Well, folks, it is now official. Today I signed the transfer papers and am the new English as a Second Language teacher at Whitewater Middle School, which opens in Charlotte, NC, in August 2009. Whew!! What a strange journey has taken me here! For nearly 40 years, the soundtrack of my life has resonated with cross-cultural, international experiences, so this is in a way just part of a long progression; my experiences in Cape Town, South Africa brought it into focus.But it's a little scary, too, because there is so much responsibility that comes along with this position.
All early adolescents feel ill-at-ease both among their peers and in their own skins. Imagine being 13 years old, removed from all your friends and family, in a foreign country where you do not understand the cultural cues, and spending your days in an American middle school among a lot of American early adoloscents whom you can't even understand. Not a comfortable situation. I want not only to teach them to communicate within their daily environment, but also to understand the academic language they need to be successful in school, as well as providing their "safe place" to be themselves. Pretty tall order for someone who as yet doesn't even know the ESL curriculum.
But it's important to be a life-long learner, and I will be able to model this for my students.
Life is good.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
One Year Later
It's hard to believe it's been a year since I was wearing an orthopedic boot and diligently going to physical therapy so my foot would be healed enough for my trip to South Africa. I remember the anticipation and impatience as if it were yesterday, and not a single day goes by that my experience doesn't influence my thoughts and actions.
This year the impatience is about whether or not I get a job teaching ESL this fall. In a normal budget year, this wouldn't be in question, as there is such a shortage of ESL teachers. This year, however, is a whole new ball game. CMS has been laying off teachers in anticipation of a massive budget shortfall, and all teacher transfers have been canceled. The fact remains that ESL teachers are in short supply, and it may be possible mid-summer to move into an ESL position. As they say in South Africa, I am holding thumbs.
In other news this summer is also a time for reunions. Fellow volunteer and Charlottean Sunny Hutchinson has begun a photography business (Themba Photography) and had the opening of her first show a week ago Friday at the Evening Muse in the NoDa arts district of Charlotte. It was so great to go to the opening, see her, and see the beautiful black and white photos of Cape Town. Part of the proceeds of her sales will go to the Cape Town agency where Sunny volunteered--Carehaven, a shelter for battered women and children. I'm pleased to say that when her one-woman show closes at the end of the month, I will be hanging one of her photographs in my home. And now I am counting down again for the end of July. This year, I'm going to DC for a long weekend reunion with Jean Doyle and Stacey Karpen, who volunteered with me last summer at Blossom Street School. I can hardly wait!
On a personal note, I am also saying goodbye later this month to my Italian daughter Claudia, whom Mark and I hosted through the international high school student exchange organization AFS. She's been here nearly a year, and it will be very, very hard to say goodbye. I know how hard it will be because this is not the first time I've had to send "my children" home to their parents. The last time was my AFS son Quique from Chile, whom we hosted two years ago. Quique will be arriving here--along with his brother Marcial--for his first visit since he went back to Chile. They will arrive four days after Claudia departs and will stay a month so they can be here for my son Morgan's wedding to his fiancee Morgan (that's not a typo, by the way). And my daughter Caitlin graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last month and is back home while she looks for a job. It should be an interesting summer.
So now I guess my next internationl travel will have to be to Chile and Italy (I've already visited my German daughter Vera several years ago).
This year the impatience is about whether or not I get a job teaching ESL this fall. In a normal budget year, this wouldn't be in question, as there is such a shortage of ESL teachers. This year, however, is a whole new ball game. CMS has been laying off teachers in anticipation of a massive budget shortfall, and all teacher transfers have been canceled. The fact remains that ESL teachers are in short supply, and it may be possible mid-summer to move into an ESL position. As they say in South Africa, I am holding thumbs.
In other news this summer is also a time for reunions. Fellow volunteer and Charlottean Sunny Hutchinson has begun a photography business (Themba Photography) and had the opening of her first show a week ago Friday at the Evening Muse in the NoDa arts district of Charlotte. It was so great to go to the opening, see her, and see the beautiful black and white photos of Cape Town. Part of the proceeds of her sales will go to the Cape Town agency where Sunny volunteered--Carehaven, a shelter for battered women and children. I'm pleased to say that when her one-woman show closes at the end of the month, I will be hanging one of her photographs in my home. And now I am counting down again for the end of July. This year, I'm going to DC for a long weekend reunion with Jean Doyle and Stacey Karpen, who volunteered with me last summer at Blossom Street School. I can hardly wait!
On a personal note, I am also saying goodbye later this month to my Italian daughter Claudia, whom Mark and I hosted through the international high school student exchange organization AFS. She's been here nearly a year, and it will be very, very hard to say goodbye. I know how hard it will be because this is not the first time I've had to send "my children" home to their parents. The last time was my AFS son Quique from Chile, whom we hosted two years ago. Quique will be arriving here--along with his brother Marcial--for his first visit since he went back to Chile. They will arrive four days after Claudia departs and will stay a month so they can be here for my son Morgan's wedding to his fiancee Morgan (that's not a typo, by the way). And my daughter Caitlin graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last month and is back home while she looks for a job. It should be an interesting summer.
So now I guess my next internationl travel will have to be to Chile and Italy (I've already visited my German daughter Vera several years ago).
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