Find us On:
Posted by Paul Mann on Monday, August 29, 2011 - 14:46 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Anoush Arakelian
Breakthrough Site: Cambridge
Subject Teaching: Science
School Attending: Dartmouth College Class of 2014
When I left school this year, I was extremely excited to return as a sophomore. I had already figured out my place at school and had friends to come back to. That should make coming back much easier. Even though Dartmouth hasn’t changed, I know that I have. It might not be as easy as I thought it would be, to go back to the place I called home for a year. My experiences at Breakthrough have opened up my eyes to a lot of possibilities for my future. Not only that, but I have changed significantly as a person.
Although I was supposed to be teaching the students this summer, I think it was I who learned the most. From my advisees, I learned never to judge a book by its cover. Everyone has their own personal story and journey and no two people are the same. If you are ready to listen, people will be willing to share their stories with you. I learned how to open my ears and my heart to my 7th and 8th grade students and my co-workers. I re-learned how to love my education and how to be passionate about learning. It brought me back to how excited I was to learn in elementary and high school and reminded me that it isn’t always the drive to succeed, but the drive to attain more knowledge that is most important. These students showed me each and every day how passionate and driven they were to achieve greatness and learn.
All these experiences are going to help me back at Dartmouth as I begin to navigate life and school with an entirely new perspective. I have realized that I cannot take my education for granted and that I am lucky to be where I am. I am going to be more focused and driven and take advantage of all the opportunities that come my way. Most importantly, this summer has helped me to realize exactly what I want to do with my life. It might not be becoming an educator, but doing something with education is a definite. I saw how I can combine my love for neuroscience and my desire to create a better school system, in changing educational policy. I hope to continue to find my passions and take with me all that I have discovered at Breakthrough.
I know that Breakthrough may be over for this summer, but I am not done with Breakthrough. In the future I want to stay involved with Breakthrough, be it as a teacher, a counselor, or a supporter. This program is powerful and has the potential to help many more students re-ignite their passion and desire to learn. I am grateful to BTC for giving me the opportunity to experience so much this summer. And with that, G-O-O...D-B-Y-E! (But only for now)
Posted by Paul Mann on Monday, August 29, 2011 - 14:44 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Erin Galvin
Breakthrough Site: Breakthrough Fort Worth
Subject Teaching: 8th grade Algebra 1 and Geometry
School Attending: Marquette University, Class of 2013
Since I left Fort Worth, Texas three weeks ago to return to the Midwest and immerse myself back into college life, I have struggled with how to explain my summer as a Breakthrough teacher to friends and family. The statement, “I taught 8th grade math this summer,” fails to illustrate the tremendous impact that being a Breakthrough teacher had on my life, especially as a future educator.
As a Breakthrough teacher, I had the opportunity to practice skills that I learned in both my education classes at Marquette University and ITTI training on daily basis, such as establishing rules, routines, and procedures, lesson planning, and collaborating with my fellow BT teachers. This summer I had the opportunity to experience teaching beyond the textbooks and an opportunity to develop my own teaching style. Most importantly, Breakthrough taught me the importance of setting high expectations for each student, patiently explaining each concept to a student until he or she fully understands it, and demonstrating genuine care for each student. My experience with Breakthrough opened my eyes to the inequities in our education system and increased my interest in exploring a career in urban education.
It has been a joy and privilege to be a teacher at Breakthrough Fort Worth. As a teacher, Breakthrough challenged me to tailor my lessons to my students’ learning styles, and my fellow teachers inspired me to continuously keep “Kids in Focus.” As a college student, my Breakthrough students, who woke up early in the morning to attend Breakthrough and strove for excellence regardless of external obstacles, inspired me to persevere in challenging courses and always demonstrate a passion for learning. Finally, as a person, Breakthrough taught me the importance of community – a community where each member is valued, loved, accepted, and encouraged to achieve one’s dreams.
Posted by Paul Mann on Monday, August 29, 2011 - 14:21 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Chris Minor
Breakthrough Site: Breakthrough Sacramento
Subject Teaching: Literature
School Attending: UC Davis School of Education; Credential/M.A. Program
What is Celebration? How does Celebration align with Breakthrough’s mission?
Celebration is a night that includes the students’ educational advocates in the academic rigor, spirit, and community of Breakthrough. Friends and family of the students and teachers come to observe the work their students have been producing through each department’s academic displays.
At the Sacramento site the ScienceWalkers displayed their Egg Descent and Landing Vehicles along with a Force Collage to show all that they covered in their science classes. Meanwhile the Mathology department showed the student’s mastery of word problems. The Write League shared students’ personal narratives while the Boogey Down Booklovers shared response to literature paragraphs and plot diagrams for guests to peruse as they sat and enjoyed the potluck.
Celebration is also an evening filled with presentations of learning by the students, multicultural hellos, and testimonials. Although this year the content of each class was very similar, various skits presented the material in different ways. The students also shared the content of their varying social studies classes and electives. The multicultural hellos acknowledged the different cultures and languages of our families and the testimonials allowed students and teachers to provide an individual perspective on the Breakthrough experience.
All of the different components of Celebration come together to align with Breakthrough’s mission by acknowledging and emphasizing the students’ academic progress over the last six weeks. The multicultural hellos highlight the different faces speaking a multitude of languages that represent the diversity of families that Breakthrough seeks to serve. Finally, the testimonials of students and teachers align with the Breakthrough mission by focusing on the importance of a positive and fair academic experience for all students at an individual level.
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:32 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Vanessa Morales
Breakthrough Program: Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano
Subject Teaching: 7th Grade Math
School Attending/Year: Rice University, Class of 2012
I loved everything about Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano this summer. I tried so incredibly hard to obtain this internship and did everything to get it. I could not be more grateful for this opportunity. I learned so much. The sense of community was fantastic. I love all of my co-teachers and will miss them tremendously. We were beyond busy this summer and spent so much time together-I don't think I've laughed or smiled this much in quite a while.
I will return to Rice University with a better understanding of how to improve my teaching skills. I came into BT with the intentions of being a high school math teacher as a career. This hasn't quite changed, but I now know what to look for to become a better teacher. I plan on doing an Independent Study back at Rice and hopefully observe some of Houston's best teachers to compile a variety of successful teaching techniques so that I can implement some of them once I become a teacher. While at Breakthrough, I adapted to my students so much, in terms of their behavior and academics. I taught two 7th grade math classes but my two sets of students were completely different. Consequently, my approaches to teaching were different as well. I asked so many people for advice-everyone from the BT administration, my co-teachers, Junior Teachers, BT Mentor Teachers, my former teachers, and my friends and family back at home. This is when I realized that, for me, the best method to improve yourself in the classroom, is to ask others for ideas and them experiment with them.
A great teacher told me previously that the only way to become a great teacher is through experience. So I am very grateful for the experience that Breakthrough has given me this summer. I have learned so much and will use it to become a better teacher for my future students.
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:30 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Andrew DeMuro
College/Year: University of Miami, Senior
Breakthrough Site: Miami, College Bound
Elective Course: Musicology
The mission of the College Bound Program at Breakthrough Miami is to prepare and motivated bright and dedicated youth to go to college, and Celebration serves as the perfectly-packaged showcase of just that. There were two things in particular that I learned about my students from watching them present their academic growth to their parents. First, I watched their dedication bleed through their nerves. Second, I saw their passion come alive through the pride they felt after finally completing the program.
During Celebration, our Breakthrough scholars not only presented professional projects on how to improve impoverished, decimated communities within the city of Miami, they also proved that they could make a positive change in their society by singing “We Are The World,” and brought the house down with their grand finale—a mock fraternity initiation ceremony for “Beta Tau Mu,” a prestigious (but fictional) college prep organization which was actually code for “BreakThrough Miami.” Through their “initiation” into the fraternity, our scholars performed live on stage, reciting the vital history, statistics and mission of the College Bound chapter of BTM. Their dedication and passion were obvious, as they proudly shouted “1978” and “Lois Loofbourrow” in response to our questions, “when was Beta Tau Mu founded,” and “who was it founded by?”
This was the vindication that the teaching staff was hoping for: proof that with the proper care, learning is cool. Many of the students would not admit it if you asked them, but by Celebration it was written all over their faces. Their performance was obviously important to them, as proven by their pre-performance nerves and excitement when everything went according to plan. Their pride was unmistakable and inspiring—an awesome, lasting memory for me to keep of the kids.
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:24 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Ryan Dykhouse
Breakthrough Program: Breakthrough Cambridge
Subject Teaching: 7th Grade Math
School Attending/Year: Olivet Nazarene University, 2012
Returning to college seems like an impossible task after the experiences of this summer. How can I wake up without the promise of Good Morning cheers? How can I begin my own learning from a professor who does not even use See, Say, Do cycles? But most of all, how can I pursue education for myself when there is so much more I want to do to help my students from this summer?
Although I unfortunately will be too far away to participate in the Breakthrough Afterschool Program or do one-on-one tutoring, I will return to school with the burden and joy of the responsibility and excitement of my Breakthrough experience. Not only have I come away from this summer more passionate about education, but I have come away with a sense of moral duty to help close the achievement gap no matter where I live! What this might look like is after-school tutoring in my community, writing letters to the editor on school policy, or even attending local school board meetings to learn more about the inner workings of a school. "Experience is what you do with what happens to you." Well, quite a lot has happened to me these past two months, between training and the Breakthrough program itself. The stories I have are innumerable, the memories immeasurable, but also a compulsion to act that is unbearable. I will indeed be left with such a searing memory of the successes (and failures) I had with my students this summer that I will want to repeat them and build upon them in numerous communities across the States and the world. I will return to school perhaps a bit depressed to no longer be in a classroom, but also with a desire to find an educational need in my community and meet it!
Going beyond simply this next semester, Breakthrough has left me with somewhat of a void. A void that needs to be filled. I call this void my "spirit space." For wherever I go from now on, my spirit space will need to be filled. Whether this is through tutoring a child who needs help with homework, creating an enthusiastic space for learning, or even pursuing a career in education, this spirit space must be filled by an element of the Breakthrough spirit I find in different places or even bring to different places. Because no matter where I go or what I do, I know that the experiences I have had this summer at Breakthrough will be crying out to be built upon. So maybe I will go find an organization to tutor with tomorrow! Maybe I will start a "P-O-W-E-R we got the POWER!" on the street as I'm walking! But no matter what, I am going to bring the BTC spirit no matter where I go. Because Breakthrough (Cambridge) is what? DYNAMITE!
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:18 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Vanessa Morales
Breakthrough Program: Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano
Subject Teaching: 7th Grade Math
School Attending/Year: Rice University, Class of 2012
When I first applied to Breakthrough, I had no idea what to expect. Due to friends who previously did Breakthrough, I was well aware that it would be extremely busy, but so much fun. I remember constantly looking at the "typical day" schedules and wondering how the day would run. So basically I knew I was up for a busy, yet, rewarding summer, but not much else. I was very excited for it though and couldn't wait to meet my students.
As I expected, my summer was packed with lesson planning, grading homework and tutorials but I absolutely loved it. However, it was a pleasant surprise to experience the great sense of community within Breakthrough--everyone from the administration, teachers and students. I was hoping to get to know my students which I did and established great mentor-relationships which I hope will last for a long time. But I wasn't aware of just how close all of the teachers would get to each other. I remember first meeting everyone on the first day of Orientation and by the time our training ended, we all couldn't believe that we knew each other for only a week and a half! It seemed like we were all long time friends. :)
I absolutely loved my time at Breakthrough and getting to know everyone in the BT community has to be my favorite part.
Celebration at BTSJC is a two-hour event after the program ends that showcases all of BT's students. Families of students and teachers, as well as members of the community join us on that evening. Every student introduces themselves to the audience on stage and announces their "Statement of Learning," which is a sentence or two stating what this summer at Breakthrough has taught them, overall. The rest of the evening is filled with student and teacher testimonials and student performances, such as short skits, songs and recitations of poems.
Breakthrough's mission is to close the student achievement gap so that all students in the United States have the opportunity to obtain an excellent education and attend college, despite their backgrounds. Celebration demonstrates the talents, knowledge and commitment of students that are a part of the first generation in their families that will go to college. The event brings all people in the BT community together to remind everyone of the program's mission and to demonstrate that all BT students have great potential to become huge successes in their lives.
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Monday, August 22, 2011 - 09:05 | 0 comment/s |
Hetali Lodaya
Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia - Drexel
Science
UNC-Chapel Hill 2014
This summer, 30+ bright, intelligent, moody kids, 11 phenomenal staff, 2 quirky supervisors, and the city of Philadelphia happened to me. Along with them came Spirit Committee, trips to Baltimore and DC, late nights writing lesson plans and early mornings running to CVS to buy candy, weekends spent roaming the city and weeknights calling the rest of the science department. Everyone brought their hopes, goals, ideas, and honest opinions to Breakthrough, a space where they are honored and incorporated into the community. The panic when your kids sit down for their first exam - the first time they are truly demonstrating their knowledge on their own? That happened. The realization that you understand why most people's first year teaching is terrible, and also why some people teach their whole lives? That happened.
But this is the wrong verb. Nothing at Breakthrough is passive; nothing happens to you. It happens with and without you, around you, under you, beside you, when you're paying full attention and when you're least expecting it. It requires you to bring all your senses to bear and engage. You have to see what is happening around you - who is having a bad day, and why? What did your class struggle with on this assignment? Which of your teachers is scrambling and looks like they need help? Reading this pulse, and integrating yourself into it, ensures that you happen to the BT community as well.
To quote a fellow staff member, we're not just Breakthrough teachers - we are Breakthroughs. We don't let the summer happen to us; we grab it by the horns and make it the best possible experience for our kids and for ourselves. We put in sweat, time, and tears to make sure that the learning - the clarity of purpose - the spontaneity - is ours to own. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
This summer, a lot happened. I will never look at a teacher or professor the same way. I will never underestimate the power of a one-on-one conversation, and of asking the right question and being willing to listen to the answer. I will never forget what my students stand for, and I hope they know I stand with them for as long as they want.
We are Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, and we have high expectations. We commit ourselves to hard work, dedication, respect, fun, and above all, excellence in learning.
We are Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia.
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 16:29 | 0 comment/s |
Name: Nathaniel Wardwell
Breakthrough Program: Breakthrough Austin
Subject Teaching: 8th Grade Physics
School Attending/Year: Brown University 2014
I know after doing Breakthrough that I want to be involved in education in at least some capacity as I continue my own professional development, whether I decide to be a teacher or not. "What happened to me" this summer was forming some amazing relationships with my students, being inspired by their strength and ability, and learning that I can make a basic, positive impact. I plan on getting involved with my local Breakthrough in some volunteer capacity, and will keep education in my professional sights so that I can continue to help others and improve my own abilities. I had an unbelievable experience this summer; when I try to tell family and friends about it, they just can't quite understand how overwhelming, demanding, and rewarding my work was. I loved every minute of it, and will miss Breakthrough dearly!
Posted by Rosalind Holland on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 16:25 | 0 comment/s |
Cami Jones
Breakthrough San Francisco
Writing Teacher
Northwestern Univeristy
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I learned more about education in my time at Breakthrough than in my three years of ed school. That's not because anything is wrong with what I'm learning at school, it's just that you can learn more from interacting with real students than any text book or article can ever teach you. Before Breakthrough, a lot of what I learned in my classes seemed disconnected because I hadn't tried it on real kids yet. Now that I've worked with kids on a deeper level, I'm prepared to interact with my classwork on a deeper level. My Breakthrough experience is going to enrich the rest of my education. I'm more excited than ever to read up on the latest research and theory because it will no longer be disconnected; everything I learn from now on will be colored by my experience with those kids.