Countdown

Last night, before the last night. Freak out yet??? Goodbye Lexington. You have your issues, but don't we all. And you've been good to us.

Packing

Packing for Denver has begun! There are 3 official piles:

1. Pile of shirts, ties, crackers, and crossword puzzles to take from Columbia to Denver for our one week of "induction". Only 22 hours in the car...no big deal.

2. Pile of cups, plates, skillets, coffee makers, clothes for 5 weeks in atlanta, to be picked up on the way from Charlotte to ATL on June 7th.

3. Everything else, to haul to Denver after teacher learnin' is over in ATL, and we officially MOVE to Denver.


Do we have somewhere to live yet? No. Does Katie have a job yet? No. Do I? No. But we have prospects, so that is progress. I had an interview with Rachel B. Noel Middle School this morning, so it is possible that I may have a job before this week is over. The website for the school is http://noel.dpsk12.org/home/ . The school is located in Northeast Denver. After checking the Chick-Fil-A Restaurant finder, there are in fact 16 of them in the Denver area, but none in NE Denver yet. All you entrepreneurs, fresh out of college, this could be a great opportunity to get into the service biz....

We are also looking for a place to leave one of our cars in Denver for the 5 weeks that we will be in Atlanta. Any takers?

Back to packing. Loading up 23 years of clutter, I mean memories, has proven difficult. We mostly sit on the floor, rummaging thru stuff, refusing to throw things away that should have found their way to the topsoil of a municipal golf course years ago. Ticket stubs, flowers from junior prom (that would be Katie), birthday gifts from when we were 2, cassette tapes (how do you play those, anyway), and class notes from freshman biology have all been the subject of hand wringing and hesitant packing. I even have a box of rocks that I collected from the backyard when I was 4.

Decisions will be made, things stored in the attic to "show our grandchildren", some things to Goodwill, others to the golf course. All by Friday evening. If anyone wants to help please stop by.

For now,

layne and katie madden

Chacos and Mountain Bikes and Flying Dog OH MY!

So we haven't put anything in boxes yet, but it is more in the spirit of avoiding the inevitable than lazy. We've researched housing and neighborhoods, applied to jobs, tried to imagine how we can actually get all of our stuff across the country, and tried to figure out all of the silly little details like car insurance, banks, drivers license, cell phone plan, etc. etc. Doing grown-up stuff is everything we dreamed it would be and more!

In the meantime, I've been working on my required reading and "essays" that I need to complete before institute begins on June 7th in ATL. It is a crash course in ED-101 with a TFA twist, and is intended to initiate the indoctrination process that will turn me from a regular human being into a teacher. I'm becoming fluent with concepts and buzz-words such as "setting high expectaions", "teaching to standards", "differentiated instruction", and "IEP's". I believe that my short time as a substitute at Lexington 1 has been very helpful in exposing me to this sort of dialogue, and giving me a context in which I can at least imagine these concepts taking root. Though this advantage will be irrelevant after a few weeks in summer school in ATL, for now it is helping me put a face on these otherwise vague concepts.

Something I've been meaning to do is look into what regional Colorado cuisine is. The first thoughts I have are Bison burgers, rocky mountain oysters, and yogurt and granola. If anyone has any good mountain-west recipes or ideas feel free to share.

My deferral with the Medical University of South Carolina is now officially official, and the current plan is to return to Charleston, SC after my two year commitment with TFA. At this rate, I should be a doctor by the time I'm 29 or so. For those who confuse being accepted to med school with actual competence, no I do not know why you have recurring headaches during thunderstorms, what that rash is on your leg, or how to give you an insulin shot.

That's all for now. Grace and peace to all.

lm and km (she's actually at work right now, but i'm sure she'd approve this message)

Updates!

Typically, TFA matriculants (matriculaters? matriculatings?) get a few months to get everything ready for relocating and for Institute, the 5 week long boot camp that will get me crash certified to teach in Colorado. Because I was not accepted until the beginning of May, we have 4 weeks. I haven't provided an update yet b/c I'm just now starting to realize what all needs to be accomplished in the next 21 days.

The Timeline:

• May 30, begin driving to Denver
• May 31, take a break in Owensboro, KY to visit family
• June 1, continue driving to Denver, 16 quick hours accross the nothingness that is Kansas
• June 2-7, "Induction" - i.e. interviews, house hunting, hand shaking, prelim training, etc.
• June 7, 1-way American Airline from Denver to Charlotte, drive to ATL, settle into our apartment at Georgia Tech
• June 8 - July 11, INSTITUTE at Ga.Tech and Atlanta public schools summer school
• July 12, Ryan's birthday party
• July 13-15, drive to Denver to stay
• August 16ish, school in session

Hopefully that timeline will satisfy those who are detail oriented. For those who aren't (such as myself), we're going to drive to Denver to look around, fly to Atlanta to get trained, and then drive back to Denver to work. In the meantime, I have approx. 40 hours of reading / writing exercises to do before Institute begins. Katie is currently running point on house / hospital search. She is also looking for something to do for 5 weeks in Atlanta while I am doing Institute work.

For today, however, we will be celebrating the union of Bobby and Jenna. I'm honored to be playing a little guitar in their wedding, and also excited about the free food. Send them a gift!

<3, km, lm

The Call

Friends, Family,

Last Tuesday, I received a call from Teach for America (TFA) inviting me to instruct young minds (6th-12th grade) in Science in the public schools of Denver, Colorado (or neighboring communities). This would have been very well received news about 2 months ago, but after a short stint on the purgatory of the waiting list, my once passionate enthusiasm had waned.

The mission of TFA is bold and ambitious. To "eliminate educational inequity in America". By placing energetic, competent leaders in low-income and under performing classrooms, TFA seeks to challenge the prevailing ideology that "schools can’t make a significant difference in the face of socioeconomic disparities, that children of color cannot meet high expectations, and that it is not worthwhile to invest in mitigating the challenges of poverty that make it harder for students to focus at school."

Last Tuesday morning, I was mentally packing for med school in Charleston. Beaches, "market price" seafood, flounder fishing, hot summers and mild winters, and crab cakes were floating through my mind, tethered only by the realities of gross anatomy and microbiology. Med school now makes sense. The economy has seen better days, and its not exactly the best time to get a job in the real world. I still remember a few things from college. Friends my age are in med school now, and I don't want any of them to be my attending physician one day.

Last Tuesday evening, I was given 2 days to decide what to do with my next 2 years. A pro/con list would have said go to MUSC. Family does not get too excited about being left accross the county. Katie does not do so well with snow and cold (as an upside, she is GREAT with smelly hippies). However, this was not a business decision. No Excel charts were employed in the decision making process. I did not use a calculator. The words of Jesus, that my treasure and my heart will be found in the same location (Mat. 6), are central. We believe that what TFA is doing is GOOD, that it is breathing the life and the peace of Christ into children in unfortunate circumstances, and that our part in this mission is to be obedient to the call and serve as selflessly as possible for 2 years.

Last Wednesday, we said yes. We're pumped. and terrified.



www.teachforamerica.org