Tales of Woe

I've had the lovely opportunity to talk to a few different Corps members in different regions lately. It's been really eye opening to the struggles that are consistent throughout different Corps. I am lucky to really not have to deal with any form of language barrier. I feel for these teachers that are dealing with students who not only don't know the content, but also don't know how to speak the language. That was such a difficult part of Houston this summer, because sometimes you didn't know why the students were not responding, and it was not in fact because you sucked at your job, but because they literally just didn't have the vocabulary that you thought they had.

Other struggles I've heard about include some of the stuff with budgeting and money. We are lucky here in the Delta to really not have to pay too much in rent or other necessities (ie $160/month). Other people (like in Baltimore) are paying upwards of $600-700/month in rent, something I don't think would be easy. Bringing in the amount of money that I do each month, I think that added pressure would not be something I would want at all.

Overall, it's been nice to hear about what other people are going through. Everyone is having an interesting last month, and now we are finally out of October (supposedly the most difficult month)! November is fun - professional development days, Thanksgiving break, and then December! Teaching is much harder then I think any of us anticipated!