Words: 20 plus 10

Me: Alright, well we're about halfway done, so how many folders have we done?  There are 25 total.
An intelligent, respectful, hardworking sophomore: Uh, I dunno, you can do it Ms. Lewis.
Me: Well, let's see, I know 25 is near 24, and I know what half of 24 is... do you?
Sophomore: Uhh....
Me: It's 12.  I just have that memorized, but if you don't, you can break up 24 into 20 and 4.  So, what's half of 20?
Sophomore: Umm, I think it's....
Me: Just think, 10 plus what is ______
Sophomore: (Counts on fingers) 20!
Me: Yes, but you don't need to use your fingers for that.  Just remember your tens.  10 plus 10 is 20.  20 plus 10 is 30.  30 plus 10 is _____
Sophomore: (Counts on fingers again) 40!

After some time working on the board, he understood that to add 10 to any number you just increase the tens place value by 1 digit.  We then moved on to adding quickly by breaking apart numbers (ex. 22 + 12 is the same as 22 + 10 + 2).  How are there sophomores in our schools that don't know these things????  My heart breaks for the destruction in their lives that poor schooling in elementary school has done for them.

Note to self: teach students the meaning behind procedures and how to manipulate numbers, not just procedures.

Captured: CY Room Tour

Well, before we tear down our City Year room, I thought I'd capture it.  I do have to say that I'm pretty proud of it, as I lead our team to build it to be both functional and inspiring.  As Martha Stewart said, "life is too complicated not to be orderly."  (Yup, just quoted her.)

 Before: 

The best photo I have.  A dreary windowless room with 2 tables, computers, a whiteboard and couch,
a pile of things that don't belong to use, and an enormous pile of unorganized boxes (out of view).

 After: 

The best whole-room photo I have.  Notice the work space table against the wall and the tech info above the computers.

The Master of All Things.  Tasks to accomplish along the top, check yourself off when you're done.  Usually a
running list of 'team tasks' as well, random info, and who is heading current 'leadership opportunities.'

STORAGE!  You have no idea how much work I put into getting us a cabinet.
It's (usually) more organized than this, thanks to the labels I made.

Progress monitoring - how many donations have we in-kinded so far? (managed by a corps member)

The appreciation board :-) Cards, emails, and notes from anyone to the team are posted here.

The Calendar, which rules our life.  Color-coded (obviously) and a record of hours along the side.

A running list of inspiring quotes from throughout the year :-)
Notice the red class schedule and monthly 'perfect punctuality awards' in the background. 

Everyone has their own desk (gasp!) and can post up their own things about their spot.

First circle boot prints

The appreciation fridge, thanks to one of my corps members.  Want to thank someone? Post it up!

Yes.  Somewhat effective.
Above the less effective bulletin board, and highly effective supply table.

Mission statements and meeting norms.
Notice they're on our fancy bookshelf, that can hold books AND binders!

Printed: Vacant Houses

More homes are sitting empty as lenders take them over through foreclosure and try to resell them, especially in depressed South Side neighborhoods with a lot of subprime lending activity.
"They're not getting snatched up by investors," says Michael van Zalingen... Bank-owned properties "are just going to keep stacking up."

Englewood has a 16.1% vacancy rate, the highest in the city, and North Lawndale's vacancy rate is 11.8%, according to Neighborhood Housing Services data. - Source 

The walk from the bus stop to my school - many vacant houses are out of view.

If I had a lot of money, I'd buy a bunch of cheap vacant houses in North Lawndale and turn them into cozy community centers, art and theater schools, and preschools.  There are certainly enough qualified unemployed people in the communities to hire.

Captured: Career Day

Today was "Freshmen Career Exploration Day" - we recruited guest speakers to come be 'stationed' in the freshmen teachers' rooms and give presentations as the students went through their classes.  It was a fantastic day and I think that some students' perceptions of their future and their role in the world were widened a little more, which is extremely rewarding.

A nurse and dietician

Staff members of the Blackhawks speaking about 'behind the scenes' jobs in sports

A nuclear engineer speaking about careers in science

A Hoops High representative speaking about careers in broadcasting

A former forest ranger speaking about careers in forestry and parks and rec

A respiratory therapist speaking about her career and the dangers of smoking

 Excerpts from the reflection packets (it's funny how these are a lot of things we blab about to them all the time, but is so much more effective when it's brought to them concretely):

Listening to other people speak about their careers made me think:

I could be anything when I put my mind to it.

about how much math and science is in every career. 

that football isn’t the only job out there and I have more options. 

about staying in school and getting my bachelors and my masters degree.

that I should start discussing my future career with my counselors.  

about how hard work pays off.

about how I want to change my whole entire life.  

Something new I learned today is:

your education is everything – without it you cannot do well. 

that smoking is very bad for your health. 

there are all many kinds of careers that help make up this world.

nothing is impossible.

that we should value our education.

I think I would like a job that allows me to:

become who I want to be, pays a good salary, and makes me feel comfortable.

be creative and help save lives at the same time.

have fun with and be very passionate about. 

have fun, make enough money to provide for my needs and wants, and also to be able to say I did it all for a reason. 

Words: I Love It Here

Me: So, have you lived in this area your whole life?
A favorite involved parent: Yes, I have.  I grew up in a house just down the street.  I love it here.

A healthy reminder that success doesn't always mean getting out of the neighborhood as soon as possible.

Printed: Teacher Freedom + Collaboration = Success

This is awesomely impressive and should be happening more:

...The district was named a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which honors academic excellence in largely minority and low-income districts... Corona-Norco appears to have mostly avoided the pitfalls common to similar districts with diverse student populations and budget constraints. About half the students are Latino and are mostly low-income. The district's $371-million budget has been cut by $140 million since 2007-08. 

...It is most apparent in the lack of strife between the district and its unions. In 2010, teachers and administrators took a 5% pay cut to avoid teacher layoffs. Teachers, who meet weekly to discuss strategies and tweak lesson plans, are given freedom to experiment in the classroom and are active in developing curriculum... By design, the district stays away from prescriptive lesson plans, allowing teachers and administrators at individual schools to develop their own strategies to reach the same goal — higher student achievement. - LA Times 

Further proof that giving teachers choices in curriculum is better than wide-reaching mandates from people that likely have never taught in a classroom or know your students. 

Moment: Canvassing NLD

One of the best days ever today - driving (and getting lost) around North Lawndale with Molly to pass out flyers to the North Lawndale Service Day:

- an elementary student whose school CY painted last week was so happy to see us
- an older woman at a restaurant told us all about how she had CY at her school growing up
- we accidentally found a nonprofit, LAMP, that works with children who are impacted by incarceration, and discovered that we know some of the same students :-)
- the whole atmosphere of the community seemed different to me than usual; since we were seeking out other organizations in the area, it was like we stumbled upon this whole world of active do-gooders that we never knew existed.

Note to self - wherever I work, try to find this invisible network as early as possible, then use each other to collaborate and refer.  "Who else is on the beach?"

Captured: Math in the Caf

Math games, budget and gpa info, resources for summer jobs, and cookies :-) 

Printed: Diabetes

In 2003 Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) conducted a survey that found that 10% of North Lawndale respondents aged 18 – 75 reported that they had received a diagnosis of diabetes by a health professional, compared to 5% in Chicago and 8% nationally. SUHI also calculated the diabetes mortality rates using Illinois vital records death certificate files and census data and found that the diabetes mortality rate in North Lawndale is 62% higher than for the US and 37% higher than Chicago’s. - Source


Proof that these communities need effective nutrition education more than ever. 

Moment: Mascot

Our team's favorite "mascot" (aka kid that hangs out with us all the time) sitting in our room, talking about goals and grades and whether or not he'll make it to the NFL, diverts to a story about his childhood friend who was one grade older - "When he was in 9th grade and I was in 8th, he told me just to go to school and do what I gotta do, not to get distracted like other kids... then one day his grandma told me he died.  And I didn't cry or anything, even though I knew him since I was like 10 or 11.  And she told me he left me a note, you know we used to play football together and all that, and the note said that if I didn't make it to college for anyone else, to make it for him and for myself.  So that's what I'm going to do."

1)  I love that he's close enough to us to open up like that.  Who would he talk to otherwise?  Makes sense why he drives us crazy talking every day after school.

2) Sad that he said repeatedly "but it wasn't like a tragic death, he just drowned in his friend's pool in the suburbs, then had brain damage. But it wasn't like he was shot or anything."  Another reflection of how accustom to death the kids in this neighborhood are.