in houston...

just finished my "induction" in the delta. we stayed at delta state university for the past three days in cleveland mississippi. so far everything has been awesome. induction was basically set up for us to meet the other tfa corps members in mississippi and to interview with principals. i interviewed with one school called KIPP, which is a ridiculously hardcore school in helena, arkansas. look it up (www.kipp.org). no telling if i will actually be placed at this school (likely that i won't) i think the interviews were more for us to find out information about the delta than anything. overall, the experience has been awesome thus far. there are 287 first year tfa teachers here, which is insane. we are now the 2nd largest tfa region in the country (behind new york) they are expecting a lot out of our group, which makes me all the more excited and nervous. i've met an insanely diverse group of people so far. there are peple here from oregon, new york, california, new jersey, boston, etc. etc. its a far stretch from my experiences in savannah or auburn. i live each day in a complex between optimistic idealism and pessimistic realism. what i have in front of me the next few years seems incredibly daunting but i will remain hopeful. in our region, only 10 percent of low-income eighth-graders score proficient in math. that is just one of the many statistics i could throw out to show how difficult this will prove to be. however, in hearing some of the stories of success from the tfa corps members i've met, i know this whole thing can happen.

i'll be teaching at sharpstown middle school in houston, texas for the next five weeks. from everything i've heard about institute, (which is where i am now) it is supposed to be crazy intense with our schedules going from about 6 am to 10 pm M-F, with lesson plans to be done after that. so it all starts tomorrow. keep praying for me. i'm going to be tired, but its going to be good stuff. the people around me have already proven themselves to be incredibly supportive and helpful. i need to be up at 5am so sleep beckons. peace.