that everyone must take ownership of the problem of educational inequity and commit to fixing it right. It inspires me every day. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am meant to be somewhere- in a different way than I felt at Tech or the Dominican Republic, because if I hadn’t gone to Virginia Tech or studied in the Dominican Republic, another equally or more qualified person could have easily filled my spot. Here I am a part of something so much greater than myself. But for the first time, I feel that I am a very necessary piece of that great thing. That I must be here, that me leaving would be detrimental to my student, co-workers, and county. In running, my performance affected my teammates, but if I had a bad race, it would not put anyone behind in life. In college, my success as a student only affected my individual life pursuits. I have never wanted to excel at something as badly as I want to excel as a teacher, because my excellence as a teacher can positively affect a room full of students for their entire lives. I feel like I could not be investing my time in anything more important than education, and that my skills could not be better utilized in any other field. I am exhausted and inspired at the end of every day, and that is a wonderful way to live.
7. The staff here is incredible. They are excellent at what they do, which makes me confident in everything they teach me. Some of our staff have been here long enough to see their first elementary class students graduate high school- how amazing is that! It makes me realize that this commitment lasts much longer than two years. Closing the achievement gap won’t happen unless teachers make it a life long pursuit, which is exactly what many of our staff is doing now.
8. I am teaching fifth grade. It is a perfect fit- they get sarcasm and are funny because they are at an age where they have a developed sense of humor; they’re not funny just because they are little kids acting like little kids. I am obsessed with them and I think most genuinely like me back.

A very unique gift from a student

9. My model teacher did not have a behavioral management plan. The transition from her style to mine (I’m strict) was a bit drastic for my students. I spent the first 15 minutes of every lesson learning a new procedure (how to pas out papers, how to not have conversations during instructional time, how to line up and walk in a line, how to transition from desk to carpet, how to raise your hand, how to sit up during instructional time, how to sharpen a pencil in under 20 seconds, how to work independently…) I’m not kidding. But now that the kids know my expectations for behavior, our time is not wasted on me correcting it. One of the greatest moments of my life was when a student corrected another student saying “You better stop cause you know Ms. Berlin won’t play.”

10. The power of Narration. Oh my goodness. Justin sits next to Anthony and has a hard time not resting his head on his desk. I say “I am noticing that Anthony is demonstrating excellent behavior by sitting up straight during instructional time.” Suddenly, Justin is sitting up. Amazing. I narrate All. Day. Long. Kid doing the right thing gets noticed, kid doing the wrong thing doesn’t get called out in front of the whole class.
11. The power of the Responsibility Notebook. I decided to implement the Responsibility Notebook into my class because my favorite teacher had one, and I will never forget the two times during my 4th grade year that I had to sign it. It was a devastating blow. The dreaded Responsibility Notebook sits in an ominous corner of the classroom and it is a sad time when they have to journal about their negative behavior and how they will fix it for all to see.
12. The power of home visits. It is critical to see where your kids live and meet parents who are more invested in their child than you could ever be. We have established some great relationships with families and gotten to know our students better as a result. Plus, our students’ think seeing us exist outside the classroom is mind blowing.
13. I have four consequences: 1. Check (warning) 2. Entry in the responsibility notebook 3. Call home 4. Referral to Principal’s Office. No one has ever gone past responsibility notebook ever since one student made a call home and his mom came in and made him do push ups in front of the class on his knuckles (just FYI I wasn’t in the room, she came after I left and apparently this wasn’t that unusual.) Things are different here than in Fairfax County.
14. Our classroom is Virginia Tech themed! Our class motto is “Invent the Future” and at the end of each week our students write down a goal for how they will Invent the Future next week by demonstrating our four class pylons, L.E.A.D (Love learning, Excel Academically, Achieve our goals, Do what is right.) The kids love it. For example, if a student calls out and made it their goal to not call out, then I can just point to their goal of the week and remind them of the standards they chose to hold themselves to. It’s so much more powerful when the student sets the standard instead of the teacher. We do Hokie Highs at the end of each lesson to recognize what went well and who did well, chant Hokie cheers and songs (kids love them and I pretend to love them because they love them), Turkey high fives, and have our Hokie Academic and Behavior Trackers, which gives a star to the kids who got a 4 or 5 out of 5 on each day’s lesson assessment and those who went a whole class without a single behavior warning. The one they love the most is Class of 2025 Compliments (they’ll graduate college in 2025), where they get a popsicle party and a teacher-student dance off once they get enough stars. I am kind of dreading the day they get enough stars. Rewards, cheers, stickers, dance parties, all that jazz- it motivates kids and makes learning joyful.
15. The power of Random Bribery. You bring in a hat, a puppet, a bag of magical beans (dried black eyed peas), sunglasses that give you magic vision to see the answer, magical pencils that have been marinated in “the jar of knowledge”, and kids, even at age 10, eat that stuff UP. Example: During reading lesson a kid who is demonstrating exemplar behavior gets to wear the dinosaur hat, and all of the sudden everyone is following along in the book with such concentration, just dying to be the next one awarded the dinosaur hat. The best is when they lose prized possession. “Hmm It seems like you forgot the kind of behavior that awarded you the dinosaur hat because instead of paying attention, you are messing with the dinosaur hat. Please select a student who is behaving correctly to wear the dinosaur hat instead.” Giving up the dinosaur hat? Nothing could be worse in that moment.
16. Being White is something that sets me apart in the classroom. 98% of the students at our school are African American. I have become more aware of my racial identity than I ever have been in my life because my race and background is something that makes me different than my students. You can pull the "I don't see race, we're all the same" card all you want, but kids notice it, I notice it, and divides are formed when you do not address them and do not act humble and self-aware in the classroom.
17. My co-lab is named Thekia Cheeseborough, also known as Ms. Cheese. She grew up in Jacksonville just down the street from where our school is. I swear they did a personality test on us because there is not a single person here that I would click better with in the classroom. It was love at first sight. We teach in the same classroom and each week we switch off teaching Reading or Math. We balance each other out in the classroom and she is my rock outside the classroom.  I’ve learned a great deal about the experience of our kids, because Kia went to the same school we are teaching at, she lives where they live, she understands the school system and how Jacksonville is set up. She is a testimony of how wonderful and successful and beautiful and influential our kids will grow up to be if people give them the same opportunities as children in more affluent communities.

Ms. Cheese

18. I wasn’t the only person who noticed how well Kia and I gel in the classroom. A principal contacted our staff and needed to fill two spots in the fourth grade. It was a co-teaching position, and they wanted to hire two people who had already developed a strong team dynamic. Kia and I were recommended. So, without us knowing, the principal of SP Livingston Elementary came in during our flextime and we were called into the back room. The assistant principal took Kia and the principal took me. She started the interview with “I want to hire you, but this is a package deal. I won’t hire you without Ms. Cheese.” Not kidding- I started tearing up. In the interview. I still don’t understand how it happened. Kia and I had forced ourselves to stop thinking about the possibility of us getting hired at the same school because the thought was too good to be true. But the same classroom? It was too much to take in without warning. The principal’s response was “Baby! You really want this!” I nodded yes, pulled it together and talked about differentiating instruction in math class. After a great interview (the principal was amazing!!!) the four of us got back together and Kia and I could not contain our smiles. When they left, Kia laid down on the floor saying, “It’s too much. I can’t. I just can’t. Hold me Ms. Berlin, hold me” while I held her hand and got misty again. We are teaching in a grade F school, where only 50% of our fourth graders are on grade level. Fourth grade at SP Livingston is about to learn a whole lot of math. Couldn’t imagine doing it without Ms. Cheese.
19. My dear friend Emily and I have a house! Well, a condo, but it is on the river! It is in the art district of the city, and our place is in this super old historic building called the Peacock that was made into a few condos. We are thrilled.

The Peacock

20. When I have really bad days, or am totally burnt out on the weekends, I remember, I live 12 minutes from the beach. And I go to the beach. And life is good.

Love to all. Being in my own little world far away makes my heart all the more fond of my wonderful family, friends, boyfriend, etc. Please email me, call me, and most importantly, visit me! A stretch I know but the offer is open! I have a place and will hopefully have a couch or futon soon. xoxo

Jacksonville

             Tomorrow I begin a solo road trip that will launch the next chapter of my life. I decided to apply for Teach for America last fall because my older sister Rebekah, was a TFA corps member in Memphis and had an extremely positive experience. I took an “Issues in American Education” class and found that many people in the education field have issues with Teach for America because it places the least experienced, least qualified individuals in the poorest, worst performing school districts in the United States. After visiting my sister’s classroom last year and looking at her data, as well as the data of her fellow Corps Members, I was confident that TFA produced effective teachers and created positive results for children. I decided I wanted to be a part of their mission. I was not burned out of college when I graduated, but I was certainly burned out of the classes. All that learning and predictability made me antsy. I applied knowing that I wanted to go away and go do- as soon as I graduated. After the most intimidating and intense interview experience of my life and two months of anxious waiting, I found out I’d been accepted. I was on my way back to Virginia Tech after Winter Break and decided to press my email button just to check if they sent the notification earlier than promised. I glanced down to see an email from TFA and it only took seeing “Congratulations” in the subject line for me to burst into hysterics- by myself on 81. I took the first exit, which happened to be the exit of my hometown (the full circle only added to the hysterics), pulled into a gas station, and opened the email. “Congratulations! You have been accepted to teach Elementary Education in Jacksonville, Florida.” The hysterics stopped. I read it again. Jacksonville? Florida? I had my heart set on going out west- my “Highly Preferred” list was littered with cities in California, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Seattle, and New Mexico. I didn’t even remember putting Jacksonville down, but then I remembered that I had looked it up on a map, saw it was near the beach (my greatest weakness) and added it to my top ten.

            After some research, I now know some things about this mysterious city and state. For starters, it is warm year round, and on the beach, which means it will be impossible for me to hate it. Second, it has been called the “Golf Capital of America”, which may contribute to the high percentage of senior citizens in the area. A match made in heaven. My friends just cannot wait to visit. Also, I love Ray Charles and he lived and got started there, so… that's cool.
          In all seriousness, I am excited. And nervous. The past three weeks have been jammed packed with visits to my best friends in Harrisonburg and the beach, a trip to Memphis to see Rebekah in action, and time with family at home. Feeling lucky to have loved ones that make leaving difficult. I will be at the University of North Florida for Institute (training) until July 27^th, which I imagine will be similar to freshman year. A bunch of young people in a scary transition- brand new to each other and a new place, forced to live together and become fast friends. I’d hoped I would never have to go through that again, but the idea is actually somewhat comforting. Plus, those five weeks will also help me get to know the city, secure a job in a county school, and find a place to live. Institute is notorious for being extremely rigorous and challenging, but no one has said they left feeling unprepared. The scariest part of this whole thing is the reality that on August 19^th, I will have a whole lot of kids in a classroom of my own, and that I will be accountable for providing them with an excellent education. That reality is also what most encourages and motivates me when I get freaked out about moving and becoming a real person with a real job and Responsibilities. More than anything, I want to be the best teacher I can for them. Back to packing.

Lots n lots n lots o love,
Kathryn

Graduation

I handed in the last final assignment of my undergraduate career on Tuesday afternoon, and since then, I have been wanting to put some of my feelings about graduation next week into words and out on paper. I have a bad case of the feels. So many feels. All the feels. Here they come.

College has made me realize how important it is to be in love with what you come home to. I adore my family, but I didn't have any choice about living with them. In college, I got to choose whom I lived with, and was lucky enough to find people I love coming home to again. Two years ago, I needed to sub-lease since I was studying abroad, and signed on last minute with an acquaintance and her four friends I'd met once. I don't think a random roommate situation has ever worked out so beautifully. Again, I adore my mom and three sisters but I thought I had sworn off living with that much estrogen under one roof again. I am glad I didn't. While my roommates are successful people, they are more importantly conscientious individuals who care, deeply care about people, the future, and the environment and demonstrate that through their choices and how they spend their time. Actively caring, not just talking about caring, is sometimes harder to find in college students. It is what defines my roommates and has had a great influence on me. On top of all that, they are outdoorsy and spontaneous. We have the best time together- cooking, gardening, biking, hiking, camping, dancing, road tripping, downtowning, or even just sitting, which we do a lot of in various favorite locations. They have made my heart so full the past two years and I am proud of who they are and the (green engineer, environmental policymaker, business tycoon, nurse, social worker) women they are becoming.

Accidental matching and laser eyes

I was out of the country for quite a bit of 2012, and while I have no complaints about my education at Virginia Tech, I learned far more from the people and experiences I had studying abroad than I could have learned in a classroom here. The Virginia Tech professors who led both programs have taken me under their wing. At a school as big as Tech, I am a lucky one to have ten parental figures here that will invite me over for a home cooked meal, lend me books, mock interview me, deliver Kathryn-I-believe-in-you-but-please-get-your-life-together motivational talks, and mean it when they ask how I am doing. Intelligent adults are great. They have a wealth of wisdom and encouragement and humor and credibility to share. Their impact reminds me why I want to be a teacher. Since I showered, slept, got sick, and lived to the point of having no personal space or limitations with the students I studied abroad with, I have similar mushy-gushy sentiments about them as I do my roommates. I am thankful we all came back to the same campus afterwards. Sharing those experiences brings people together in a way nothing else does, and those friends understand me in a way no one else does.

Dominican Republic Spring Program 

C21S Nomads

I am a sister of Chi Delta Alpha, Virginia Tech's only all female service sorority. I feel like most of my close circle of friends and family don't know I am even associated with it because, well, it’s a sorority. However, the service opportunities it connected me with are what made Blacksburg my home, not just a place where I go to school. Making community service part of my weekly routine forced me to burst the limestone bubble of Virginia Tech and realize that rural southwest Virginia is a place where need is very real. Working in local schools with teachers who have kids that don't get meals over the weekends, helping move in new residents at the Women's Resource Center, playing on a Special Olympics Basketball team, and painting nails of sweet ladies at the local nursing home (to name a few) have allowed me to build long lasting relationships with people in the area that are ages other than 18-22. And my kids. My favorite service project is through Coalition for Refugee Resettlement, and I tutor a family with five kids from Tanzania. I see them every week and they mean the world to me. I am tearing up as I write this, so I am going to stop. Point is, they are important and they are special and they deserve opportunities. The people behind the community organizations I've worked with are forces of good to be reckoned with, and so are the sisters of XDA. It sounds odd, but we have almost an aggressive attitude towards service- girls get competitive about filling volunteer slots for projects and we all share this relentless, do whatever it takes mentality towards community outreach. This no excuses mentality is the only one that will create results for marginalized people and solve problems. It is a mindset that has been transforming and is something I will take into the classroom every day with Teach for America- a mentality of responsibility that says I can, I will, and I must do my part to make positive change in my community. This inexplicable feeling of unity students feel at Tech could be attributed to the fact that we have an expensive sports program to rally behind, that the beauty of Appalachia and our campus is contagious, or that we are a pretty homogeneous bunch so of course it is easy to get along. But without any incentive, Chi Delta Alpha sends out 60+ girls each week to embody our school's motto, That I May Serve. And for me personally, that is what makes Blacksburg a community, not just a college town, that is difficult to leave.

XDA Spring 2013

My Wednesdays 

The biggest thank you of all goes to my parents, who have supported these three years both emotionally and financially. College has made me appreciate them more. I am grateful for their constant support and occasional tough love. If I ever have kids, I want to be able to give them the same opportunities they gave me. And they treat me like an adult who is also their daughter, which is the coolest. It makes me realize I would want to be friends with them even if we weren’t related at all. And an ambiguous thanks to my sisters because I just love them so much. And another thanks to my four best friends from high school, who maintained best friend status long distance with flying colors.

Winter Break Beach Week

Fam Jam

Well, if anyone even read all the way to this point, that is all the feels I have. I will miss everything about this place except the interminable winters. Turns out, I only enjoy living among jaw droppingly beautiful mountains in the spring, summer, and first half of fall, and that is (maybe) only 6 months out of the year, with winter being the other half. Time for my big move to- oh yes, Jacksonville, Florida- the destination city of America, where I hope to never see a single flake of snow or keep hand warmers in yes, a parka. More on that terrifying/exciting transition next time.

LOVE, kb

Haiti

I have one complaint about my trip to Haiti: we had to leave so soon. I took a History of Hispaniola course during my semester in the Dominican last year and found the culture, history, and language of Haiti fascinating. I got to work in two Haitian bateys and fell in love with the people. In my Public Health class, we read Mountains Beyond Mountains, which is now my favorite book. I figured it was time I experience the other half of my favorite island. Like many people, my conception of Haiti before I came here was largely shaped by pictures and news footage of Port au Prince- tent cities, impoverishment, trash littering crowded streets, malnourishment, etc. While many of these images came to life this week, this narrow minded perspective does not represent Haiti. Haiti is beautiful. Since we worked in a remote, rural community, we saw a great deal of the country en route to our site. The views of mountains, valleys, beaches, and tropical foliage matched with warm weather was paradise- a word I had never associated with Haiti before now. The people we met this week reflect this beauty. I think that often times, God feels sad when he looks down at Yvon, because he is forced to see children go another day without water, not attend school because they went to bed with no food, families losing loved ones to preventable diseases, young adults leaving their community in search of opportunity in the cities. I think that his heart felt very full this week when he looked down on Yvon. He got to see kids getting to be kids- playing soccer and baseball, blowing bubbles, coloring, doing puzzles, and singing Bible songs. He watched elderly women work alongside men in the trenches, helping to build their new church. He saw friendship and laughter being communicated between strangers with no common language. It was the picture of community, perfected by communion in Christ. The insight, generosity, respect, and love that has been shown to us by the UMVIM staff, Pastor Maud and her household (our hosts), and the families of Yvon has been overwhelming. Our three translators, Carine, Joseph, and Angie were three of the most wise and humble people I have ever met, and since we shared a common language, much of our perspective on Haiti was shaped by their words and outlooks. They are wonderful people who represent their nation proudly, and I am so thankful that they were willing to share personal stories about life in Haiti to give us a better picture of the country's past and present. Finally, this experience would not be what it was without the contribution of each of our team members. My favorite people are low maintenance and funny. I got to live with nine people who meet that exact description this past week. Each of us brought unique gifts, and watching everyone use those different gifts in service together was inspiring. I would like to give a shout out to my mom, who was one of the leaders. She did a phenomenal job taking care of logistics, our team, and the locals in Yvon. Everyone loved her and I have never seen her so in her element- I was very proud to be her daughter! Check out this awesome video Jeremy put together of our trip! http://vimeo.com/61570507 In other good news, I passed my Florida Teacher Certification Exams yesterday! One step closer to Teach for America Jacksonville...! Now that my two day studying binge is over, I am leaving for a three day adventure in West VA with two of my sweet roommates. Spring Break is treating me very well.