My feet hurt!

Ladies and Lads,

Did you know that San Francisco has the most hills above a 20% grade than any other city in the United States? You probably didn't because I just made that up. But seriously, SF has a ton of hills and they make my legs sore and I sweat a lot anywhere that I walk. It is a good exercise though!!! Anyways, enough about the hills!

I'm having a great time here and I am truly learning more about becoming an educator and the adventure that lies ahead this spring with student teaching. I have learned that if the students know that you care about them and that you expect great things of them they will strive to impress you and want to exceed your expectations. Some of my students in the first grade at Rosa Parks Elementary School are not motivated in the correct way and this eats at me because I know what they are capable of and they aren't reaching their goals. So, during my remaining time here I am going to try to find a way to motivate each of my students that are underachieving and get them to realize they are brilliant and can learn!! I know this may sound like some far-fetched goal but I truly believe that it is possible because first graders can adapt to just about anything! 

I have found that Mr. Martling's class is very unique and culture filled. We have about 10 different races in our class. Over the past few days I have had many different occurrences happen in the classroom. Kevin wasn't feeling well and threw-up all over himself. Kaden was conversing with me and her front tooth literally fell out of her mouth as she was talking. Bhaaddin and Kino decided to play in wet paint during morning recess. Ibrahim's lunch got stollen which might as well been the end of the world. And Harun didn't quite make it to the bathroom once and had to change his pants. To say the least 1st grade is an exciting class, and I have prayed to God that He increases my patience! 

So, as you can tell SF has had its ups and downs during this past week but the ups outweigh the downs. As I go into the second half of this week I realize that I only have 10ish days to make an impact on these children. I am going to go in everyday trying to not only make each student a better learner but also make them smile and realize that learning can take them anywhere (as cliche as that sounds). 

Thanks for reading!

Travis