Step 1: Summer Recap

The Teacher Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania begins during the summertime, and, in fact, the theory-rich course load and emphasis on a term-long neighborhood study really appealed to the geography major in me (human geography- don't quiz me on my countries/states/capitals, please!). The truth is, however, that so much has happened since my classmates and I arrived on campus at the beginning of July, that for this recap I'm digging into old emails I sent to friends and family as well as journals I wrote for myself to give you a sense of how I was feeling about my summer experience in the moment. Here are some highlights:

July 1: 
I have been bubbling for weeks/months about this program, but today brought all of my excitement to the surface. Two particularly poignant moments included: 1) listening to Dean Grossman speak about teacher professionalism and this program's commitment to the development of a community of professional educators; and 2) hearing a student from last year's cohort describe what makes my the school I will be placed in this summer and fall so special. Both of these really touched on the reasons I am here and made me more sure than ever about this being the right choice for my next career step. 

July 16:
I just re-discovered that awesome cheap food cookbook PDF you shared with me and made the peanut noodles tonight! I think it will become a staple in my grad school life...Speaking of, it's so fun to be a student again, but it's also really hard to adjust back to it! I stayed up waaaay past my bedtime every night this week working - [...] This week I wrote a research paper on Kevin Henkes (do you remember Chrysanthemum?)-pretty fun to have an excuse to read picture books again! And I already love the first graders who I am working with.

Philadelphia is fantastic- a few friends came into town for my birthday and we spent the weekend exploring a farmer's market, brewery, beer garden and ice cream parlor (because how else do you explore but through food and drink?!) I could do without the humidity and mosquitoes, but otherwise no complaints!

Birthday adventure with friends old and new: Yards Brewery with college friends and my new roommate, a student in the TEP High School Cohort!

August 11:
Sorry I've been so slow to respond! I am already almost done with my first (mini) term so things have been pretty fast and intense. The program, and my life here in general, are really good though!! I'm actually liking Philadelphia itself even more than I expected - it's a really approachable size, super affordable, and just overall has a great vibe to it. I am really excited about the public school I'm student teaching in this fall, which is both a fantastic place AND only about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. 

As I hope these blurbs convey, over the summer I worked hard in three courses (School and Society, Literature for Children and Adolescents, and Child Development), and began a school placement, too. But I still had a chance to settle in to the city, meet new people, and enjoy Philadelphia in the summertime.