Falling into Fall

I know it's been too long, friends, and I am sorry. I wish I could say I have simply been too busy to blog - and that is partly true, I have been very busy - but in fact, it's been a frustrating week.
I am loving working with students (finally) but the whole education system is, in my opinion, pretty messed up. We have spent more time giving these kids different assessments (tests) then we have spent reading with them, and we are more than a month into the school year! The district wants to implement a new assessment program, the Title 1 program uses a different type of assessment, every student in school has to take another kind of assessment so teachers know where they need support... all these kids do is get tested!
Additionally, our site supervisor has just been offered a new job in the district, so now we will be assigned a new supervisor. (Luckily we have already been working with her and she is fantastic, and knows a little bit about what we are doing.) I keep hoping things are going to settle down and then something changes, mixing everything up again.
There have been a lot of little things this week, that by themselves are no big deal, but altogether... well, it was a frustrating week, like I said. I feel ineffective and a little bit unwanted. No, not unwanted - everyone is really excited to have us at the school. I feel like no one wants to deal with us. Which is beyond frustrating.
When I have actually gotten the chance to work with kids, it has been great. I love getting to know the students, and I am still amazed at how excited each and every one of them is about reading. I have never been at a school where so many students were excited about books. I don't know what it is, but something good is happening. Even the fifth grade boys (who, in my experience, don't like anything) are getting excited about the books we are reading.

I am constantly reminded of how difficult these kids' lives are. These are kids with foster parents, who go hungry because there is no food in the house, who don't have warm winter coats. However, they refuse to let life get them down. Every day they tell me something good that happened to them, whether it's playing with their cousin, learning a new game, or being praised by their teacher. I am working with third graders who read at a kindergarten level, fifth graders who read at a first grade level, but each and every one of them is excited to read, even when they think it is hard. If we could all go after things like that, if we could all focus on the good things in our lives, how much happier would we be?

Today I met with the director of the Heritage Flight Museum. I am "officially" their new Volunteer Education Coordinator. To start with, I will be expanding the education programs they have on their open house Saturdays. In the future, I will be creating programs for school groups that come to the museum, and hopefully for in-school programs such as residencies and maybe even after-school programs. I am so incredibly excited for this opportunity, I hope it goes well!