The Next Chapter: Kristine does NY: a million things

to do.
Work officially began on Thursday when I came in to school and set up my kick ass classroom/lab. I'm a very blessed first year teacher since I don't have to move classrooms. In all honesty, decorating my bulletin board was the last on my list o' obligations. My lab looks nice and clean and...a little bare (I'm hoping student work will spruce it up eventually). There's still so much to do and as a colleague of mine said, "Yea, that list of things to do never gets any shorter. Eventually you make peace with never getting everything done." Well, I hope to make a dent in that list before Tuesday rolls around. Although I'm beginning to think that I'll never feel 100% ready to go for my first day of teaching.

on my mind.
Some coworkers of mine have been very sweet and shared their thoughts on my potential. These wonderful women are much more confident in my abilities than I am right now. They bet that of the first year teachers I'm least likely to cry (that's a tough call since I wear my heart on my sleeve). Knowing that these veteran educators have faith in me is very comforting, but I gotta prove to myself that I can do this before I believe any compliments about my teaching.

to share.
Joining the morning commuters is one of the biggest adjustments I've had to make since moving here. Talk about a major test of patience. I leave the apartment at 07:00 to hopefully catch the Manhattan bound 07:15 N/W train. Then it's a transfer to the 5 at 59th and Lex to the Bronx. I wish I was done there! Once I get off in the Bronx I have to transfer to the bus to get to school. That's ~1 hour. It used to take me ~15 minutes to get to the chem part of campus. And, the Manhattan bound train is sooo crowded! It's a bit eerie to be in a full subway car and to hear nothing but the ambient noises. Take note, Californians. NYers aren't rude so much as they keep to themselves. This means DO NOT attempt to make small talk on the train, just pop in the iPod and go about your business.

to look forward to.
"Our work is very much God's work."- My Principal. Now, before this statement gets ripped apart for its political correctness or incorrectness I just want to express my relief that the leader of my school and I have the same sentiments. There are a lot of obstacles facing my students from the South Bronx, but I truly believe that they are capable of ANYTHING. My hope as a teacher is to bridge the gap between where my students are and where they want to go (as long as that destination is a positive and healthy place). In just four days I will begin teaching chemistry to ~75 high school seniors and as I write this the excitement is overcoming the fear. I'm ready to hit the ground running.

and now, for some visual aides

the atrium