Week 2.......

So, I have to post a reflection for CCNY....and I am doing them back to back - although they are different...this is where my mind is now. This week was interesting.....I guess I am nervous that now that my kids have gelled - that they will implode....everyone talks about it - and its making me a little weary. So I believe my kids are a community.....they seem to genuinely like one another and no one is really getting on any one's nerves...yet. I am working with them on the BG Learning Plan system which is a lot of work. Tomorrow I am going to try and go through each student's entry (although not all of them have done entries). Two of my kids have internships - three others have had shadow days - that may or may not lead to something - and 4 more have shadow days scheduled. I would say that 6 have had difficulty getting shadow days - not for lack of interest necessarily (although there are those as well), more that they are having a hard time connecting their interest with a tangible position (Forensic science? Wild animals?). Then, of course I have kids that are just hard to place. One - my infamous student from Bangladesh (the stories are really endless here), I am uncomfortable shipping him out on his own - I feel the need to accompany him - and my student with an IEP - to a shadow day. That is almost impossible right now - unless I do something after school - which is even harder. The Bengali boy - is very eager - maybe too eager for his own good - so he is pushing and I am pulling back.

The other challenge I face is that several of my student's parents really struggle with the BG curriculum and there is some hand holding required before the first exhibition. As someone who gave out their contact information liberally - I find that some parents need to regularly communicate - and even on this topic. So that adds another element to the already large and sometimes unwieldy workload......

On a positive note - I took the kids to two museums this week on my "internship days." The MET on Tuesday and PS1 today. I let them get lost and explore on their own. It creates some time complications (although they seemed to be catching onto the concept) - but it takes the pressure off of how to enjoy art. I am looking forward to reading their journal entries on the subject. Plus - its a good way for me to chill out and reconnect....

That's it for this week.....