The Real World Comes Tomorrow...

Hello!

I feel as though it’s a little awkward to get started on a blog… Anyways – here goes!

Purpose:

Courtney why are you writing a blog? You’re a math teacher… Ok so I’ve gotten this a few times already. Thanks guys. Thanks for your faith in my having anything worthwhile to share. ;) I’ll try to make your reading this worth it.

I have a few reasons for starting this:

1) Having just graduated and left many of my Baylor friends back in Waco and around the country, this will be a helpful way to stay in touch with anyone who wants to stop by the page and see what I’m up to!
2) Stepping into the real world is both excited and terrifying. There are so many thoughts and emotions attached to every day that I need a way of sorting through my thoughts and the events of my days. I remember using Xanga in high school (old school, right?!) and it was a great way for me to write out my thoughts and sometimes receive encouragement and insights from friends. You could say this is my therapy. Even if I have zero followers. :)
3) I want to have a record/journal of at least this first year as a teacher. I want to be able to look back and see stories and growth in both me as a professional educator and in my students.
4) As a Teach for America corps member I am working to do my part to close the achievement gap. I hope that me sharing my experiences will not only show you what I am up to but also show anyone who reads this the realities in schools and the difference that we can all make on the students around us!
5) Between living in Dallas and my first year of teaching high school – I’m sure I’ll have plenty of hilarious and hopefully heart-warming stories to share! (I’ll have to be careful because of privacy laws so I apologize in advance for any ambiguities.)

Name – Change Over Time:

Ok, so I’m a nerd. I picked a math/physics term for the name of my blog but I feel like it really is one of the best descriptions of what I will writing about.

1) A Line Graph shows Change Over Time. Most of basic Algebra can be focused as a study of Change Over Time. I’m teaching High School math next year. I hope you can see the correlation…
2) As I stated in my purpose, this is a year of lots of change for me. I will be sharing how God changes me through all of my experiences, challenges, and victories that will come over the next year of my life.
3) As part of the TFA program, I will be setting high expectations for my students and expecting them to grow considerably in their ability as math students and as people this year. I want to share with you the growth and change that my students are able to make over this 2010-2011 school year.

Today I am preparing for Induction (for 5 days in Dallas) and Institute (for 5 weeks in Houston). It is a mad scramble trying to get everything together. I’ve put off preparing much for this because, well, I wasn’t ready to let go of what I’m used to. I guess I thought if I didn’t prep, I would get just a little more time before the real world. Welp, I have to report at SMU in 23 hours, so I guess it’s time to get ready. Resumes, work samples, extra-long sheets, and shower caddies are among the list of items to take care of today. Somewhere in there I’ll be fitting in a pedicure and dinner with Allen. :)

The next time I update I will have already started my TFA training! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Holding Onto His Hand,
Courtney