I am so happy to be in the city with other students who are interested in education. There are six total UES students: Two are from Wesleyan (Sara Quinn is the other Wes student), two from Brown, and two from Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. I love this group. Last week we began our orientation by meeting for dinner on Tuesday. It was the first of many take-out Chinese dinners for me. It's been an adventure to navigate the subway system, but I'm happy to say that we haven't yet taken the wrong bus/train.
On Wednesday and Thursday the six of us traveled to the Bank Street School of Education to meet the program directors. Maggie and Betsy have been doing this program for many years, and they're wonderful. I feel like anything could happen and they would know how to respond (or what emergency equipment to bring, be it a fire-extinguisher or a lawyer.) Both of them are teachers, and boy, have they got that teacher-way-of-talking down. We were given the assignment to record our personal learning histories, and I chose to write it out on several sheets of paper, graphing, doodling, making lines and boxes and arrows.
Friday, we went to Central Park to observe people. This is like really intense mall-watching, but you actually have to take notes based on all your sensory inputs. Instead of following that one person who you think might have picked her nose or has particularly tacky looking fishnets, we've been trying to get the whole scene and use our peripheral vision. It is really interesting to follow kids and notice the way they walk, hold their arms to their face or fling them out really fast, or even the way they hover far or close to their parents. There's this really cool playground in the middle of Central Park with plastic hippos sunk into the ground for the kids to play on, and that's where I took most of my notes.
Yesterday we went to the Brooklyn botanical gardens. I'm sensing a pattern of group field trips, and I know for a fact that on Fridays we're being treated to explorations of the city. May, a recent Brown graduate who works for the program (and is also a UES alum), takes us out and helps us figure out where to go.
I love my room! I will post pictures as soon as I can get a computer cable for my printer. I will also post pictures of us UES kids at our host sites. I have a couple of plants set up on my windowsill who are not dead yet.
Tuesday we take a tour of all of the schools at which we'll be working. I don't know where I'm being placed! It's a little frustrating. We should find out by the end of today or tomorrow at the latest. My classes for Bank Street are (I'm so excited, did I mention that?)
1. Storytelling for children
2. Family/Child/Teacher Interactions
3. The Influence of Culture and Politics on Literary Theory and Practice
4. Learning Practice and Theory (only UES students.)
My schedule will be:
- Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays: Working at my school placement
- Monday + Wednesday morning, I have class with the other UES students
- Thursdays I have my elective classes.
That's all for now. Tune in next week for more fun facts and "observations."
I miss you all so much. I'll be reading Wesleying to see what's going on.
Bye!
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