What's to Come

Induction is done and Institute starts tomorrow. For my followers who are less familiar with TFA, let me translate: Induction was a three day program in Mississippi for Mississippi corps members involving discussions of educational issues unique to Mississippi, culturally relevant teaching, and identity. This week starts five weeks of something called Institute and that's a little more complicated.

Institute is a five week training program that involves teaching for part of the day and learning for the rest of the day. The Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana Delta, North Carolina, and Appalachia regions have come together in Cleveland, MS at Delta State University for this purpose.

Every morning we load up a bunch of school buses and head out to local schools to teach summer school. After the kids go home in the afternoon, we continue to have meetings and various development sessions before returning to Delta State for the evening where we sometimes have more sessions and sometimes have time to relax, plan lessons, and (maybe occasionally) sleep.

Our five weeks at Institute is critical to both getting certified and getting a little bit more comfortable at the front of a classroom. I have to say that I, for one, am psyched! I'm so excited to get started tomorrow. This week we'll mostly be doing professional development and training and we should start teaching next week, but we will at least be in our schools for our meetings this week.

If you haven't guessed yet, the coming five weeks are going to be really crazy, hectic even. I'll try to keep everyone up to date on what's going on, but for weeks when I can't write a lot because I have four lesson plans due or I have to go house hunting or whatever else might come up, I've devised a system. Every week I'll check in with something I'm grateful for that week, something that's been a challenge, a quote that's been helpful that week, a song that I'm listening to that week, and a Mississippi fun fact.

With that said, let's get started!

Weekly Gratitude: I'm so grateful for the Cleveland community! They've been so welcoming and have shown us the true meaning of Southern hospitality.

Challenge: I'm tired already! For an introvert, a week of meeting new people constantly can be pretty exhausting and it's been a little bit challenging to remind myself to find time to myself in the midst of the chaos.

Quote of the Week: "What's comin' will come and we'll meet it when it does." -Hagrid

Jamming To: "I Bet My Life" by Imagine Dragons

Mississippi Fun Fact: The only official Grammy Museum outside of LA is being built right here in Cleveland and it's set to open in November. Mississippi really is the home of "American music"!