It has been three months of teaching in two/three different capacities. I may be due a reflection or two at this point.
1. Substitute teacher at a single school. You may be asking yourself, but wait. Don't substitute teachers usually circulate within a school district? How does it work?
I am what you call an internal-sub. Because I only work at one school, I have the benefits of better understanding the discipline system and the methods behind the madness consistent throughout the school. If a teacher has planned a personal day ahead of time, they may e-mail the principal or me directly to ask if I have the time to substitute. If it's the principal, he either texts me or writes an e-mail--depending on the length of time preceding the request. Often I have gotten called at 6:30 in the morning because a teacher wakes up and feels terrible. Once I had to drive over around noon since a teacher went home sick.
Because of this tremendous opportunity, I have been able to teach 6th-12th grade across all subjects--Special Education, Intervention, Math, Science, English, and Foreign Language classes, specifically.
I haven't subbed for a history class yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
2. Volunteer English teacher at a refugee employment-education store. For 12 weeks, a class of between 18-30 refugees study Retail and Janitorial skills; through this experience, they learn English related to the job, and spend some time developing Employment skills as well.
I love these guys. They're amazing. I basically go here to get inspired (and my employee's discount--25% off)
3. Baby-sitting. Cu-u-u-u-ute. I have a few families, and I get to play with kids--professionally!
My favorite part: reading bedtime stories. One of the favorites is a book called "The Sun" which is about-- you guessed it--the sun. When the kid tries to touch the sun, he pulls back his finger and says "ouch! That burns!". Adorable.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Getting Braces (4 months to go)
I got braces this morning. Bottom braces, to be specific. My mom thought that I should get my teeth fixed before I leave for Morocco. There's nothing wrong with them specifically, but they're kind of off-kilter--not in line entirely.
Will I be able to get them off in 6 months--in time to leave for Morocco with nice, straight teeth?
That's the plan. My orthodontist has presented the plan as a 3-6 month timeline; hopefully, it will all work out in the end.
Why did this happen???? (Why would I subject myself to braces yet again?)
Two years ago, I made my mom a deal that if she, a dentist of 20+ years (not going to say how many +'s) would finally go get her teeth fixed, I would spend more than 2 months in one location and get my teeth altered as well. (I originally had braces that modified my mouth significantly, but I lost the shape-retainers back in college...)
Today, I received bottom braces. And a retainer. If you think it's weird to see me now with the braces, you should have seen me before when I was younger, and had the large gap teeth going on. That was before my first set of braces. They needed a lot of work to get done. Overbite with headgear was the fix-it.
Onto the present: It's actually very comfortable for day 1; however, a minor situation came up when I bought a bagel earlier. When I took my first bite, I thought I took a brace off. Either that, or I had moved a brace. I am hoping they are in line. They are still poking me in the Perio's, so that's a good sign. I don't have an appointment for 8 weeks now, so cross your fingers and hope that I do not screw anything up!
No wire poking out the back. Nice.
Colors! I got bright pink, bright green, and bright blue in a continuous pattern.
Pictured below.
Why is this relevant to the Peace Corps? I've begun to realize that this is quite an important question to ask... The Peace Corps sent me a letter this week stating that, since my last dental review was over a year ago, I've got to get another one done. You know, yearly check-ups. Haven't done THAT in 5, 6 years.. Anyway, it reminded my mom, she reminded me, and I'm going to get a cavity filled and my wisdom teeth pulled. There go my smarts..
About the title:
In Arabic (traditionally), each person has two names. The first name--ie, Sameera. And the second name, which shows the possession by a family. For instance, Al-Bassar. It technically could mean 'son of Bassar'. The "Al-" in this example indicates "son of".
On that same line of thought, one of my (favorite) professors used to call me "Bint Bob". In this case, "Bint" means "daughter", and my father's name is Bob. I am, proudly, the daughter of Bob..
Will I be able to get them off in 6 months--in time to leave for Morocco with nice, straight teeth?
That's the plan. My orthodontist has presented the plan as a 3-6 month timeline; hopefully, it will all work out in the end.
Why did this happen???? (Why would I subject myself to braces yet again?)
Two years ago, I made my mom a deal that if she, a dentist of 20+ years (not going to say how many +'s) would finally go get her teeth fixed, I would spend more than 2 months in one location and get my teeth altered as well. (I originally had braces that modified my mouth significantly, but I lost the shape-retainers back in college...)
Today, I received bottom braces. And a retainer. If you think it's weird to see me now with the braces, you should have seen me before when I was younger, and had the large gap teeth going on. That was before my first set of braces. They needed a lot of work to get done. Overbite with headgear was the fix-it.
Onto the present: It's actually very comfortable for day 1; however, a minor situation came up when I bought a bagel earlier. When I took my first bite, I thought I took a brace off. Either that, or I had moved a brace. I am hoping they are in line. They are still poking me in the Perio's, so that's a good sign. I don't have an appointment for 8 weeks now, so cross your fingers and hope that I do not screw anything up!
No wire poking out the back. Nice.
Colors! I got bright pink, bright green, and bright blue in a continuous pattern.
Pictured below.
Why is this relevant to the Peace Corps? I've begun to realize that this is quite an important question to ask... The Peace Corps sent me a letter this week stating that, since my last dental review was over a year ago, I've got to get another one done. You know, yearly check-ups. Haven't done THAT in 5, 6 years.. Anyway, it reminded my mom, she reminded me, and I'm going to get a cavity filled and my wisdom teeth pulled. There go my smarts..
About the title:
In Arabic (traditionally), each person has two names. The first name--ie, Sameera. And the second name, which shows the possession by a family. For instance, Al-Bassar. It technically could mean 'son of Bassar'. The "Al-" in this example indicates "son of".
On that same line of thought, one of my (favorite) professors used to call me "Bint Bob". In this case, "Bint" means "daughter", and my father's name is Bob. I am, proudly, the daughter of Bob..
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