Day 3: May 2015

I awoke with premonitions of the fatigue I will experience in July, when I come back for the intensive session of the YNI program.  This morning, Saturday, I rolled out of bed and shocked my mind and body with a brisk shower.  I was surprised how exhausted I felt.  Yesterday, I guess I had done a lot more walking, talking, and thinking than I realized.  However, after another blend of Blue State chocolate, peanut butter, and banana smoothie (with a shot of espresso of course), I was ready for another collegiate day at Yale.  

In the morning, we chatted over another hearty breakfast.  This morning’s specialty was sausage and egg (or veggie) quiche.  We had another meeting where seasoned fellows talked about expectations and preparations for July’s intensive session.  The meeting was cool and humorous, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves.

After the meeting, we met with our Seminar groups once again.  Today was my favorite meeting so far, as it felt like I was back in the English program at NIU.  We spent a solid hour discussing and analyzing our homework, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, and I was amazed at the depth my fellow fellows brought to the table as we posed questions and shared ideas.  The second half of the seminar was the logistics of the next part of the program.  We refined a reading list for the group that would help us prepare for the July session.  

After, we had a lunch of clam chowder, portabella and tuna sandwiches, and several types of salads.  We sat at tables made up of a variety of fellows and discussed what we had learned during our Seminar groups.  After lunch, people went their separate ways.  Some went to coffee shops to do research, some went to the library to work on their assignments, and I met Jessica to refine my topic and reading list. 

   

Before dinner, we had one last meeting to attend before our May session came to an end.  I finished my meeting with Jessica early, so I went to the main quad and sat under an old, friendly tree to continue typing this blog.  As I sat there, I watched Yale students, faculty, and family as they passed by.  Everyone was happy and jovial in the spirit of higher academia.  It felt good to be in the atmosphere of such sophisticated people.  I smiled at them, but they were too preoccupied with life to bother with a blog writing tree hugger from California.  

Taking several deep breaths, I soaked in the last of my May experience at Yale.  Life was good.  I felt very blessed and fortunate to be part of the YNI program.  Getting up to leave for the meeting, I thought about the fun times I had had over the past few days, the new friends I had met, and the entirely new realm of education that I was privileged to.  If you are an educator, I would highly suggest looking into the program for either yourself or your district.  YNI is a great opportunity for professional development, collegiality, and the advancement of excellent levels of education across the United States. 

 

Day 2: Semi-formal Dinner

 

The semi-formal soiree was decidedly elegant and sincerely comfortable.  Ascending the steps in proper form, teachers in brightly colored neckties and delightful dresses mingled amidst waiters serving hors d’oeuvres and cheerful tenders splashing burgundy wine into crystal chalices.  Teachers surfed the crowd as if picking out the perfect wave to converse with for a short time and then moving on to the next.   

 

Everyone discussed stories about their students, both triumphs and tribulations, expressing wonderfully powerful experiences.  One man shared that he had seen eleven students pass away throughout his time teaching.  One student was killed earlier this year because he had taken another student’s girlfriend.

Stories like this brought my educational experiences into a sharp clarity.  I realized how often I take for granted the opportunities available to me as an educator.  With the potential to change lives, we must be on our game all day, every day.  The world depends on us to love and educate it into a heightened state of consciousness and connection for all of humanity.  My time talking to other teachers was exhilarating.  I now feel ignorant to what others across the country must experience.  YNI will be an enlightening opportunity to realize the deeper message available to me in my profession.

Dinner was adorned with too many types of silverware.  We laughed as me made awkward attempts to figure out which spoon or fork was appropriate for the different parts of the meal.  Our salad came to us wrapped up with a giant leaf of lettuce and was held together by a pickled slice of cucumber.  The meals accommodated all types of eating habits, ranging from vegetarian to carnivore.  Finally, dessert was a tasty treat of pistachio mousse and peanut brittle bark.  Throughout the feast, waiters served wine, water, and coffee poured from a French press.  Soon, the evening came to a conclusion.

When everyone finished their meal, they broke into various different groups.  Some people went back to the hotel to relax and go to sleep, some went out on the town, and others found quaint nooks to complete their assignments for the next day.  Regardless of their next destination, everyone seemed decidedly content and satisfied from the day’s events.  That night, I slept like a baby.  I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and had a busy start in the morning.

Day 2: May 2015

The day started off with a short walk to the local coffee house, Blue State.  I’d recently discovered a chocolate, peanut butter, and banana smoothie and decided to throw a shot of espresso in it for good measure.  The group looked refreshed and reinvigorated from the night before.  Breakfast was healthy blend of granola, fruit, and chocolate filled pastries.  We sat with different people, a typical setting for every meal, and chatted about unimportant trivialities to pass the time before our first meeting of the day.

After breakfast, we met in a banquet hall to discuss the day’s events.  Today, Friday, we met our Seminar group and instructor.  Again, my Seminar topic was “Reading for Information, Non-fiction Literature”, which focused on integrating and entwining non-fiction and fiction texts in the classroom.  Meeting with our group for the first time was reminiscent of my old university days.  Our instructor, Jessica Brantley, introduced herself and her specified field, Medieval Literature.  She speaks the Chaucerian language!  After, the group swapped background stories with each other and shared what their unit topic was going to be about.

 

 

The meeting passed by too quickly and, before we knew it, it was time to part ways.  The rest of the day was made up of individual meetings with Jessica, exploring the beautiful campus of Yale, and delving into the infinite number of resources in the library.  My meeting with Jessica was very helpful.  She proved knowledgeable and resourceful in helping me detail and refine my unit topic.  Together, we brainstormed a list of titles to research and briefly chatted about life.  Again, the meeting went too quickly and before I knew it, it was time for dinner.