TeachBreakthroughs

Name: Grayson Cooper
Breakthrough Site: Summerbridge Pittsburgh
Subject Teaching: Calculus, Current Events, Leadership and Policy Issues (Yes, four separate subjects-I’m working with the Community Leaders program for rising 9th grade students)
School Attending/Year:  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2012

Define “academic rigor.” Tell a story about when you pushed a student to achieve beyond what they thought they were capable? If you’ve just started the summer, tell us how you set a high expectation for academic rigor for the summer from the outset?

I teach Calculus (adapted for Algebra I backgrounds-but which covers the conceptual entirety of a College Calculus I course), something that students, regardless of socioeconomic background, are typically scared of and intimidated by.  

One of my students, BC was going to be absent from Summerbridge for the first week due to a family vacation (a special exceptional exception was made on the conditions that he work with me in advance on the work and do his homework for that week).  So I went to meet with him, first giving him a pre-test on Algebra I concepts.  Then we went straight into Finite Limits, Infinite Limits, the Derivative and the Limit Definition of the Derivative.  This represents about 3 weeks worth of College work, and about our first week of math at Summerbridge.  BC completed this in working with me one-on-one in one and a half hours.

But did he really understand it?  Was he just regurgitating what I told him?  Well, maybe if he was telepathic.  He would spontaneously describe Algebra II concepts (the asymptote for example, simply after looking at a graph of 1/x and solving the infinite limits of 1/x), without any prior exposure to it (I simply drew the graph, drew the dotted lines, “what do these mean?”).  He did similar things with Calculus concepts, such as the numbers to pick for evaluating limits.  Although we moved as fast as possible (I’ve taught this specific course, as a 60 hour course that I developed, over the past two summers-so we didn’t do anything extraneous if he already comprehended-yet even still, with a pace limited only by the informational capacity of our words, his thoughts wandered fast enough even in this intensive setting to uncover these insights)

Incredible, right?  But anyone could spot him from a mile away, right?  I talked with his mom, asked if he’d been identified or evaluated as gifted, “Yes, I’ve identified him, and a few teachers have said so”, but no actual formal identification or evaluation.  I was pleased that his mom was so attentive to him, but disappointed that this potential had not been provided the necessary services to fully develop.

For me, Calculus is academic rigor, independent of background.  BC got 2 of the 10 questions right on the pre-test.  He would unlikely make it past a private school entrance exam.  But Calculus is different.  It doesn’t test where you come from, it shows where you can go.  There is no advantage coming in, other than the motivation and ability that you bring with you, and it allows those with outstanding qualities of both to truly shine.

Name: Molly Chrnelich
Breakthrough Site: Philadelphia – Grover
Subject Teaching: Math (Pre-Algebra and Algebra)
School Attending/Year: University of Notre Dame, Class of 2010

What are you most looking forward to this summer? What do you imagine you will need to rely on your fellow teachers for?

This is a huge question! I am looking forward to a lot this summer – the chance to try out the methods and techniques I’ve learned in my education classes, the chance to share my love of learning with others who love to learn, and the relationships and experiences I imagine will develop, to name a few things. However, I guess if I really try to pinpoint it, the thing I am most looking forward to are the surprises, the things I cannot forsee. I am looking forward to the challenges I will face, that I am sure I cannot even fathom right now. I am looking forward to the emotions I think I might experience – triumph, frustration, hope. Although they will not be new emotions, I am sure they will be unique in they way they arise and express themselves. I am looking forward to meeting people – teachers, mentors, and students – full of ideas about education and the world. I am looking forward to surprising myself with the things I think I will learn about myself and the things I will do. I think that Breakthrough is one of those things that cannot be understood until you are a part of it, so although I have some expectations, I do not fully know this summer will be like. I am most looking forward to the things I will learn and experience while discovering what is really means to be a part of Breakthrough.

Name: Anjali Nirmalan
Breakthrough Site: Cambridge
Subject Teaching: 8th grade Bridgeblock
School Attending/Year: Tufts University/2009 & School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston/2010 (dual-degree program)

What are you most looking forward to this summer? What do you imagine you will need to rely on your fellow teachers for?

I look forward to being part of an incredible coalition: my fellow teachers and my students, of course, but also our community partner and the local elementary-schoolers we will work with this summer – all united by a passion for public service and strong belief in the change it can bring.  In the coming days,  I will rely heavily on this partnership (and yes, you too, wise online community!) to navigate how we can serve our community partner constructively while at the same time challenging and inspiring our Breakthrough students.  A pretty puzzle, no doubt – but one we shall relish!

Name: Nadila Yusuf
Breakthrough Site: Providence Summerbridge
Subject Teaching: Eight Grade Literacy
School Attending/Year:  Wheaton College 2011 (Norton, MA)

What are you most looking forward to this summer? What do you imagine you will need to rely on your fellow teachers for?

In March I decided to apply to Breakthrough Collaborative for many reasons. I want to make a “new” difference in the community. Previous summers before I ran campaigns for voter registration drives, workshops for immigrant rights, I mentored and tutored high school students in inner city facing assimilation transition issues; however, the thought of working with Middle School students did not run across my mind until I actually began doing teaching observations in the local high school near my college. This experience was eye opening, and made me realize that I needed to try my ideas out in the classroom, and try to make a difference directly. I found Breakthrough and thought that maybe this could be the beginning of a “new” difference I can contribute in the community.

I believe a teacher’s job is to motivate his/her students to want to be the best he/she wants to be. One of the main jobs as a teacher is to motivate students to succeed and want to get somewhere in life. This summer I am most excited to learn about the students in Providence, learn about their life stories, their learning styles, and their motivations. I also am excited to learn as a teacher. I believe that although the students need us, we as teachers need the students ten times as much because they are the ones that continue to motivate and inspire us. I can’t wait to begin my journey of learning from the students.

Along with being an eighth grade literacy teacher I am also the head of the Spirit cluster. The Spirit cluster at Providence Summerbridge is a group this is made up of teachers that runs events throughout the program around spirit, as well as keeps the mission and vision of the program alive. The Spirit cluster is in charge of organizing the Talent Show, Spirit Week, and other events like Birthdays, All School Meetings, and Faculty Mental Health Surprises. What I am most excited about this part of my job is working with other amazing teachers and coming up with ideas that continue to keep high hopes alive during the summer program.

Although there are many things that I think I will rely on from my fellow teachers, one thing I believe I most need to rely on is the support for energy. I have never worked with middle school students before and am not sure what the energy will be like. I have heard that energy is a key ingredient in making teaching and organizing successful.

Well that’s all for now. I hope you can continue to check out my blog for my journey at Providence Summerbridge that begins June 23!

GO BREAKTHROUGH 2009 TEAM!

Name: Kayla Thomas
Breakthrough Site: Cincinnati
Subject Teaching: 9th grade History
School Attending/Year: The Ohio State University – Second Year

What are you most looking forward to this summer? What do you imagine you will need to rely on your fellow teachers for?

I am most looking forward to working with the students and helping prepare them for high school as far as history goes but also in terms of leadership and community service. I imagine that I will need to rely on my fellow teachers for collaboration with the history curriculum and department as well as with all of the other subject areas. I also imagine that I will need to rely on them for feedback as the summer goes on.