Despite being tremendously stressed about money, life is wonderful. I am really liking Houston and things are going well... I can even see myself staying here for another year (although not to teach). For the first time ever I am somewhat apathetic about flying home for Christmas, I think that is primarily due to the outrageous cost of flying home.

It snowed in Houston yesterday,craziness! But no fears, it is 74 degrees today!

While school continues to be EXTREMELY stressful and hard to deal with... I am progressing with my students. They took a benchmark test on Wednesday and did a FANTASTIC job. My student took a pretest at the beginning of the year and scored a 45%, then they took Benchmark 1 in October and scored a 54%, this week they took benchmark 2 and scored a 74%!!! My principal was very impressed and happy with me, so that made me feel good. It is hard to get positive feedback on what I am doing in my room.

Tonight is both the Teach For America Christmas party as well as the Gallegos Christmas party, I am bringing my friend Jake. It is going to be a ton of fun... last year the Gallegos one got out of had as a little too much Tequilla was served and these Hispanics that I teach with know how to drink it... they're crazy! I am excited to let loose and enjoy a night.

Christina's visit was enjoyable, it was so nice of her to fly down to visit me. We had a low key but very enjoyable time. We went to the Science museum, ate some good food, shopped at the Galleria, and hung out a lot with Jake... the three of us had a bit of a margarita tour and just enjoyed being with each other. The Thanksgiving meal itself turned out really well.... we had to cut the turkey with a pearing knife as we didn't have a carving knife, ooops. Created some humor.

hmmm, I feel like I have so much to say... but I can't think of it right now. Life is going well despite financial problems (having to put new brakes and rotors on my car last week did not help!)

Please write when you can, I miss you all.

Much love, Robert

I don't want to be here anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

home, ugh!

I want to go home! It's getting much colder here which is making me think of home much more, kind of weird, huh? Walking out the door to crispy cold air every morning over this past week has made me think of home much more... I miss it!

1 more week and it is Thanksgiving break, thank God. I need a break from circus conducting. I need some sleep and some peace. These children are CRAZY. My teaching partner is out for the week due to a death in the family, the other 5th grade English teacher is out due to illness, this leaves the new teacher (who started a week ago) and myself to hold down 80 5th graders. And! I got a new student today! And! I have to miss this afternoon to go to a training on how to login to a website. UGH.

My sickness is going away, I am still fairly congested, two weeks of this crap! But! I did not miss a day of work.

Home, home, home. 6 more months of teaching.

The good news is that now that I am teaching Saturday school, I am only working at the running store on an as needed basis... so I am not going to be on the schedule every weekend... I get to tell them when I am able to work. This is a lot of relief and will relax a lot of anxiety that comes with having to work on the weekends.

Anyway, enough of my mindless rambles. I miss you all. If you ever want to send me mail or packages from Oregon, California, or Washington, or wherever you are, I would appreciate it! At this point I need whatever to get through this last 6 miles of my 26 mile (month) marathon!!!!

Robert Street
7009 Almeda Rd #1436
Houston, TX 77054

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!
Robert

College Station

Sometimes you just need to get out of the city and see a little country. My buddy Jake and I went to College Station last weekend where I was able to experience the real Texas. Living in Houston does not really give me the pleasure of seeing the stereotypical Texan antics that Texas is so known for, yes, there is an occasional cowboy on his horse on the side of the freeway near downtown and yes, sometimes I see boots and cowboy hats and occasionally get some tobacco spit on my car from a passing Ford F350. But, the 60 mile drive to College Station? On the drive, indeed, I was reminded, I am in Texas. Texans are weird. There was a wreck on the freeway on the way up to College Station, so what do Texans do?! Forget waiting patiently for the wreck to be cleared, let's off road around the disaster through the mud and gravel right through an active construction site!

We went to College Station for the Texas A&M versus Oklahoma Football game. I was again reminded of my whereabouts by the Texan blonds in their mini jean skirts and cowboy boots, not one, not two, but probably 90% of the coeds I encountered fit this description. Drunk at 11 am? Yes, Texas.

In all actuality, I had a really good time getting out of Houston for a day and taking off the weekend from work. It was great spending time with a friend not involved in the teaching profession. College Station is a neat place definitely centered around the University. A&M is a pretty campus (sorry Jake, not as pretty as the University of Texas at Austin) and home to the Bush library, a field trip to be completed in the future.

I got home from College Station and came down with a VERY nasty fever and sickness. It sucked. I am feeling a lot better now and didn't even miss a day of work (I should have).

I have to teach tutorials after school now Monday-Thursday, not too happy about it. A school day from 7:30-4:30 is just too long on top of Saturday school and planning, etc. I am going to HAVE to quit the running store, any advice on telling a company that you can't work for them when you have only been with them for 3 months?

Man, I am excited to be home for Christmas, I CAN'T Wait! All the Christmas decorations are out and the streets are all lit with Christmas lights, the malls are decorated, and the 3 month Christmas spirit is alive... is it like that in the NW? I forget.

Love you all!

Not really anything new to report other than school continues to be extremely demanding and not the happiest of all places. I feel like it is beginning to not be a very positive place. So many expectations and very little positive feedback. I am confident my students are where they need to be. However, I don't really get much feedback on how well they are doing. The only feedback I get is why I am not teaching Saturday tutorials, or why I am not differentiating, or why I am having them do a writing assignment, etc (Remember writing isn't state tested in the 5th grade, therefore, writing should not really be taught according to superiors. I really wish I could do projects with them and more authentic instruction instead of continuously teaching test taking strategies... I should be hired by Kaplan. One of the fifth grade teachers on our team, who I get along with really well, was removed from her classroom and sent to teach elsewhere and was replaced by another corps member, just creates a lot of awkwardness. I feel she was unfairly removed and not really given the chance to turn things around in her room, she's only a first year TFA teacher!

I am excited for Christina to come and visited for Thanksgiving break... I have a HUGE pile for her to file and many little classroom projects just waiting for her to arrive and complete them.

Outdoor School

I am sitting in the lodge right now getting a free wireless signal so I thought I'd write. I have had the EXTRAORDINARY privilege of taking the 5th graders to a week of outdoor school on a beautiful lake in Trinity, Texas. This place is beautiful, hard to believe it is in Texas! I look outside and I am reminded of what Oregon looks like.

The kids have had the opportunity to ride horses, go fishing, participate in a huge ropes course, learn about the ecology of ponds, forests, and farms, and much more. Most importantly, they have lived in a cabin in the outdoors surrounded by trees and bright stars for the first time in their lives. They have grown close to their peers and discovered a new sense of leadership and maturity. Most of my students have never been outside of Houston and were SHOCKED when they discovered the night sky and the radiant stars with the Milky Way right over their heads. The look on their face as they saw the stars has forever been imprinted on my mind. It has been so cool being here and watching from afar as they experience what they have been able to experience. The camp provides its own teachers and counselors, so my role has been quite miniscule abling me to watch and observe and work on some much needed work (ie graduate school applications). The kids got a chance to participate in a camp fire and sing songs and perform skits for their peers. At camp, they have bussed their own tables as they eat family style with each student having their own chore or daily task.

We're about to go back to school. I have heard over and over that they would like to stay for another week. I am so happy for them for having been granted this opportunity to explore the outdoor wilderness and discover a world outside of their 74th street and Harrisburg bubble that so many are stuck in.

It's Halloween today! Unfortunately I have a professional development for Teach For America early in the morning and have to work all weekend at Luke's Locker... I am honestly not sure how much longer I can work on the weekends... it is quite draining and not really worth it despite the fun people I get to meet.

Hope you are all well, thinking of y'all, 7 more weeks until Christmas break!!!!

Sick

Ugh, I am not feeling very well. I don't have the option of staying home sick because a. my kids are too far behind with Ike. etc and b. my principal prefers that we come to school no matter what as long as we're breathing. Since I have to be at school, the only thing I feel like doing is sitting at my desk and writing a blog. However, sitting at my desk, to the students, means time to talk and forget every rule in the book. The second I stand up, they get quiet and get back to work, an interesting game to watch and play. These kids are a handful. So much pressure is on me to bring them from 54% last year to 90%. I have faith that I can do it, but it is so hard. Other than a language barrier their main problem stems from laziness. They just don't know what it means to work hard. They have a difficult time using all of their reading strategies, sitting down to work, shutting their mouth, etc. They'd rather see me stand up and get angry.

I had a fairly good weekend. I worked all day Saturday and didn't really do much Saturday night. I randomly had Sunday off, which was nice! I went to church, ran some errands and had a VERY lazy day. I have gotten use to working on Saturdays and Sundays and so yesterday felt very bored with such a slowdown in usual pace. It made me feel lonely and reminded me why I work on the weekends. Last night I went to dinner at a new friend's house (Morgana). Morgana is an 08 corps member and from CANBY! How random!!! She grew up in Mulino then moved to Canby sometime after Mom moved. Her mother was in town and she cooked a Lebanese feast for a group of us. So, not only did I have a home cooked meal by a mom, I also had some Canby love too!
James, a good college friend and fraternity brother is in town for two weeks training for his job. I am looking forward to seeing him. Tonight I am going to a TFA benefit dinner with all the big money philanthropist in Houston as well as the founder of TFA, Wendy Kopp. Should be a good time and good food!

Next week, I am taking the 5th graders to outdoor school for a week at a camp 1 1/2 hours North of here, not really sure what to think nor expect... wish me luck. 7 months left! I have completed 19 miles of the TFA Marathon! WOOOOT!

Fall Happenings

My trip to Portland was amazing. I had a great time spending time with Christina, Mom, and Grandma. The marathon was amazing! I hurt like heck for a few days afterward... I mean I hurt!!! The race itself was fantastic. It was such a cool experience. I ran much faster than I was expecting too and had much more fun than I thought I would. It was pretty cool being in this massive group of fit people that had all been training just as hard as I had been. There was an inspiring amount of camaraderie among the other runners encouraging each other throughout the whole journey. It was wet and cold, but refreshing after spending a summer training in Houston.

School is going well... the countdown has begun to the end of the school. My students are beginning to make gains... I have so much doubt over my effectiveness as a teacher, I just hope I am doing the right thing. My kids are beginning to act like 5th graders and are growing and changing out of their sweet, innocent 4th grade personalities.

I started to go to a young adults group at St. Martin's Episcopal... I am enjoying it thus far... a bunch of young people my age, randomly many of them are teachers. We're reading the book, A Year of Living Biblically about an agnostic man who tries to live one full year by the exact words of the bible... I am on month two of his journey.

Kids are back from the one week trip to PE and it's time for school pictures.

If anyone wants to come and watch the Portland Marathon here is some information. I would love to know if you will be there so that I can look for you! In addition, the support from family and friends would be VERY helpful :)

Spectator Guide

Every year the Marathon runners consistently say how wonderful the spectators are throughout the course and are so encouraged along the way because of your enthusiastic support. We would like to help you find the best spot to cheer on runners with the following suggestions.

DOWNTOWN, due to its proximity to the start and finish areas, is a great area to observe:

* SW Broadway from Salmon north to NW Davis (mile 1).
* East on NW Davis to SW Naito Parkway (Front Ave.).
* South on SW Naito Parkway to SW Harrison (mile 1 to approx. mile 3).
* West on SW Harrison to Barbur Blvd.
* All SW Naito Parkway (mile 4 to 11). Runners pass twice on Naito Parkway between NW 17th Ave. and turnaround past mile 9.
* From NW 17th Ave. and west on Raleigh to mile 12.
* Toward the finish area on 3rd and Madison from NW Flanders and Front Ave. (mile 25 to 26).

Between mile 19 and 20 on Willamette Blvd. 1-5 North, take the Lombard West exit, follow until Olin Ave. or Portsmouth Ave. Take a left on either of the two until Willamette Blvd.

Between mile 21 and 22 on Willamette Blvd. 1-5 North, take the Lombard West exit. Left on Greeley Ave., and right on N. Portland Blvd.

We do not recommend spectators to watch between:

* All spectators must stay out of the assembly area on SW Salmon between SW 4th and SW Naito Blvd.
* Miles 12 and 18 due to the heavy traffic of St. Helens Rd!
* Mile 23 and 25 due to blocked streets or heavy traffic on Interstate Ave.

back to the grindstone

School started back up yesterday. After two weeks off, it felt like the beginning of the school year all over again. On one hand it was great, I was able to do some things completely over that didn’t work for the first three weeks and I was able to start over with a few students who were behavior problems and affecting my mood in the classroom… on the other hand, it was hard starting all over. The beginning of the year is tedious, investing students, getting them involved in big classroom goals, management, procedures… I was impatiently waiting for that period to be over so that learning and instruction could take place. We had finally gotten to the learning part when Ike hit. To my wonderful surprise, yesterday went very well. All of my students showed up to school (there was an understandable fear that we might have lost a lot of kids due to how transient our students are and when they evacuated, we feared they may just as well stay where they fled to). My kids came very eager to see me and begin learning again. School is stable for them with the structure and support that many of them need. In a sense, coming to school to see Mr. Street was comforting and a relief from the chaos that Ike brought. My kids lost a lot… some roofs, some holes in roofs, some flooding, and all without power.

The power is still a huge issue in Houston. There are about 500,000 still without power two weeks after the storm. Last night, on my drive home, I saw a caravan of at least 50 utility trucks driving down the freeway. Crazy! For some reason the caravans of ambulances, police cars, S.W.A.T. vehicles, and now utility trucks that this hurricane has brought, intrigues me. Life seems to be returning to somewhat of a normal state. The city is still a mess in parts, especially south in Galveston and surrounding areas (40 miles from Houston).

In order to make up for the loss of school, I think the school board is going to vote to extend the school day 1 hour for the remainder of the fall… school from 7:15-4:00 seems crazy to me, but the students need it.

I am coming home in a week to run the Portland Marathon. The hurricane put a little bit of a damper to training but I am not going to let that stop me. I have been dealing with shin splints in my left leg. I am excited to be in Portland and excited for the marathon challenge.

Working at the running store has been a lot of fun! The customers are fun to talk to. I am learning a lot about the mechanics of running and feet and various shoes and technology that can be used for the variety of problems runners and walkers face. I really enjoy it.

I have been thinking a lot about next year and am really indecisive as far as to what it is exactly that I want to do. I am going to apply to another graduate program and compare it to the Boston College program. In addition, I think I am going to apply at a few places in the Northwest and work for a year or two until I know what it is exactly that I want to go to graduate school for. One idea for next year is to work at the admission office or development office at Whitman and gain some experience working in higher education. Another idea is to apply to work at Oregon Episcopal or another Portland area private school (I can’t teach public as my Texas license won’t transfer without three years of teaching experience in Texas). Another idea is to work in the business sector for a few years in either PR or HR and see if business is something that I may want to go into. There are a lot of options; I am trying to figure it all out.

Ike visits

(editor note: the internet is extremely spotty so in the interest of time I am not going to edit this nor worry about grammar and this post my be posted in pieces as I am unsure how long I am going to have the internet working for.)

Ike came with a fury as I was sound asleep and left in its wake a mess and an extra week at least of summer vacation. I really don't have too exciting of a story as nothing horrible happened to me, just a loss of power which we still don't have back. At the very last minute my roommate and a couple of TFA friends and I decided to go to one of my friends condos downtown (he was out of town and willing to allow us to housesit for him). We were SO fortunate to be downtown because a. we never lost power as downtown has the only underground power lines in Houston and b. had we stayed in our apartment our cars would have been smashed by huge slabs of fence and trees which littered our parking lot not to mention the humid heat that infilterated our apartment once the air conditioner stopped running for the first time in months.

We rode out the storm in style. With school being canceled Friday, I spent the first part of the day working at the running store lifting everything off the ground and preparing the store for the hurricane. Following work, my roommate and I and a few friends loaded up on wine and board games at Target then went to the condo downtown, ordered pizza, watched many episodes of the television show House and had a good time just hanging out, waiting for Ike. Periodically we'd step outside to see how the weather had changed while watching the news to see that hours before Ike even hit land, areas of Texas were already flooding and the sea walls were already being breached, we knew at that point, that this was going to be real. We watched as the wind picked up. Everyone in the condo complex was on the top deck of the 12 story complex hanging out in the wind and drinking "hurricane" punch. It was a party.

I went to bed around midnight not willing to stay awake until 3:00 am when the storm was supposed to visit downtown. I woke up once to go to the restroom and looked outside to see horizontal rain and hear the wind rattling the building, but then fell back asleep soundly. We all slept very well that night in the middle of the condo complex that was built in the early 1900's and made entirely of brick and stucco. (It was this very building that JFK spent his last night before his trip to Dallas where he was asassinnated the next day). We woke up at 8:00 not really thinking much had happened. Looking through the one small window in the condo did not reveal the disaster that stepping outside revealed. Quickly, we ran outside to see what had happened. The shock of seeing the Chase tower, the tallest building in the South and the 8th tallest in the world, made it real. The building had lost every single window from the 30th floor down and with the loss of windows came an incredible sight of piles of glass, office papers, office furniture and mini blinds. Everywhere! We couldn't walk outside much at all due to the ungodly amount of glass in the streets, on cars, and sidewalks. Then the SWAT teams came through downtown and numerous police cars and the city wide intercom system yelling "Stay inside" "off the streets!" We went back inside and continued the House marathon as we never lost power (one of only a couple of hundred residences in the entire city that did not lose power so we're told).

Later in the afternoon we ventured outside to the ONLY restaurant and bar open and watched college football and ate hot food and drank beer thinking we were mighty luck to be where we were around other very thankful people as well. Then I was interviewed by Canadian television and we stayed inside for the next day or so. The effects of Ike struck even harder as I drove to my apartment bolting down power lines, trees, lamp posts, and see crumbles of buildings that did not fair very well. We discovered that we did not have power, so we emptied our refrigerator and freezer and bunkered down at another friend's apartment that had power. The House marathon continued. We took our first showers and were one of very few people able to go on a treadmill and get a workout in.

The city is bouncing back up, albeit slowly. There is still very few people with power, although we just got it back but we're in the medical center. I donated not one but two units of blood and might be going to Louisianna to help out with whatever is needed. There are some Houstonians there that sought refuge from Ike as well as some people from LA that felt the enormous empact of the storm. I am waiting for confirmation on what the need is. It's interesting watching how poeple react to no stop lights and having to revert back to the olden days of traffic control of patience and fairness. Seeing people at the grocery store frantically diving for what little ice or water is left. Yesterday Target was out of all beer, water and produce as well as all perishables. Stores are slowly opening, today, I went to my first Starbucks in a week. Things are open around us but again we're in a bubble that had its electricity come back on first. Gas stations still have mile (not exagarrating) long lines and are being run by the police. It's quite the sight.

I am so thankful for everything I have. It's crazy seeing CNN and all the catastrphic things that are happening with the crash of Lehman Brothers, hurricanes, floods in Chicago, and Palin on a presidential ticket, what is going on?!

I am thankful to all of you the reached out and expressed concern. I love you all.

Tonight's Run

I went on a run tonight right before dark and had the most euphoric beautiful experience ever. For once in several months there was not any humidity and the temperature was in the mid 70's with a nice pleasant breeze. I began running and I felt great. My body has been hurting recently and I had a really bad weekend where I just felt overly lonely which began on my Birthday without really having anyone to hang out with. Anyway, I began running feeling well and enjoying the weather. As I was running, I switched music from the normal techno/music with various beats that I run well to, to a mix that my dear friend Angela made awhile ago. Along the route I first ran along the bayou, along the rushing water from recent rain and along grassy meadows and trees. I ran through a nice neighborhood and into the medical center. I ran through the medical center, the largest in the world, passing the radiation center, the cancer center, the several children's hospitals, the medical schools, listening to this mix from Angela with a bunch of songs with various meanings. I felt so powerful and at ease, I was running a great pace without breathing hard, I felt great. THe anxiety I felt all day ceased. I kept going, I passed a young 20 something year old woman with a bald head from cancer sitting on a bench in the dark, then I passed a roaring waterfall, ambulance with paramedics working on patients, a car accident, mean while I kept going, listening to this beautiful music thinking God, I feel so good. I am so healthy. THen I passed a few homeless men in the park. All my stress and my unhappiness exist why? There are patients looking out the window at me, healthy, running, feeling great to music with sentimental and powerful lyrics. I am blessed. Darkness drew. I kept going. I ran through the zoo, through the golf course, memories flooding from my years with Angela, Canby, home, mom, living. I eventually got back to my apartment with a different outlook on things. I think this is what is called a runner's high. This makes absolute no sense. I did not do justice to the run I just went on, but that's the beauty of it... it was too incredible to put into words :)

Turning 24 At School

Despite feeling like a circus conductor trying to train 42 different monkeys that understand different languages and commands, life at school is going really well. I am having fun. I feel much more confident and enthusiastic than last year... it is amazing what one year can do! Second year is truly much easier. I have two sets of 5th graders with 20 and 21 in each class. They came to be really behind which is making me work really hard right away with a huge sense of urgency to get them to pass and at the level of their peers. It is nice having a stable classroom where I am not pulled to do this thing and that. Stability has led to a huge increase in overall happiness. Each day has seemed like five in one and after school tutorials start in a week!

Other than school I have been really busy teaching a few private lessons after school and working out, the Portland marathon is now in a month, yikes! I am excited despite some shin issues. Being busy outside of school by exercising has given me something to do and not feel as lonely. I cannot wait for the day when I have a lot of friends and family around me.... my life is in quiet solitude right now which is apparent today on my Birthday with no real plans of anything other than going for a run when it cools off. It makes me sad, but whatever, I chose to be here and put myself in my situation.

The kids have helped me celebrate my Birthday, they began the day singing to me. One girl gave me a bottle of cologne, haha. So sweet. Another boy gave me a snow globe that had to have come from his house with one dolphin in it that is in its position, but the other dolphin has broken off and lays dead on the bottom of the globe!!! I have also gotten an old stuffed animal and Hershey kisses, the thought is what counts in the lives of these kids. My homeroom class from last year brought be a cake and sang to me at lunch. The kids have made my day.

Gotta go grade some tests to see if I really taught them anything this week!

Robert

It's been awhile

Yesterday was the first day of school and man was I tired! I started back two weeks ago with professional development, workshops, and other long, mundane, teacherly activities... it made me excited for the kids to come back! I am teaching 5th grade reading and writing to the ESL portion of 5th grade. I have 40 students total split between two classes. Right now they're taking a day long Reading test required by the district, second day of school and a 7 hour test, ha! Tomorrow is Math and then Thursday is Science and Writing... some of the kids are beginning, after three years of taking state tests, to enjoy these lengthy beasts.

I have 4 students that moved here from Mexico over the summer, one of whom has never been to school before. I feel horrible for them because they're in my class and they do not know or understand that much English... I know I should not be teaching them as I am not able to service them the way that they need to be serviced. This is going to be a challenge!

It is kind of nice getting back into a routine. I am staying extremely busy. I am continuing to train for the Portland Marathon which is on October 5th. It has been good for me to pick up and find enjoyment in going for long runs. I am also swimming on a master's team a few days a week and cycling 2-3 times a week. Exercising has become THE activity to do in Houston to stay away from food and shopping, the two big Houston activities. It has been a good outlet though and a way to relax after work and put my mind elsewhere. I feel much better now too!

I am teaching a few private swimming lessons and might start working at a running store on the weekends for a. a good discount, b. some extra cash to pay down debt, and c. something to do! I still feel pretty lonely here but I am set on living life in solitude for one more year while concentrating on the task at hand here at school. 10 months, seems like nothing! I remember last June, being at institute, thinking that I has 26 months ahead of me! It's as if I am on mile 16 of the marathon!

Anyway, I hope this finds everyone well. Miss you all.

Much love,
Robert

Portland Marathon

i signed up for the Portland Marathon on October 5th.... I need some accountability now!

TGIF

As of now my certification issues are looking much better, sometimes you have to just go to the top of the ladder to get a situations fixed instead of dealing with all the different people below the director. This relieves a lot of stress... and might provide me the opportunity to go home for half of July and half of August... we'll see soon.

Last day of swim team is tomorrow and the last day of school is July 3rd, coming so quickly! I am attaching some pictures that were just emailed to me. The first few are of Herman Park in Houston, the one green area in the city, ha!

Summer Blues?

The new corps members just took over my summer school classroom about 15 minutes ago and it is so crazy watching them as they nervously stand in front of my 17 students and with shaky voices explain the "new" classroom rules and expectations. I remember being them just one year ago. I remember the crazy amount of stress, nerves, dramaturgical enthusiasm and tiredness I felt with my first week of institute. I hated it. I see the tiredness in their eyes and feel their stress. I remember the naivity as I looked forward to changing the lives of the students in my classroom and having an empact on the world. Right now they are explaining to my students "active learning position" or in my room we call it "scholar position" as if they have never learned active learning position before. It is VERY weird watching them take over my room, for once in my life I feel like I have some knowledge of the teaching profession, simply by having a year of experience leading a classroom. I will not claim I know what I am doing, but I feel like a strangely mature teacher being in here with the new corps members.

I came down with a terrible fever on Thursday before lunch. I somehow managed to make it through the school day although almost in tears and hurting horribly as my my body trembled while I made an attempt to teach my students. I stayed home on Friday because I was too weak to get out of bed... the sickness made for a pretty dull weekend. I also felt really lonely. I wanted so badly to be at home or at a place where I could be around people who cared that I was sick and were willing to bring over soup or gatorade. It sucked being sick alone! My roommates have left for a trip for an undisclosed amount of time and shut off the cable and internet prior to leaving without telling me, so it was truely a very boring stint.

I still can't shake off this unhappiness I have been feeling for the past month. I haven't ever really felt this alone and this down, I was so happy for the first few months of 08. But recently, it has been hard to be enthusiastic about much. A big reason is just being alone, something I hate with a passion. I am going to a gastrointernist at Baylor School of Medicine today to figure out what is going on with my stomach. I have had stomoach issues my whole life, particularly the last few years and especially the last few months. Hopefully all goes well. I am going to really work on trying to be happier... I am having severe certification issues due to the special education certification process and me no longer being a special education teacher. There are two classes I was supposed to take this summer. One of which I was told I did not need to take but then at last minute was told I had to take it but by that point I was already 2 months into coaching my swim team. The other class is supposed to be in July. Well, both classes have to be completed by August to be certified otherwise I have to be an "intern" another year. If that's the case then I am not going to take the class in July and just come home. The district will require that I take them next summer, but I am only teaching here for two years and my certificate, if I did get it, won't transfer anywhere anyway. So, I may be coming home for a big part of July and August. That makes me excited.

Summer School

I have been on a severe emotional roller coaster and I am unclear as to why... I mean there are a lot of things I am facing but I am normally not so up and down, but I have been lately, and it bothers me. For the most part life is going well. I do not like the fact that I am teaching summer school but I am really enjoying the students that I have. I actually love this class. But, it is hard to wake up everyday with the sun out and knowing that this is an optional thing and something that is extra. But this extra will be what saves me financially and allows me to save. Saving is just something I haven't been able to do and it frustrates me. Things come up. Tires get slashed and a new set of tires had to be purchased, gas now costs me $200 a month on top of $300 a month in insurance. I get so overwelmed by all of this. I find it even harder because in order to make friends and go out and be social, things cost money, like going out to eat or to the movies, etc. I need to grow up and get rid of all the debt I carry from college and paying for going abroad, text books, etc, then life will be a little easier, at least financially.

The new 2008 corps arrived in Houston this week and this is their first day observing classrooms and sitting through sessions. My elementary school is one of 4 elementary schools hosting Teach For America's summer institute... it honestly makes me cringe seeing them and seeing all the posters on the walls of their schedules, expectations, rules, etc it brings me back to last year and the horrendously tiring and tough experience TFA laid upon my freshly graduated and very naive to the urban teaching world soul. I do not wish to be them, not even for a second do I wish to go back to the beginning of TFA and start things over... I am ready for next year and one more step closer toward completing two years of very tough public service. Anxiety now begins to rest on what I to do next, I seriously am stuck, not even a clue anymore as what to do with life.

Summer plans are to finish coaching (2 more weeks) and finish summer school (July 3), and take two different classes to complete the certification process so that I can teach next year. The certification process is uberly irritating. In order to even transfer my teaching certifcate out of Texas I will have had to teach in Texas for two years, something I am not real thrilled on doing! If I stay in Texas it is not to teach. I hope to go home at some point for a week or two this summer... i just need to figure out when that is going to be. I also hope to go to San Fransisco for the 4th of July to be with John's family and meet mom there.

I have so much more to say but not really the urge to keep writing, maybe more later.

Much love,
Robert

Summer time is beginning!

While I will be teaching a few weeks of summer school and taking two classes to finish up m certification in both ESL and Special Ed... I am finding the time to have fun with fellow teachers at barbques to coaching at the Houton Racquet Club (I have a free summer membership due to being the assistant head coach! a $24,000 value :) ) Above are some random pictures of TFA friends and coaching.

San Antonio

Jake and I went to San Antonio last weekend and went to Feista Six Flags over Texas, it was an awesome adventure and felt so good to get away from Houston. We camped at a KOA campground (thanks to the grandparents for the introduction to KOA camping on our trip to South Dakota 10 years ago!) Six Flags was fun... I wasn't feeling very well after going on a bad first right that made me sick and eating tamales that I brought with us that one of my students gave me. It was fun people watching... Texans are a different breed! Why is the obesity rate so high here? I contribute it to the heat, lack of outdoor activity, and an abundance of restaurant choices.

On the second day in SA we hung out on the BEAUTIFUL riverwalk (see above pictures) and then did one of the more infamous things... floating the Guadalupe River on tubes. Nick Bomalaski, one of my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers was in town for the weekend, and he was able to join us for the adventure. It was an adventure to say the least! Imagine a 5 hour journey on innertubes floating down a river that is jam packed with other tubers all very intoxicated and rockin it red neck style. I seriously felt like I was in another world. We saw nudity, many fights, and VERY silly people doing very drunk things. It was a Texas experience. There were thousands and thousands of tubers floatin down. Jake saved a lady's life while I tried to make peace between two women fighting over who said what to whoever's boyfriend. Jesus. Nick, who is from San Antonio, but went to Whitman and now lives in Alaska, put it well by saying, "Robert, this is what Texans call an outdoor adventure!"... I tried to explain to Jake the beauty of white water river kayaking, rock climbing up steep peeks, and being in the mountains and what really cold water is (this water was around 75 degrees!)... I wish for all Texans to make a pilgrimage up north to the serenity and greenery of the Pacific Northwest... then they'll know beauty.

Last Day of School

Second grade has been crazy, but man am I ever glad it is over... it has been rewarding to have had the immediate and direct impact on the lives of the kids in this second grade class. I had them for a month. I came to them in the middle of a very chaotic period with different substitutes everyday and no real classroom community established other than one of meanness and bickering. I understand why they their behavior was so miserable and why learning had not been occuring! I felt for them. They missed out on a lot, second grade is such a fun year and they missed it. They did not have a healthy classroom setting. There was no discipline or structure set in place. Thus learning had not really been happening (on average their state test scores show that they are a year behind their peers). While I was not able to teach them a lot academically, I feel like I came in and created the stability, structure, and expectations that they needed in order to be in a place where each student felt welcome. It took a lot of compassion, patients, sensitivity, and VERY high expectations, but I feel I was pretty successful. It began with the first 45 minutes I had with them and learning to walk from the cafeteria to the classroom without pushing, shoving, and talking. Not one student was sent to the office while in my care whereas prior to me coming, the office staff saw a few of them everyday. I provided them one teacher for 1 month so that each day the little boys and girls came to class and knew Mr. Street would be there to pick them up from the cafeteria and then walk them to class and shake their hand and say good morning while they waited, sometimes too eagerly, to walk into my room and begin an actual routine. I have enjoyed these energetic and somewhat crazy ninos and ninas, but it is time to move up the ladder to 5TH GRADE!

I get to follow my 4th grade scholars to 5th grade next year and teach them Reading, Social Studies, and a little bit of Science, I couldn't be more excited! I will be able to have my same classroom and seriously cannot wait to begin...5th grade is an exciting period. I have such fond memories of my time in 5th grade (gosh, 13 years ago!)

Above are some pictures of my stint in 2nd grade.