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Ultimately, after weighing my options, I believe that I will get most out of the experience if I am paired with Phill at Brooklyn Collaborative Studies.

I was really taken by him saying “I don’t want the students to know who is the teacher and who is the student teacher at the start of the school year.” That means that he will work me very very hard coming up to the start of the school year and will also have extremely high expectations of me - which I am ready for. I am someone who works best when I have a lot of work to do, have agency in my work, and have a lot of responsibility. I believe that Phill’s classroom will provide me with that structure.

Even though I will have a 45 minute commute and will be working in high school classrooms I believe working with Phill will be worth it. I will still really learn how to teach, write a curriculum, and plan a year from him. I will still, of course, get my experience working in the middle school one day a week. I think I will prefer really diving in head first - and this is something I sense I will get from working with Phill. Based on my past experiences, this is how I learn best.

I'm really excited by the fact that BSC is an outward bounds school and is, therefore, less test-focused. I will also be able to design and implement my own lessons and curricula. Phill will also teach me how to write IEPs. 60% of Phill's students have IEP's - so I will gain a lot of experience working with students with IEPs. I would also prefer to learn how to work with both boys and girls. The opportunity to support Phill's film class is another very exciting prospect.

All in all, while I would be more than happy working at both schools, I believe that I will gain the most experience working in Phill's classroom and that it will prepare me to be the best teacher I can be for my future students.

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My personal BSC experience and opportunities I will have.

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My personal BSC experience and opportunities I will have.

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I was so excited when Phill invited me to observe BSC in person. Speaking to Phill, I was very excited by the role he expects me to fill. He seems to have a really clear plan for what he wants to do with his student teachers. This makes sense, as I will be his tenth (!) TR@TC resident. He told me that he likes to plan the entire year out meticulously in the summer. This is very appealing to me because I feel that this will make my experience later far more relaxed and less rushed. I also really love that he wants me to really design my curriculum (and he will be supporting me.) Additionally, he emphasized that he will train me in how to write effective IEPs and run IEP meetings. He also specifically told me that I Something else that really excited me was the potential for after school/ extra curricular activities at the school. Specifically, he has been running a script writing club, where their scripts have one a nation-wide competition 4 times and their script has been made into a Showtime short! My background in film and television really drew me to this opportunity.

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My personal TYWSL experience and opportunities I will have

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My personal TYWSL experience and opportunities I will have

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I was so taken by my TWYLS visit. I was mostly taken by (a) the students! (b) the curriculum and (c) speaking to Jen about the TWYLS culture.

(a) The students were the most engaged I have seen students this year. A huge percentage of students participated throughout the class and contributed some amazing insights. Their attitude will create wonderful opportunities for me to work with extremely engaged students.

(b) As soon as Jen told me that the girls were studying the podcast Serial I was so excited. (1) it is an amazing podcast and (2) I had never heard of an ELA classroom studying a podcast. I am extremely excited by the opportunity to teach this.

(c) While speaking with Jen, the community at TYWLS, particularly amongst the teachers, really stood out to me. The teachers have mostly all been there for many years and seem to share curriculum, work well together, and support each other.

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I was so excited and content after seeing both of my placements, and left my observations feeling very confident that I would be successful in either places. Both placements would check most of these boxes, but I do believe BSC slightly outweighs TYWLS here.

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Before I went to my observations I wrote down the following points that were most important to me in a placement:

A rigorous experience.
A school with a social justice oriented curriculum.

Somewhere where my position and role is clear. (I don't want to be seen as a burden).

An experience where I get to put my own activities, lesson plans, and units into practice.

A space where I gain a lot of experience in Special Education classrooms.

An experience where I really learn how to write IEPs.

A welcoming and tightly knit teacher/staff environment.

As much teaching experience as possible!

Paired with someone who really knows how to train student teachers.
Middle school.
30 minute or less commute.

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4 units this year. One unit that stood out to me (that he didn't teach this year but usually does) is a unit on the Haitian/Dominican relationship.

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3 units this year. The one that stood out to me the most was on the podcast Serial

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Curriculum will be written this summer, and Phill expects me to work on it with him, suggest unit texts and plan activities.

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Phill does not want student's to know which is the student teacher and which is the lead teacher in the space. This means that right from the start of the school year we will share classroom responsibilities as equally as possible.

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Curriculum is already written, but she hopes I will contribute ideas for any adjustments.

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Begin the year observing the space, getting to know the students, and being a teacher's assistant.  Gradually gain more responsibility as they year goes on, and start co-teaching. Finish the year having led lessons.

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Students have a lot of agency in what and how they learn

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Students are young leaders - very empowered, engaged, and excited to learn

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Curriculum will be created this summer

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Curriculum is written and planned for next year

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Curriculum is focused on hands on learning experiences

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Social justice and leadership oriented curriculum

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Teachers use first names (e.g. Phill not Mr. Grubler)

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Teachers use last names (e.g. Ms. Kydon-Rios not Ms. Jen)

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Started working with TR@TC 10 years ago

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Started working with TR@TC last year

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15+ years at BCS

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6 years at TYWLS Bronx

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High School ELA Special Education (Next year he will teach 11th grade and either 9th or 10th grade)

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8th Grade ELA Special Education/General Education

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Regents

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PBAT

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Grades 6-12

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Outward Bounds school

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Grades 6-12

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All girls public school