Monday, December 22, 2008

Back Home

I had to double check to see if I wasn’t just dreaming. Was I actually here? Was this actually happening? I looked out the window and down at the Pacific thousands of feet below. I was homeward bound, from North Shore to North Bend, capping off the most challenging, strenuous, and rapid seven months of my life.

I still can’t really believe I’ve reached Christmas break. It’s something way off in the distance that I’ve been looking forward to since I left home back in May. Now that it’s finally here, there are way too many things going through my mind.

I guess it’s safe to say that this whole experience has been nothing like what I expected. Of course, I had no idea what to expect in the first place, so that’s no surprise. I knew it would be challenging, but had no idea just how challenging it would be. Before going into it, I had some doubts about whether or not I’d be able to hold my own, but I shot those down pretty quickly at Institute. Since then, it’s been an uphill battle with a very steep learning curve. All in all, after half a year of teaching, I can confidently say that a. it’s one of the toughest jobs in the world, b. it’s one of the most important jobs in the world, and c. I’m enjoying it more than I ever expected. Along with all the joys, I’ve also finally been able to witness firsthand a lot of the problems with our education system. Much like my teaching abilities, our education system as a whole has a long way to go.

I think the best way to recap this experience so far is to let out some of my thoughts I’ve gained so far. My apologies if I offend anyone in any way.
• Institute sucked. Potential corps members- Don’t let anyone fool you and tell you it’s a “good experience.” You work 22 hours a day and live in arguably some of the worst conditions in Houston. That’s right, Houston. The last week of it, I woke up and went to seven different floors in Moody Towers in search of running water. I ended up brushing my teeth and washing my face from a sink that only dripped water. During Induction, some of the ’07 corps members told me they enjoyed Institute, and I’m still pissed off about that.
• The preparation at Institute, however, was priceless. Priceless if you teach general education. Which brings me to my next point…
• Teach For America’s game plan and formula for success are indeed effective, but I don’t think they’re designed yet for Special Education. I still feel like I was incredibly unprepared for the many additional responsibilities that a special educator has. For a good few months, I was up against the ropes without any boxing skills, and not a whole lot of the skills I did learn from TFA actually worked with my students. Oh yeah, that brings me to another point…
• If you’re applying for TFA, do it for sure because it will be a great experience, but only check the SPED box if you’re absolutely sure you want to do it. I recently came up with an analogy to compare SPED to Gen Ed. Gen Ed is like being a coach of a team, while SPED is like being the coach as well as the GM. You still have all the teaching responsibilities that a Gen Ed teacher has, but then you also have the additional job of managing IEPs and everything that goes along with that. And to be honest, that could be a whole job in itself. That’s not to say that I regret checking the box…I just wish I would’ve found out ahead of time what I would be in for (not July 31, 2008, aka my first day as a teacher at Wheeler Middle School).
• Hawaii is incredible. No matter how rough my weeks are, I always have the weekend, and my weekends involve places and activities that most people wait their entire lives to experience.
• The North Shore is the place to be on the island. I’ve seen almost every part now, and I can safely say that there’s no place like home. It’s got it all- Pipeline, Waimea, the Seven Mile Miracle, Haolewood, Haleiwa, and the list goes on. But…
• Life’s not always a beach in Paradise. It can actually be something else that sounds sort of similar. Don’t let the gentle waves of Waikiki mislead you- flashfloods, roosters and peacocks that go off at 5 every morning, cockroaches and other annoying insects, sharks, and killer waves…you gotta be on your toes at all times.
• My placement school gives me the best situation that any TFA corps member could possibly have. The staff there is incredibly supportive and I truly feel part of a great community. There are many challenges that go along with working on a military base, but the school has a ton of great things going for it as well.
• I still have a long way to go in my development as a teacher (it’s a never ending process), and this break is going to be a much needed opportunity to recharge and go back to the drawing board.

So now it’s back to North Bend, which was recently blanketed in snow. I know the change in temperature will be a little bit painful, but I can’t wait to see my family and friends who I haven’t seen in so long. The adventure continues…

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Rain Day


I woke up last night very content, listening to the rain pounding down on the roof above me. I love the sound that the rain makes on the roof of this house. I was even happier when I realized it was only 1:30, and I still had a few more hours of sleep ahead of me.

But when my alarm went off at 5:45, the rain was still coming down with the same intensity that it had four hours earlier. Remembering the way the island filled with water the last time it rained hard, I was worried about what this storm would bring with it.

As we were getting ready for school, Kyle checked online to see if there were any school closures. WeatherBug was telling me to watch out for flash floods, but the schools were still open. I threw on my windbreaker and put on a pair of socks- it would be the first time I was actually wearing a pair of shoes for something other than a run.

As I closed the door behind me on my way out of the house, the rain was coming down harder than ever. It was still dark outside, so I went back in to get a flashlight so I could avoid puddles on the way out to the car. I took a look with the light, and there was nothing but water. About a foot deep, to be specific. It was to the point that I was worried about my car, Simple Gold. The water was only getting higher, and I didn't want to lose him to Mother Nature.

I also needed to get to school. I changed back into my sandals and waded through the water to my car. It started fine, and I backed out and onto dry land quite easily. Jess, another teacher at Wheeler from the North Shore, was already on her way to school, and she said that it was pretty bad. I had about an hour to get there so I wasn't too worried.

I took the narrow Crosier Drive to get out since I had been told that the Farrington Highway was a mess. Aside from a few huge puddles, it wasn't too bad. When I got onto Waialua Beach Road, it was smooth sailing until I reached what had once been a small stream. It was now a river that was pouring debris-filled water onto the road ahead of me. I couple small sedans were in front of me, and I figured following them would be a safe bet. So like a floating train, we slowly drove through this river. To the left, a car was stuck in about 3 feet of water, and the passenger was nowhere to be found. The water seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. My hands and feet were shaking, but I knew I had to keep going. Just when I thought it was over, I managed to veer to the right and up onto the bike trail which was still relatively dry. The rest of the road was blocked off by a police car, but I took a quick neighborhood detour and reached Kamehameha Highway, which would take me up to my school.

I thought from here I was home free, since this highway quickly gained altitude, and the higher you got, the less flooding. But I was wrong. The road was actually serving as a sort of canal for all the runoff. The first few creeks/puddles weren't too bad, but then I reached a really bad part where the drainage ditch to the right had given out and tons of water was flowing across the road. It was too bad to even turn around at this point. The truck ahead of me plowed on through, and I followed kind of closely, hoping to ride in the wake so that the water wouldn't be as deep. Once again, it just seemed to get worse and worse, and I felt like the water was closing in on me. I was just waiting for my car to die.

But Simple Gold wouldn't give up. We made it through to dryer land and kept going. The word through the grapevine now was that the roads around Wheeler were parking lots, so even if I did make it to Wahiawa, I'd still be a long time away from getting into my classroom. I could just imagine the kids waiting outside my door wondering what was going on as the first bell rang.

I reached the Dole Plantation at the top of the hill, where cars had come to a stop. They were taking turns fording yet another overflowing stream. This one looked pretty bad. I drove up and was about to attempt it when I had a revelation- making it to school on time was beyond my control at this point. Getting my car stuck in a flash flood was not. I backed up and pulled over on the side. School would have to wait.

Just then I got the great news. School had been canceled. But I still had to worry about getting back home. My roommate Greg pulled up beside me in his Jeep. After talking for a bit, he confessed that his school had been cancelled earlier that morning, but he decided to drive out anyways to have some fun and help anyone who needed it. I guess that's where our philosophies differ. I would have gone back to bed. Anyways, the plan was that I'd follow him back down the hill and then we'd park my car somewhere in Haleiwa, and then he'd drive us back to our house. Going down the hill wasn't so bad and I think the flooding had actually subsided a little. I parked my car by the Waialua Post Office and then Greg, Jess, and I set off to try to get home in the Jeep.

There are only two roads that lead out to our house- Farrington Highway and Waialua Beach Road which turns into Crozier Drive. First we tried Farrington, but it was closed off. I knew first hand that Waialua Beach Road had become Waialua Beach River, but Greg was willing to give it a shot. At this point, it was our only chance. When we reached the stream that was now a raging river across the road, there were a few cars stuck. Some were still going for it. After a little debate, Greg pushed forward. The brown water kept getting deeper and deeper, and if you looked out the window, you'd think you were in a boat rather than a car. You could see the wake that the car was creating. Just when I thought we were done for, we made it to the other side and were home free. As we drove off, I watched some people desperately trying to clear debris off the submerged bridge to keep the water from flowing into their homes.

Greg and I decided to turn around and help. Jess drove the Jeep home and we waded through the water to the bridge. The problem was that debris kept getting caught in the bridge's guardrail, making a virtual dam that was rerouting the water into people's yards. Several houses around the stream had already flooded. So for about an hour, we desperately pulled and plucked all sorts of debris from the railing, trying to let the water flow directly to the ocean. But it just kept coming. Finally a local bruddah with a camo shirt, gold scorpion neclace, and a chain saw showed up. He sawed through the metal railing, which was tough because a lot of it was underwater. Finally, we were able to remove the railing altogether, unblocking the river.

Greg and I hitched a ride back to Olohio St. and met up with the other roommates at our soggy home. It was only 9:30, but I felt like I had just put in a full day's work. The rest of the day was dedicated to relaxing and recovering.

Last year, if I had heard that school out here would be cancelled due to rain, I would have laughed. But it's no joke. I'd never seen a flashflood before. Next time it pours rain all night, I'm not even going to bother trying to make it up to school. I'm just going to move Simple Gold up to higher ground and go back to bed.