Unpacking

Unpacking is a loaded term, I have discovered. I have been unpacking my material things of course over the past few weeks. I have been "unpacking" state objects in preparation for the school. Through this process I think I have become  little unpacked myself. 

It has been my experience that no matter what I am unpacking I keep asking a similar series of questions. Where do I start? Where does this go? What is this and what is it doing here? These three questions are generally followed by a sorting process. Moving provides a great opportunity to learn more ourselves.  We can learn about how we transition and what we value. Moving also provides us with an opportunity to refresh ourselves and reinvest ourselves in our personal visions. 

After Institute ended, unpacking seemed very doable. I only had one suite case, two carry ons and a list of state objectives that took up maybe a page and half. Even with so little to unpack I became overwhelmed at moments. I had to take a step back and ask, "what had caused that response?" I mistakenly thought that unpacking equated to making something out of nothing. See I got sidetracked by the desire to have things "put together". Having things put together is the goal of unpacking right? No, the goal of unpacking is to unpack, the putting together phase comes after. 

What are my take aways from this process? Unpacking is a process that continues even after things appear to be put together because it is a reflective process. While trying to make sense of state objects in order to develop a year long plan for my class I learned the importance of making sure that each piece fits into the whole and the whole reflects each piece. Unpacking provides an opportunity to recreate continuity in our lives. More than anything I have been reminded the beauty of simplicity. We can easily make things more complicated than they need to be. Case in point: unpacking is about unpacking. 

Weeks 1-5

Did that really just happen? It is all such a blur! Everything feels like it happened at once. I will try to sort through and pick out some key moments to share J

Week Zero-Induction.

In any given situation I often take a moment to step back and ask, “what would someone completely unfamiliar with situation think?” I asked myself this about Induction. What would someone think if they happened to pass by an Induction event? I came to the conclusion that someone really needs to make a reality TV show about Teach for America.

            Self help seminar? Speed dating? Convention? Japanese game show? Who knows what people may have thought Induction was at glance. There we were, baby-faced, dressed in our father’s suits and our mother’s pearls on a mission: get a job, find a roommate. I probably met all 210 Houston Corps members 3…4? times. By the end of the three day first-impression endurance race I could name the majority of my colleges…if they were in their professional attire.

            The constant meeting and greeting was broken up by seminars. We heard truly inspiring stories from teachers that had been where we once were. We heard statistics that break your heart an light a fire at the same time. One of the most profound speeches I heard was from Ann Best, a former teacher. She spoke with a grace and eloquence about the disparity in our nation. She put a name and a face on the task at hand. She was composed and raw at the same time. “We cannot afford to fail,” she said, “the cost of failure is too great.” I completely agree.

            Induction was not all business and certainly not all serious. We shared laughs and competed in the TFAmazing Race where we ran around downtown Houston trying to collect various items or snap pictures. We ended the weekend with a bus ride to Galveston where we had a dinner and were entertained…by ourselves. In teams we composed and created chats that displayed our pride for Houston Corps 2011. Our were more like songs. My group took “This is why I’m hot” and turned it into “This is why I teach.” No one can out do the legendary Michael Jackson however, so in the end it was “Teach it! Teach it! The gap needs to be defeated!” (To Beat It)

Departure

The airport is where it all began if we are we are going to begin from the beginning. There was a fairly tearful departure at the single security check-point in Eugene. The TSA officer kindly handed me a Kleenex (something I would have been able to pack had my luggage not been so close to weight) and I ascended up the escalator and into the next phase of my journey.

The tears were subsided with a cup of tea as I sat etching out the next two years in my imagination. I sparked up several conversations in the airports and planes as I traveled over three thousand miles to Houston. Airports provide a unique opportunity to meet people with fascinating stories. I happened to think that my story, about moving cross country to join forces with other young professionals so that one day all children in this nation can have an excellent education, was particularly fascinating. I eagerly searched for any chance to proudly and excitedly announce what I was doing. I think back and smile at my little self. There I was beaming from ear to ear practically saying, “I’m going to help save the world! Aren’t I great?”

            That little statement sums up where I was when I left Eugene. I was in a true state of wonderment. I was so deeply resolved within myself already that I was heading in the right direction with purpose. I was ready to throw myself into my new life with wild abandon. Catch that? That’s the second layer of that little statement, “Aren’t I great?…my new life”.  Not being a fan of transitions I think I needed a little hot air to propel me forward. I see now that my life in Houston is not new in any sense of the word, I packed my whole self when I came to Houston.  I also see now that while I have the potential to make a positive contribution to a mission that I believe whole-heartedly in, I myself am neither great nor insignificant. I have the capability to make a difference for someone else’s future, we all do. 

Intense-titute The Beast of Institute: A Brief Overview

I affectionately refer to Teach for America's Institute as Intense-titute because it was precisely that, Intense. Over the past five weeks I have been exposed to new procedures, mindsets, philosophies and truly extraordinary individuals. There is something truly magical about participating in a movement. In a movement your individuality becomes absorbed by the group, like a water drop in the ocean. You are forced to humbly submit your insignificance as an individual droplet and simultaneously recognize that even as a droplet you are the whole ocean. The individual is the movement.

Over the past five weeks I have been inducted into the Houston Corps 201, a group of 210 amazing individuals from all over the world, a group I am beyond proud to call my colleagues and friends. After a few nights at the Hilton in downtown Houston I moved into Duncan College at Rice University with several other regions. Houston Corps, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, South Carolina, the Rio Grand Valley, Hawaii and a few from the Bay Area took over Rice's campus. We were assigned summer school locations. I was at Stevenson Middle School, Go Dragons!, where within in one location there were three summer schools and four bell schedules (logistical nightmare in my opinion). We were further divided into content areas, 6th grade English, Math, Science etc. Then we were assigned our kids. For me this was a moment that I first realized the gravity of the situation. The achievement gap suddenly had 17 names and 17 faces.

For five weeks we learned how to plan, execute, evaluate, manage, invest and diversify. We worked long hours on average I would say 14-20 hours a day of solid work. We sweated in the Houston heat, we cried, we grew stronger, braver and more aware of the task at hand. We made best friends with B.O.B, a randomly arranged manual as think as two webster dictionaries that was required at all events. We attended sessions every day to develop our teacher mindsets and our teacher actions. It was truly a whirlwind of opportunities to grow. One thing remained the same over the past five weeks. We were constantly transitioning. I say Institute is a beast because it is not stagnant nor is it passive. The components of Institute attack and assault you, the sessions and the people require that you be on your toes at all times. You are always moving from one thing to the next. Institute is an experience that may only truly understood by those that have encountered her fierceness. I say it is a beast because it is massive, unlike anything I have encountered. It embodies both refined mindsets and raw emotion. It requires you to act intentionally with primal passion. Institute is intense.