From my newsletter...
Dear Friends and Family,

Grace and peace to you this cold February evening.

We had our first snow day (sort of) on Friday! It snowed all night and continued to snow through the morning. I awoke anxiously at 3:30 in the morning to check on school closures (as I'm sure many of my students did as well). Unfortunately, no word from my school yet. When I awoke a bit later to my usual 5am alarm, I excitedly checked the report again to see that all of the schools surrounding Philadelphia were closed, many of the private and charter schools in Philadelphia were closed, and the School District of Phila as well as my school... open! What?! Not possible! I looked out my window again to see if I missed something - had the snow melted? Nope, lots of snow and more falling. I continued to check the school closures ten minutes or so for the next hour only to conclude that they were going to stay open. Rather than catching the 6:10 train, I rode with my neighbor to work who moaned the whole way. About ten minutes after school had begun I had only eight students. Those eight students had a fun review for the quiz they were supposed to take and learned that Miss Freitas means business when she says, "I am here to teach, you are here to learn." (I know, I'm so mean. Even my colleagues laughed when I told them we would still be learning.) By 10:30 they decided to call early dismissal at noon. Hey, a half-day snow day is almost as good as any snow day in my book - yippee!

I find that my job as an teacher is much less instructional than I thought it would be. It seems to be more that of a proctor (one who supervises, as of students taking an exam, to prevent cheating) and a guide (someone who leads) instead. I definitely believe that proctoring and especially guiding are important parts of my job as a teacher but there is certainly a time for instruction... I find very little of that time in my current curriculum.

That said, this week I am going to a curriculum and assessment meeting at which I plan to propose a major overhaul of our current Reading/Language Arts (RELA) curriculum. By name, the class should teach reading and language arts. I find, however, that the so-called curriculum that I am to use is simply a guide through a novel - something similar to a book study that you might do with a group of friends. Essentially there is an introduction to some of the vocabulary, a chance to make predictions and read independently (always in class, never, ever at home) followed by guided discussion. If all of that was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, please know that these are all sound practices but they cannot be the only practices. So anyway, my hope is to propose an all-inclusive program - read aloud, guided/independent/shared reading, guided writing, and grammar/spelling/vocabulary.

Sorry if that last part wasn't the least bit interesting to you - just pray for favor and wisdom for and with the curriculum development team. So far God has really given me favor with the administration at my school, so I'm starting off on the right foot. This is especially important when working at a charter school as you can be fired at will with little explanation or reason. No worrries, there are no plans for my dismissal... not at this point anyway. :)

My recent adventures on the east coast included a trip to the suburbs of Boston. I was just there for part of a weekend, stayed at Wellesley College (the all-women's college featured in 'Mona Lisa Smiles') and hung out in Cambridge (home to Harvard). Everything that I imagined these towns to be, they were - incredibly quaint and academic. My friend Gena and I drove up together and stayed with her friend Suh-Mii; I was also able to visit my good friend JK who is getting his master's at Boston College. It was amazing because I didn't realize how much I really needed that weekend getaway. My spirit and soul were completely rejuvenated. I cannot express the sense of refreshment and newness that I have experienced this week. Hooray!

I've decided that I need to set more time aside to read. Today I bought a book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, by Brian McLaren. It has become increasingly important to me to try to be socially aware and hopefully to effect change as much as possible in as many ways as possible without burning out, turning into a freak, or forgetting the purpose of it all (God's glory and people). Gena and I will be reading through this book together (that way I'll actually finish the book).

We are just three weeks away from our spring break - that blessed time of year when one week feels like a glorious month and a bitter-sweet half-day all at the same time. My mom will be visiting me for break so I won't make it back to the west coast but we have a great time planned. Have I mentioned that if you're ever in the Philadelphia area you should visit me? Or I will come visit you. D.C., NYC, wherever...!

Okay, I'll end this note with a HUGE congratulations to Cory, Melissa, and Noah at the arrival of their newest family member - Caleb James!!! Born tonight!!! Praise God!

May your home be filled with health, peace, and lots of laughter.

Best,

Beth