Steve & Amy – Hoping to Adopt

I thought it would be fun to start blogging about some of our favorite memories. Some will be of Steve and I together and others will be from before we got married. Check back every Monday for a new memory!

When I was just about to graduate, I heard about this amazing opportunity. I found out that I could do my student teaching in an inner-city school in Washington DC. When I heard about it, I decided that it was something I really wanted to do. Everyone thought I was a little crazy, but it turned out to be an incredible experience. I learned a lot and I had the best time exploring Washington DC and some of the surrounding areas.

Teaching in an inner-city school was a lot different than I had ever imagined. All the doors are always locked and there is security in the front of the building. Also, during this time, there was a sniper in DC, so the kids couldn’t even go out for recess. (Indoor recess for a month is never a good idea!)

My cooperating teacher didn’t really like teaching. My first day, she told me that I needed to learn to yell, before I could be an effective teacher! I wouldn’t say that I learned to yell, but I did learn a lot at that school. The kids were great, definitely not an easy class, but they were very loving and responded well to us! By the end of the four months it was difficult to leave them.

Here’s a few of my favorite comments from some of the students.

“Teacher, can you tell Joshua to move his bush, I can’t see the board” (speaking about one of the student’s afro)

“Teacher, my momma needs to do your hair for you.” (one student speaking about my flyaway hair, she thought it needed to be in braids).