The Urbana Experience: Week 1

Well, week 1 is technically in the books. Friday was a good day at school. Even in 24 hours I've begun to learn my student's personalities although names will take a bit longer. 

I've got 1 student who has not yet turned up in Study Hall 1st period so we'll see what happens with him. 

My Coop 1 class grew by 3 more students on Friday which means I have exactly enough textbooks for my class of 24 students.

My law class was given their 1st assignment on Friday. It's something called a Justice Journal which will be due every monday. Basically they find an article or news story regarding legal issues and write 10-15 sentences about it. I gave them a list of websites and newspapers or magazines that would be acceptable. I was one of the few teachers that gave homework but I don't mind. It's LAW! From what I know of law school....15 sentences is nothing.

My Coop 3 class has a fantastic discussion during class on Friday. I explained that I really want them to embrace this class and their work opportunities as training for their future. They are all nearing graduation (all 7 of them) and understand that "future" means "very soon." I led a discussion about why we work and they argued points back and forth with each other with very little input from me. It's exactly what I was hoping for. At first they could only see the MONEY reason for working. But one of them brought up Obama and how he doesn't get paid much but loves what he does. So PASSION became the new topic. It fed into my discussion on how people view work around IL, the USA and internationally which ended up with a variety of reasons why we work. Let's hope my huge Coop 1 class can do something similar on Monday.

Friday also marked the 1st football game of the year. I saw several staff members at the game but very few parents and student fans, aside from those in football at the lower levels that weren't playing.  We played one of the top teams in the state and didn't win. But hey, we (and by we I mean our varsity football team) went out on the field facing a team that lined up with twice as many players and took nearly the full endzone to display their roster and did our best. Apparently the team scored the most points against this particular team in recent history. This town has little support for this team and I hope that can be changed with the new attitude and new coach (who was hired for that specific purpose). The team looked good and the coaching staff was definitely fired up with each score. 

Tomorrow is textbook assignment day. I went in today and with Tilia's help moved my textbooks into my respective classrooms. Tilia & I also met to discuss immediate fundraising for our Freshman class. We have a lot to do before Homecoming in October. If our plans fall into place we're going to bring a LOT more school spirit to the school, starting with the class of 2013. Thankfully our colors are the same as U of I. I'm in need of more orange to wear...

My parting thought for tonight is just a mention of what Maria Shriver said this morning on Meet the Press. She said her Uncle Teddy was the one to make sure everyone felt welcomed, loved and thanked. He was always reaching out to people to share his thoughts. This was probably a result of losing 4 older siblings to war and assassination and holding to the belief that our time is not assured. Her words were so passionate that you could tell she had learned to do the same because of her uncle. So send those thank you notes. Post a message on Facebook. Write a letter. Tell someone something everyday. Stay in touch. Even if it is just a single sentence it will mean the world to that person. 

To each of you - thank you for reading and supporting me. I've probably got a picture of you in my office and you are always in my thoughts. I love ya. Wake up tomorrow and be the change you want to see in the world. What a great reason to get out of bed!

KB