Andrew Goodman ’12 – Having grown up in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, I felt fairly comfortable with this trip and knowing we would be fully immersed in the windy city culture. I was, however, unfamiliar with the prospect of teaching at a predominately black school. I woke up at 6:30 this morning nonetheless ready to teach.
We had a dry run of how to get to our school yesterday and got extremely lost along the bus route. But today we were prepared. The school is well organized with security and faculty strategically placed throughout the halls to ensure student safety. The metal detectors caught me a bit off guard too when I had to scan my backpack through the machine.
I was placed in a freshman biology class today in which they were learning about natural selection. My duties today consisted of primarily observing and helping distribute papers. Later this week I will be working with Mr. Roberts (class of ’05) on designing worksheets appropriate for lower-achieving cohorts of students.
I am very fortunate to have been extended the opportunity to participate in this amazing week-long trip. We have seen some incredible things including a day trip to the outdoor market. The culture was primarily Hispanic and we were fully immersed in it.
Sunday night we went to dinner at Trufalo’s Italian restaurant and met some alumni from the Chicago. It was a great time talking about education and learning about what all this week will be.
Tomorrow after school, some of us will be attending the Cubs game in Wrigley Field and maybe a bar or two. This week is looking bright and I believe I will remember it for a long time.
