Student Teaching - Week #11

By Kristin Trease – Kelvyn Park High School

Life in the City

Now that November has officially set in, the air is cooler, the leaves have fallen off the trees, and unfortunately, Christmas has started to sneak in. I am a very, very big advocate for holidays staying in order, so I want nothing to do with Christmas until after Thanksgiving. This blatant disregard for the calendar was clearest when my roommate and I were walking through Michael’s craft store. I love Michael’s but Halloween was barely over.

Comedy Sportz

One of my roommate’s dreams came true: her day was made into a musical. That’s what happens when she volunteers to tell an improv team how her day went during their show. It was very funny; I got to make a cameo, as did Neil Patrick Harris, an actor on our favorite TV show. We’ve been slightly addicted to “How I Met Your Mother” the past week. And by we, I mean I’m always asking if we can watch it on her Netflix account. Improv shows are definitely not my favorite form of entertainment, but it was a pretty fun Thursday evening.

My roommate and I have also discovered our shared love of listening to 90s Radio Hits. We listen when we do homework, when we clean, when we cook. It’s a mutual love for all that is pop and 90s fabulous. Because who wouldn’t want to write this blog post with “Blue” by Eiffel 65 playing? I’m blue, da ba dee da ba die.

2012 Presidential Debate

Life in the Classroom

I’ve also discovered some pretty cool stuff about my students the past couple weeks. For one, most of them love debates. They don’t want to prepare for them, but they love arguing. We had some very good discussions about war, immigration, same-sex marriage, and pro-choice issues. Our unit followed the presidential election, so it worked perfectly to have our debates on Tuesday, the day all of the other debating would finally end.

They were all so excited that Obama won. A couple of them tried to tease me about it, assuming that I had voted for Romney. The look on their faces when I told them I voted for Obama was priceless, like their whole work perception was shifting. Here was this white woman in front of them and she voted for Obama. I didn’t tell many of them that I voted McCain four years ago…

I was also told Thursday that I should get a job at T-Mobile. Apparently they’re hiring. I was talking to a couple of my students about how I had to vote absentee because I couldn’t go home to do it. They were shocked that I moved to Chicago without my family to teach. Then they asked what I was going to do when I was done; find a job, hopefully teaching related, eventually. And the conversation followed:

Omar: You should get a job at T-Mobile! They’re hiring, my aunt could hook you up!

Bianca: She moved all the way from Nebraska without her family just to teach us! Why would she want to work at T-Mobile?

Omar: Just part time, get a little cash, hook me up with some discounts.

And this is why I love my students.