Mesmerized by Youth, Phenomenal Teachers, Humbled Togetherness, and CWP-Fairfield Work

I didn't sleep much Sunday night. Why? It is when all the monkeys started tap-dancing and squirrels began racing around my brain. Did the kids from the Lakota Sioux tribe make it Connecticut okay? Will the bus pick up the kids at Bassick and Harding? How many will arrive for Ubuntu this year? What if kids complain on the first day? Will technology work?

I worry for a reason. So much can, and usually does, go wrong.

We made it through Monday, however, with only a few incidences: the bus forgetting to pick up the kids (and then getting lost) and one lost cell phone.

Otherwise, Ubuntu Academy , College Essay, and Project Citizen went by on day one with awesome magic, few complaints, and a whole lot of collaboration, cooperation, and learning. I love when I hop from room to room to room, and kids quickly inform me of what they are doing. I caught this during Project Citizen- they were creating community definitions of shared terminology. All the kids (from diverse, heterogeneous backgrounds) worked together and established a core for the week. One even texted me afterwards to say, "This is really great. I'm loving it."

Here's my one gripe. Rather than have all my classes and programs on the same floor, they have me on three different floors...the ground, the 2nd, and the 3rd. Of course my office and supplies are on the 1st. Beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 4, I am up and down stairs 40 to 50 times a day. I chalk it up to exercise, but boy oh boy, does it tire me out.

It's impossible for me to capture all the greatness that is occurring every second in every room, but I know that the smiles in Ubuntu Academy says it all.

Once again, I am feeling very blessed to have the job that I do.