Posting from school

Hello all!

This post is actually coming from inside Amherst Regional Middle School.

Amherst Regional Middle School

I'm substituting today in the QLC (Quiet Learning Center), which is a place alongside the Dean of Students. Here in Amherst, they have two different types of "vice principals"-- the Dean of Students, who takes care of disciplinary action and consequences with students, and the Vice Principal, who works a lot with curriculum and teacher development. It's an interesting concept, I haven't decided how I feel about it yet because I haven't really been able to see them in action too much yet. This subbing job specifically, at the QLC, is very... slow. It's for students who have been sent out of the classroom for disciplinary reasons or students coming in for lunch detention. So it's a good thing it's slow, but provides a very slow day for me. :) I actually feel pretty bad for getting paid to sit, but you have to take one for the team once in a while. ;)

I've noticed a LOT of differences lately between Amherst school district and the districts I'm used to back in Idaho (Boise/Meridian). First of all, just so everyone knows, this is one of the most liberal towns in the United States. Northampton specifically, which is about 5 minutes away from where we live, is incredibly democratic, which is very different from Idaho to begin with. Pretty much everywhere you go, you see supporters of Obama and the democratic party (great for Rodney and me-- we've always been leaning that way).

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Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 18, 2006
Democratic
8,350
49.18%

Republican
1,076
6.34%

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The whole feel of the town is much more casual because of this, with lots of local things to do and a small-town feel I couldn't really experience in Boise (it being so huge and all)! Amherst is also very literary-conscious... it has many many libraries and bookstores, more compacted into a smaller town than I experienced in most of Boise/Meridian. Included in the mix is the largest library in America, and the largest academic library in the world. Emily Dickenson was born and raised here, Robert Frost lived here for a while, Eric Carle (who wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar, one of my favorite childhood stories) lives here and has his museum here, even Noah Webster-- the creator of Webster's Dictionary! :) It's a wonderful place for me to feel comfortable, as an English teacher. Students in the schools are constantly with books, but not disruptive about it. When they finish an assignment, they automatically take out a book and silent read. There's no pulling teeth required! :)

The City of Amherst

Anyway, back more to schools-- I think because of this small-town, liberal feel, school systems are created under a completely foreign style. The middle school is VERY similar to Meridian/Boise ironically, but the high school is just so incredibly different. Walking in to the high school, you notice a few things-- students with hats, bandanas, headbands, baggy sweatshirts with what looks like gang symbols, which anyone who has worked in the Boise/Meridian school districts would know is a big culture shock. If a student in Boise/Meridian so much as flips a hood on top of their head, they're told immediately to remove it. You also observe students hugging, holding hands, sometimes kissing in the hallways. Swear words are thrown around very quickly and easily, and around teachers, without any sort of acknowledgement (which again, not necessarily saying that it's good/bad, just very different). The students are kind, saying hello passing by, but have a very casual and easy-going atmosphere about them.

Amherst Regional High School

Entering the high school classroom, it's immediately hard to control. Now I've had a year of teaching experience, so I know how difficult it can sometimes be to control a classroom, but from the moment students begin filing in, it's immediately a different feel-- students are encouraged to have points of view and voices, which is fantastic. It's very hard, however, to get adjusted to how much they express their feelings and the amount of free-reigned talking that goes on in class. It's not even necessarily disrespectful-- just different. When I give out a task or am speaking to them, they listen and respond well. They're still great kids, it's just a hard adjustment trying to communicate with a wall of voices. They swear in class, as well. When I asked them to not use that language, they immediately know I'm from another area. "Teachers swear in front of us all the time." Wow.

Here's the kicker... their test scores are fabulous. Some of the best in the state. And when they actually receive their work, they work dilligently. They are talking with one another, but doing the classwork primarily. This is much different than Boise/Meridian schools I'm used to working with, where you sometimes have to keep kids focused and on-task. Here, they're constantly working, just in a much noisier and casual atmosphere. They're telling stories, sharing their feelings on other teachers, swearing up a storm, all the while a paraprofessional is in the room claiming 'this is how each classroom is... it's the area.' Very interesting.

I really want to stress again how much it's not the students. I think the students are the same kids I've been working with from Day 1 in Boise. I really enjoy them, they're great kids, they just grew up much differently than I did. Everything they're doing here seems to be working, I just wish I felt more comfortable in the classrooms. I actually get a sort of "helpless" feeling a lot, which isn't great. But again, it's normal here. It's the way of life, the general attitude. Outside of the school, I absolutely love it, but in the classroom, it's definitely the biggest kind of culture shock I've experienced. It's now just about adjusting...and hoping for the best.

The town of Amherst's 250th birthday parade!

Today was Amherst's 250th birthday! It's actually a pretty young town compared to some around it-- Hadley, which is literally RIGHT next to Amherst (the town line is about a block away from our apartment) is 350 years old. To celebrate, their were festivities such as a parade around town. It was great to see, other than the rain! :)

Walking to the parade route (downtown Amherst) -- we had to park about 1/2 mile away.

The first thing showing in the parade -- horses pulling some city officials (as you can see, we were more excited about the horses than the city officials) :)

Very cute little horse!!! We couldn't decide if this was a miniature horse or a mule-- any ideas?

Theo :)

Hadley being represented in Amherst's parade-- you can see the "350th" sign.

We loved this -- a turkey with a cute umbrella over it! :) Only in Amherst...

Rodney's school's marching band -- the UMass Minutemen marching band.

Right in front of our field of vision. :)

This guy was hilarious-- he came around halfway through to pick up horse poo -- he rode the tractor like it was a float! :) Very proud of his important role in the parade. He got huge cheers!

Amherst's birthday cake!

And...the minute man. :)

Ok this took FOREVER to figure out. This is the top Quartet at Umass Amherst playing for the weekly studio masterclass. Wait about 15 seconds between movements. Sorry that I can't post the whole recording. I'm too cheap to spend $50 on the full version of the file converting software.

Tom Glassey - Soprano
Kara - Alto
Rodney Zuroeveste (me) - Tenor
Mat Schumer - Bari

Love you,
-Rodney

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Lately!

I have to hugely apologize! It's been far too long! Adjusting to life out here has been part of it, but I actually forgot about the blog for a while! So from now on, I will be continually updating it. I made some changes, which I really needed to do. It actually has a nice look! :) I plan on posting at least twice a week, so be sure to come back and look once in a while! I'll also be posting more pictures. Fall is coming around, which means pretty colors EVERYWHERE! I've never seen autumn like this before -- it truly is unreal.

Rodney has been adjusting very well to grad school. UMass has been perfect for him, because he's feeling pressure and has been given many new playing opportunities that he hasn't had before. He's playing in one of the top saxophone quartet groups, and he's already performed 2-3 times this year in performing classes. He's taking an advanced conducting class, managing both wind ensemble groups, and playing in the Symphonic band. It's been a bit of a hard adjustment for him, because the expectations are now so much higher that he's finding himself practicing 5-6 hours a day, minimum! Although this is the first time he's really felt stressed out over being at a high level, it's the best thing for him right now. His professor (Lynn Klock) has given him lots of new things to work on, and is pushing him, which is exactly what he needs.

I have been substituting at the middle school a LOT. It's been wonderful! I've been fortunate enough to get a subbing job everyday! I'm getting to know the teachers really well, and have befriended many of the English teachers as well. The two ladies in the main office let me know that they put me on the top of the preferred list, which means I get to see the substituting jobs early! It's been the best I can ask for-- and it's really been nice being in the classes still, even though it's not my own. :( One nice thing is being able to enjoy life outside of work-- because there's no planning work, I'm able to explore the new area. I love Amherst!

For some reason, I don't have any real pictures of our area yet, because we don't take advantage of the camera when we're walking around town. I have a few from when we visited the campus during Spring Break when we picked out an apartment, and then a couple of the move, so I'll post those here:

This is the front of the Fine Arts Center from the side -- if you can tell, it's shaped like a piano!


University of Massachusetts Amherst's mascot -- The minutemen! (Famous old church in the background)

Mr. Klock (Rodney's teacher) has an entire downstairs area DEVOTED to trains. It's the same place he practices, so he often has trains going as he's practicing as a kind of "calming" agent. Actually very cool, and a HUGE set up.



The morning of the big move --it took about eight tries to get the car EXACTLY on the trailer. The wheels had to fit between two thin red lines.


How our lovely kitties traveled in the Penske truck -- stacked on top of each other between the two front seats. Oh, they loved it. ;)

The Fine Arts Center from the front.

Rodney standing in front of the Fine Arts Center.

The view of the pond and the student union building behind the Fine Arts Center.

Cute ducks that followed people around -- obviously are fed quite often. :)

The pond behind the Fine Arts Center again, but this time with the library in the background -- it's the tall brick building, and it happens to be the tallest library in the United States, and the tallest academic library in the world! :) 26 stories tall!

The inside of our apartment the first day. Lovely. :)