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By Kyle, June 25, 2011 3:06 pm

Young Galaxy – We Have Everything

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Grades submitted? Check. Classroom cleaned? Check. Students departed? Check.

In the words of Alice Cooper, “school’s out for summer”. And yet, contrary to the notions of our students, teachers do in fact have a life in which summer is just as refreshing, relaxing, and reinvigorating as can be possibly imagined. I’m looking forward to doing all of that, and a little bit more. And just like any teacher, I’m already thinking of grouping my summer into “chunks” of time (or, like any good mathematician might title them, “subsummers”). Here’s a brief overview of the summer before me: a summer that begins today!

25 June– 4 July: Chilling here in Los Angeles. No real plans. Perhaps some beach visits. Perhaps some mountains. I’ve heard that Malibu is nice this time of year. I’ve always wanted to visit Los Angeles as a tourist would. Next week is the week to do it. Fellow Angelenos, what must I be sure to check out????

5 July – 5 August: As alluded to in a previous post, I’ll be participating in the inaugural (ready? take a deep breath here…) Teach For America Los Angeles District Leadership Fellows Program, or more simply, TFALADLFP. For these 5 weeks, I’ll be working with leaders at the LA Unified headquarters (pictured above) on two related projects the district is pursuing. One project is that of developing a better system of teacher observation, feedback, and improvement. The other project will involve the district’s usage of the contentious value-added model, which is called Academic Growth Over Time. I’m excited to be a part of TFALADLFP, and I expect to be able to have conversations not only about how to use these new measures correctly, but how to reconcile them with already-in-place district policy.

6 August – Mid-August: After 5 grueling weeks of work, I’ll take another vacation, perhaps a road trip of some sorts just to get out of this crazy city. Anybody want to come to Portland?

Mid-August – Late-August: I love New York, and it’s been a while since I’ve been back east, so I’m hopefully going to get a chance to do this. My goals? Visit parents, long lost sisters, nieces, nephews (maybe even a new one), grandparents. Maybe even see the Mets beat the Phils once or twice.

And that’s it. School is back in session. A fun summer? Yes. A quick summer? Yes. Will I keep blogging this summer?

You bet.

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By Kyle, June 19, 2011 5:03 pm

Toy Dolls – The Final Countdown

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In honor of the the last week of school, my post includes perhaps one of the most ridiculous cover songs I’ve ever heard. Europe’s The Final Countdown as performed by a band of seemingly drunken Irish kazoo players. Yep. You heard that right.

Yes, the kids are counting down the final days of school, including the number of minutes left. What they are (perhaps) unaware of is their teachers’ countdown as well. Summer months mean catching up on resting, catching up on reading, catching up with acquaintances, and getting to explore even more of this amazing city of Los Angeles.

Oh yeah, and the Mets come to town in about a week. Summer’s almost here. I can tell.

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By Kyle, July 2, 2010 7:15 am

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It’s definitively summer now, and time has been filled thus far with such activities as sleeping in, not sleeping in, attending graduations, playing bananagrams, silly summer movies, visiting colleges, and enjoying the muggy atmosphere of the Northeast.

And while I still have never completed a cross country trip (which would be quite fun), I get to participate in about half of it as tomorrow I leave for a family reunion in Iowa (which very well might be the location of the above photograph). Perhaps amidst the 12+ hour drive, I’ll be able to put a significant dent in my current novel, Les Misérables, which is thus far amazing in both characters and plot movement. Only 1000 more pages to go…

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By Kyle, June 22, 2010 9:35 am

The Hold Steady – Constructive Summer

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After church this past Sunday, a friend of mine who works at Boeing walked up to me to express his jealousy of the much-coveted “teacher summer break”, which most normal jobs do not experience. He then took it with a grain of salt, mentioning how he simply supposed his feeling was a mere case of “grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side” syndrome, to which I had to confront him with reality: The grass is pretty green over here.

Simply being in a place where I can wake up sans-alarm clock, enjoy an afternoon read, or even a late-night movie provides an amazing amount of rest and rejuvenation for what has become an all-too-encompassing job. Yet the summer itself is not without goals within itself, perhaps the publication of which will motivate me to follow through on them.

1) Ride my bike 10+ miles three times per week.

2) Read 100 pages per week. This pace will help me get through my current novel by the end of summer.

Hmmmm…..I’m tempted to put more goals, but starting small is a good way to begin things!