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.