Chicago TFA: 2

I woke up really early for my first day mostly because of my anxiety. I didn’t want to be late, I wasn’t sure on how I should look, I still wasn’t exactly sure on the location, and most importantly I did not know what to expect. Alex and I were fortunate enough to be in a charter school that was not only to where we were staying but also in a very high-end part of town. Safety was never an issue honestly throughout the week. We arrived to school early and were helped to find the school by a homeless man who told us about how he had been sober for 14 months. It was both helpful and an awkward encounter. Our teacher greeted us with a big smile, which was reassuring. The school was actually one floor in an office building so it had a weird set-up. She warned us about the different types of people we would be meeting which varied based on what part of Chicago they were from and ethnicity. Our students had all ethnicities unlike some of the other schools, which were mostly African American or Latino. Most of our students though were from the south side of Chicago or the west side of Chicago both equally not the greatest parts of town. In our first class, Ms. Chen (the teacher) pulled us aside to warn us about one student. There were multiple shootings that weekend around the city from a gang and a baby was accidentally shot. The student’s family members were arrested for shooting the child and we were also informed that the adults were shooting at other adults but missed. Pretty much that was a situation where I could not relate in any way possible. In class the students started to work on “choreo-poems” which are choreographed poems presented by the students. Each poem was about an emotional point in a student’s life and was paired with music and changing in how bright the lights were. Alex and I listened in on poems and topics. The vast majority of these poems highlighted situations that I never really took as a highlight or an event that I have never experienced. The topics ranged from the first time being on a roller coaster, 8^th grade graduation, deaths, attacks, and other terrifying experiences. It shocked me to be honest because they were so young to experience such great events.

Beth Boomstein