Name: Rachel Renbarger
Breakthrough Program: Breakthrough Fort Worth
Subject Teaching: 8th Grade Literature,
School Attending: University of Oklahoma, Class of 2013

Even reading blog posts, there was no way of knowing what I was getting myself into, in a good way. At first, I was honestly scared. I read multiple posts claiming no sleep, 24/7 Breakthrough planning, and chaos. For a type A person like myself, those were three major red flags. I'm the type where 7 hours a night isn't enough to get me through and I tend to need to know the plan at all times. I have learned that these three things were not just for those who hadn't been efficient; rest and spare time are rare indeed. Still, it isn't as bad as I thought. Planning and grading at all times aren't terrible when you see how much kids love the activities and feedback. When you see the progress week after week, why spend time on anything else when there is no way it is as important as knowledge acquisition in your 8th graders. This past weekend when finished preparing for review days and evaluating last week's homework, I found myself bored to tears. Breakthrough takes your life, but in the end you would give more hours freely just to teach these amazing kids. Oh, and to those who are reading this but aren't sure if applying is wise: do it. If you try hard enough and make sleep a priority, you can get a whole 8 hours per night. It is all worth it.