Cristo Rey Network New Teacher Orientation: Day 3

You'll notice at this point that the day blogs seem to be based on the liturgical hours calendar. It starts in the evening and goes until the current afternoon. Weird.

Tuesday wrapped up with a great cup of coffee at Stella's around the corner from the Loyola University dormitory building that is currently serving as home base. I shared a cup with the Detroit fan mentioned in yesterday's blog post and we talked about all of the opportunity and excitement that is available in my favorite city (and place of residence). Good coffee and good conversation are basically fundamental elements of my life and the opportunity to have that more than once while here in Chicago is great. It makes me wish I worked directly for the Cristo Rey Network and had to commute here a few times a year (don't read too much into that, I love working at Detroit Cristo Rey!)

Today's lessons were a continuation on the discussion on classroom management as well as collaboration in our curriculum groups. The technology group here is small but it has given us the chance to develop our own approaches and be allies. Seeing all of these Cristo Rey educators together reinforces in each of us the importance of the CRN mission:

"Transforming Urban America One Student at a Time."

As a bit of a veteran Cristo Rey staffer in this group, some of the network information is very familiar with me. The repetition is fine but it is sometimes easy to check out for a bit which, quite frankly, helps me sympathize with the plight of my students. But two sections today stood out for me.

After lunch we were given the opportunity to interview six students from the three Chicago area network schools. Ingrid, a rising junior from St. Martin de Porres High School (Cristo Rey Network) in Waukegan, told us that "Our teachers aren't just teachers, they are everything." When asked about her future plans, she told us "I think I want to be a teacher. My teachers have shown me that you can be a teacher and really care." What an inspirational thought for those of us in the room.

Finally, for those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you all know TWLOHA is of significant importance to me. I have seen it make a positive impact in the lives of some of my own students and bring a few people back from the brink. How encouraging, then, to see Ingrid wearing a TWLOHA bracelet. According to the teacher that helped facilitate her being with us today, "she's very proud of her collection." I'm proud of her too. That is me with the double-bracelets, her with the blue text on black band.