October 22, 2016
Where Is My Mind?
I feel like I'm losing my mind sometimes, but this soothing cover helps me to stay relatively sane.
This cover of "Black Hole Sun" ain't so bad neither.
Thought of the Day: Burning Out
Song of the Day: The Notorious B.I.G. - Can I Get Witcha (Paxel Remix)
September 11, 2016
So Far
I just read an article from Business Insider entitled Teachers share 19 things they'd love to tell their students but can't. Here is one part of the article that really resonated with me:
"You may not realize how important it is to do well in school. You grew up in a tiny apartment in a horrible neighborhood, your parents aren't educated, you're working 18 hour-days, and your neighbors are selling drugs — and maybe you think this is all normal, but it's not, and you have a chance to get out of this."
I finished my first month of teaching and I've really enjoyed it...so far. I always knew that teachers had to have the gift of flexibility, but adapting to SO many unexpected changes very suddenly has really opened my eyes to the challenges of working in a public school. Ranging from handling 40 enrolled student classes to getting creative with solely Spanish-speaking classes, I've learned that a teacher education program can only prepare you for so much.
But like I said, I really enjoy teaching. At my school. With the students that I have. Alongside my partnering staff members. So far.
Thought of the Day: Nate
July 21, 2016
Thankful > Excited
I have about two free weeks left before the teaching career really begins. It has not been easy trying to imagine what my classes will be like and how I should prepare lessons or activities for them. It doesn't help knowing the universal fact that the first year of teaching is the most difficult year.
I tried to get myself inspired by watching movies like Freedom Writers and Stand and Deliver, but all they seem to do is fast-forward to all of the successful outcomes of their struggles. Jaime Escalante apparently didn't even have any struggles. Orale! here and the students all do their homework, and Orale! there and the students are finding derivatives right after Algebra I.
Well, at least I got a job in the district that's really close to where I live. I guess I'm more thankful than excited for my first year of teaching. Buy bigger pizzas everyone!
Thought of the Day: Heat Wave
Song of the Day: Eric B. & Rakim-Paid in Full
I tried to get myself inspired by watching movies like Freedom Writers and Stand and Deliver, but all they seem to do is fast-forward to all of the successful outcomes of their struggles. Jaime Escalante apparently didn't even have any struggles. Orale! here and the students all do their homework, and Orale! there and the students are finding derivatives right after Algebra I.
Well, at least I got a job in the district that's really close to where I live. I guess I'm more thankful than excited for my first year of teaching. Buy bigger pizzas everyone!
Thought of the Day: Heat Wave
Song of the Day: Eric B. & Rakim-Paid in Full
June 7, 2016
My Genesis and Exodus
On May 6, Phil got his CSET results. Did not pass. He was devastated.
On May 11, Phil sent out his resume and cover letter to his first school.
On May 12, Phil retook the CSET for the third time. The test was nearly identical to the first one he had taken in November. He guessed on 9 out of 30 questions.
During this time, Phil was reading through Genesis and observed that Joseph went through numerous misfortunes. The misfortunes were often accompanied by the words, But God was with Joseph, which also meant But God was with Phil.
On May 13, Phil applied to two more schools.
On May 19, Phil met with one of the principals on his campus to drop off his resume, cover letter, and recommendation letter. The principal said he would let him know when he could interview for the following week.
On May 20, the principal never responded.
On May 24, Phil wrote to the principal to confirm a potential interview. The principal never responded. Phil applied to two schools.
On May 25, Phil met with his own principal after a fire drill to drop off his resume, cover, letter, and recommendation letters. The principal said he could not interview anyone that was not cleared for hire yet. Phil interviewed at a middle school in South LA and received a job offer. He asked for two days to think about it. Phil applied to another school.
On May 26, Phil discussed the job opportunity with colleagues and family members but still had no clear answer.
On May 27, Phil declined the offer and took the risk of missing out on a district job. Phil applied to another school.
On May 28, Phil applied to Los Angeles High School. Yes, that's the name of the school.
On May 31, the vice principal asked to come in for an interview.
On June 1, Phil interviewed at LA High and was told he would be contacted by the next day. On the drive home, the vice principal called to offer the job. Phil accepted the job and informed the vice principal that he would inform her of his CSET results that would come out in two days. He looked up test dates for the next opportunity to retake the test as was his custom, but there were none that would allow time for the district to process him in time for the upcoming school year. The applications, emails for references, and interviews would mean nothing with another Did not pass.
During this time, Phil was reading through Exodus and observed that God repeatedly used sentences that started with I will... God told Moses
I will bring you out
I will deliver
I will also redeem you
I will take you for My people
I will be your God
I will bring you to the land
That last sentence stuck with Phil during these anxious times. His personal version was I will bring you to the school.
By the way, the first principal Phil had met with emailed asking to come in for an interview that day or the next if Phil had not accepted a position yet. Phil chose not to respond.
On June 3, Phil got his CSET results.
Phil shared his gospel with family and friends and opened up a wine bottle that was reserved for a special occasion. Here is the picture my supportive classmates sent me of them celebrating my victory.
I looked back on my journey with the third CSET and imagined what could have happened if I had passed either on the first or second try. I am certain I would have approached my school applications very differently. Because I was so busy and focused on studying for the test, I did not apply to two specific schools early on, which resulted in their positions getting filled. The first school was a pilot school. The other was a REED school. Both types of schools are very demanding and not exactly favorable for first year teachers like myself. I am confident I would have accepted their offers.
But because I had applied to schools (and even took the chance of turning one down) after all of my classmates had secured jobs, I discovered the opening for LA High, Southern California's oldest public school, just 10 minutes away from where I live with only Algebra I to focus on, which happens to be what I taught this year.
When Phil was all alone studying for those tests multiple times, God was with him because God was bringing Phil to his school. And Phil thanked the Lord.
Thought of the Day: Credential
On May 11, Phil sent out his resume and cover letter to his first school.
On May 12, Phil retook the CSET for the third time. The test was nearly identical to the first one he had taken in November. He guessed on 9 out of 30 questions.
During this time, Phil was reading through Genesis and observed that Joseph went through numerous misfortunes. The misfortunes were often accompanied by the words, But God was with Joseph, which also meant But God was with Phil.
On May 13, Phil applied to two more schools.
On May 19, Phil met with one of the principals on his campus to drop off his resume, cover letter, and recommendation letter. The principal said he would let him know when he could interview for the following week.
On May 20, the principal never responded.
On May 24, Phil wrote to the principal to confirm a potential interview. The principal never responded. Phil applied to two schools.
On May 25, Phil met with his own principal after a fire drill to drop off his resume, cover, letter, and recommendation letters. The principal said he could not interview anyone that was not cleared for hire yet. Phil interviewed at a middle school in South LA and received a job offer. He asked for two days to think about it. Phil applied to another school.
On May 26, Phil discussed the job opportunity with colleagues and family members but still had no clear answer.
On May 27, Phil declined the offer and took the risk of missing out on a district job. Phil applied to another school.
On May 28, Phil applied to Los Angeles High School. Yes, that's the name of the school.
On May 31, the vice principal asked to come in for an interview.
On June 1, Phil interviewed at LA High and was told he would be contacted by the next day. On the drive home, the vice principal called to offer the job. Phil accepted the job and informed the vice principal that he would inform her of his CSET results that would come out in two days. He looked up test dates for the next opportunity to retake the test as was his custom, but there were none that would allow time for the district to process him in time for the upcoming school year. The applications, emails for references, and interviews would mean nothing with another Did not pass.
During this time, Phil was reading through Exodus and observed that God repeatedly used sentences that started with I will... God told Moses
I will bring you out
I will deliver
I will also redeem you
I will take you for My people
I will be your God
I will bring you to the land
That last sentence stuck with Phil during these anxious times. His personal version was I will bring you to the school.
By the way, the first principal Phil had met with emailed asking to come in for an interview that day or the next if Phil had not accepted a position yet. Phil chose not to respond.
On June 3, Phil got his CSET results.
I looked back on my journey with the third CSET and imagined what could have happened if I had passed either on the first or second try. I am certain I would have approached my school applications very differently. Because I was so busy and focused on studying for the test, I did not apply to two specific schools early on, which resulted in their positions getting filled. The first school was a pilot school. The other was a REED school. Both types of schools are very demanding and not exactly favorable for first year teachers like myself. I am confident I would have accepted their offers.
But because I had applied to schools (and even took the chance of turning one down) after all of my classmates had secured jobs, I discovered the opening for LA High, Southern California's oldest public school, just 10 minutes away from where I live with only Algebra I to focus on, which happens to be what I taught this year.
When Phil was all alone studying for those tests multiple times, God was with him because God was bringing Phil to his school. And Phil thanked the Lord.
Thought of the Day: Credential
May 8, 2016
April 25, 2016
Textbook Bridge is Falling Down
On Friday, my classmates and I had an engineering task of making a bridge out of paper, tape, straw, and paper clips. The objective was to make a bridge that could hold as many textbooks as possible. My team came up with this design that was able to sustain a whopping 18 textbooks before collapsing. Who knew paper and straw could be so dense and resilient!
I like this picture because it symbolizes to me the workload and pressure that everyone in my cohort carries every day. Spring quarter is a tricky quarter since we're trying to finish the school year, academic and student teaching, while trying to find our first teaching job for next year. In fact, 6 out of 16 students were away for interviews on that Friday. Two have already accepted offers. I have yet to get started.
I think I'm burnt out. I'm sick of "holding up so many textbooks" in the midst of so much uncertainty. I still have a bunch of work to do and I don't even know if I've passed my CSET, if LAUSD will inform us about the rumored hiring freeze, or if I'll get hired at a decent school. As I told my small group last week, uncertainty is uncomfortable, and I feel like I've been uncomfortable for quite some time now.
But discomfort keeps you close to God. You're pushed to constantly ask for help. And so you pray. And we know that He listens.
Even if the bridge collapses, it'll all work out somehow.
Thought of the Day: Science Practices
Song of the Day: Maxence Cyrin-Where Is My Mind
March 25, 2016
Spring Break Broken
Today is Good Friday, but it happens to be a good Friday for two reasons. The first being that this is the day the Church commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The second being that I make my second attempt at passing the third CSET to be fully qualified to teach all levels of secondary math.
Unfortunately, the second reason is playing a bigger role in my mind because I have dreadfully studied calculus for the past month during one of the most academically challenging quarters of my life. I actually thought it would be impossible to study so much with so little time that I threw away all of my previous practice test questions and returned the textbooks that got lost somewhere. So I took an oath to never see that horrible CSET again.
Then representatives from LAUSD dropped us a visit and informed us that all three CSETs had to be passed in order to be eligible for hire. So after that bomb dropped, I had to improvise. I finished EDTPA a month early just so that I can have more time to study. I canceled road trip plans just so that I can have more time to study. I scheduled this test all the way back to Friday this week just so that I can have more time to study. In fact, three of my classmates had to postpone their test because they felt like they did not have sufficient time to study. In other words, I worked really hard and sacrificed a whole lot just so that I can have more time to study.
Finishing this test means that my spring break officially starts today at 5 PM, a week later than the rest of my cohort colleagues. One of my classmates texted us after finishing his EDTPA saying that he was going to down 12 Smirnoff Ices to start off his break. I don't think I would go that far, but I can finally watch my Warrior games and drink my beer with no guilt for the next three and a half days. I may not get to see Antelope Canyon this spring, but I can confidently say that I did my best given my situation.
I just hope my best is good enough so that I don't have to break another oath to never see this horrible CSET again.
Thought of the Day: CSET
Song of the Day: 2Ge+her (2GETHER)-U + Me = Us (Calculus)
Unfortunately, the second reason is playing a bigger role in my mind because I have dreadfully studied calculus for the past month during one of the most academically challenging quarters of my life. I actually thought it would be impossible to study so much with so little time that I threw away all of my previous practice test questions and returned the textbooks that got lost somewhere. So I took an oath to never see that horrible CSET again.
Then representatives from LAUSD dropped us a visit and informed us that all three CSETs had to be passed in order to be eligible for hire. So after that bomb dropped, I had to improvise. I finished EDTPA a month early just so that I can have more time to study. I canceled road trip plans just so that I can have more time to study. I scheduled this test all the way back to Friday this week just so that I can have more time to study. In fact, three of my classmates had to postpone their test because they felt like they did not have sufficient time to study. In other words, I worked really hard and sacrificed a whole lot just so that I can have more time to study.
Finishing this test means that my spring break officially starts today at 5 PM, a week later than the rest of my cohort colleagues. One of my classmates texted us after finishing his EDTPA saying that he was going to down 12 Smirnoff Ices to start off his break. I don't think I would go that far, but I can finally watch my Warrior games and drink my beer with no guilt for the next three and a half days. I may not get to see Antelope Canyon this spring, but I can confidently say that I did my best given my situation.
I just hope my best is good enough so that I don't have to break another oath to never see this horrible CSET again.
Thought of the Day: CSET
Song of the Day: 2Ge+her (2GETHER)-U + Me = Us (Calculus)
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