http://virb.com/bethf Virb 2.0 (@bethf) en http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293100 ]]> Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:38:00 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293100 http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293099 ]]> Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:37:32 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293099 http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293098 ]]> Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:37:10 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/photos/1293098 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/586879 refuses. Anyway, I'm frustrated that this is playing out the way it is and I feel powerless. That's where you come in... suggestions?? (Obviously prayer, check.) How can I help the people of Zimbabwe? For information about what's going on with the election, just Google News "Zimbabwe" and you'll get plenty of news articles about the current situation. Here's a short video with background information on the election. And some footage of Zimbabweans fleeing the country due to the post-election craziness. ]]> Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:02:12 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/586879 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/481644 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 ]]> Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:21:37 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/481644 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/478229 groans "I know you guys, I wanted a snow day too, but I'm here to teach and you're here to learn - that's what we're going to do!" Casey, he gets it: "Yeah, what's the point if we don't learn anything?" We all sit in a group and chat about the text, I draw crazy messy illustrations on the board of what was happening and tell Bible stories to extend the text (hey, we're studying ancient history, it was totally ligit). The point is that the education achievement gap exists and these students need to know that learning is important - whether we have perfect attendance or just a small group. I can honestly say that while they were a little bummed about not playing games all morning, they learned something this morning. And not just about Moses, King Nebuchadnezzar, or exile. They knew that I wanted a snow day too. And they learned that I mean it when I say that learning is first. And, I just found out that we have early release - 12 o'clock. That makes everyone happy. What am I really getting at in this ramble...? I think there's a lot more here than the achivement gap. There's something here about priorities. There's something about making a statement. There's something about letting people know that you're serious about what you do. (If you're not, why are you doing it?) Sorry, this is a sleep-deprived not that's not very well thought out. Umm... make a statement. :)]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:51:54 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/478229 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/461042 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:59:11 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/461042 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/454386 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:33:12 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/454386 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/426301 From my email newsletter... Grace and peace to you. If you're a follower of the happenings in Christian pop culture (yes, while Christians were called to be in the world we have in many ways created our own... not to leave my point...), you have probably heard of Rob Bell of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He recently shared a message with his congregation and podcasters worldwide entitled "Grace and Peace." He taught that the word 'grace' carries a message of joy, pleasure, favor without expectation of return, and the absolutely free expression of the love of God. And 'peace' expresses harmony and every kind of good. And so, it is truly with grace and peace to you that I begin this letter - joy, pleasure, favor, the absolutely free love of God, harmony, and every kind of good - to you. We are just about to end the second quarter of the school year. Approaching this mark in the year is a bit intimidating when I think about how far my students have yet to go before I will feel I have well-served them. I must say, however, that for many of my students their optimism about learning and their ability to achieve has grown quite a bit from the start of the year. One of my students, who has all year given me the most practiced of bad attitudes, when asked to share something she was thankful for said, "I'm thankful for Miss Freitas because I didn't think I could pass but she keeps telling me that I can." And she can... if only she would turn in more homework, study for tests, and not shut down when she doesn't get her way (much improvement on that last one as of late). Coming back from Christmas break was admittedly a stretch for me and I think for my students as well. Suddenly extending to them the patience I would like became quite a challenge. Recognizing that I needed a break from them, I took last Tuesday off to pray and relax, grade papers and write lessons. When I came back on Wednesday I think we all felt a bit of relief and now we're back to the grind. Besides the past few weeks of mental and physical exhaustion, I'm enjoying my life in Philadelphia more and more. Rather than getting frustrated by the idiosyncrasies of Philly, I'm learning to laugh and embrace them as that which makes this city so different from others. I continue to enjoy the adventures of public transportation, searching out the most obscure of coffee shops, and visiting new churches. I recently was telling a friend about my search for a new church and had to clarify that while frustrating at times, it has been a really good process for me to go through. I've been able to evaluate what is important to me in a church and why. One of the things I have taken time to reflect on, explore, and discuss is the idea of community and what that looks like in the church. With that conversation comes the sometimes unfortunate reality that many of our churches in America operate more like businesses than communities. And I am not embittered by this, just challenged and thoughtful. Also - Huge congrats to Gary, Keitha, and William and the arrival of their new little one - Ethan!! Also, congrats to the Prettyman's and Newbill's on the arrival of their grandchildren - praise God for babies!!!]]> Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:06:45 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/426301 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/415287 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:52:39 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/415287 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/405927 loving it yet (liking, yes). I feel like I'm on the edge of something, I don't quite know what it is and perhaps it's not even something great, but there's some kind of anticipation in me. I started a Daniel fast on Saturday. Kind of a dedication of the year, a refocusing of mind, a purifying of my body, spirit, and soul, and a hope for breakthrough and answers. I'm not sure if the anticipation is just for whatever fruit will come from this fast or... only time will tell I suppose. Being home for Christmas and New Years was wonderful. It prepared me to enter a new season here in Philly and filled my heart with all of the love and hugs I'll need to push me through to summer when I next return. I've been thinking a lot about community as of late. Specifically the community of God's people. There's a book that I was supposed to read for a class I took once. By 'supposed to' I mean I didn't. Anyway, the title is Created For Community and that idea has stuck with me all these six-ish years - that we are created for community. It has only been as of late that I've begun to truly process that concept - that God designed us to live in community - and the reality that generally speaking we who were made with such intentions are not living in community. What does that look like? What does it mean for us? What does it look like to others? Too bad I left that book in the free pile before I left school, perhaps it could have given some insight into these questions. Penny for your thoughts?]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:12:15 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/405927 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/386104 Tue, 25 Dec 2007 16:59:58 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/386104 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/359450 Onedollar, just one dollar...." And I got a little teary-eyed as I thanked God that while my financial situation has been tough, I still had a dollar to share. Suddenly my recent financial frustration withered and I was reminded of how blessed I am. And that gentlemen, he was so blessed by that one dollar. And I prayed that God would put him in a time and place in which he could pass on that one dollar blessing. And I pray too, that you can find yourself in that time and place. Tag - you're it!]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:14:47 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/359450 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/325785 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:14:19 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/325785 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/309907 Recess Success! 251 Boredom-Busting Games & Activities for the Elementary Playground. I recognize that I have been out of the elementary school arena for a few months now but the last time I was, I hadn't met any elementary school children who claimed to be bored during recess. Kids are kids--they laugh, they play, they have a grand ol' time. Boredom-busting... right...]]> Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:09:50 -0800 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/309907 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/304215 Divine Nobodies and Wide Open Spaces: Here's to all the walking wounded ... to those still carrying a little heartbroken boy or girl inside; to those who feel rejected and lonely; to those who woke up with a dull ache inside; to those who are wondering where God is in the midst of their deep pain; to those whose past wounds have been pulled open yet again; to those weary and worn out and longing for some place called home; to those in the darkness who can't seem to find the light; to those who wonder if they will ever find love; to those who feel misunderstood; to the abandoned and discarded; to those who feel they are running out of reasons to get out of bed each morning; to those in the clutches of depression; to those who are smiling on the outside but dying on the inside; to those suffereing in silence. Here's to all the walking wounded. Palmer wrote later in Relevant Magazine that he received a flood of responses to this blog from Christians and he wondered to himself, "What gives?" He writes, "There was a time when I sought after God because I wanted certain benefits of knowing Him. [...] One evening I was sharing life's dissatisfactions with a friend of mine. [...] [T]hrough him God spoke six words that got my attention: 'Jim, I AM what you're looking for.' [...] What God was saying to me was, 'Jim, you're searching for it through life circumstances, human relationships, success, even through a set of Christian beliefs, practices and principles about Me. You seek Me because you want Me to give it to you. Jim, I am IT. I am love. I am life. I am peace. I am joy. I am satisfaction. I am freedom. It's not something I give; it's who I am. I AM what you're looking for.'" Here's to Jim Palmer. Word.]]> Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:11:38 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/304215 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/302653 do like it and I think I'm on my way to really liking it. That might take some extra time. I have about twenty months so I'm hoping to love it in the next few months so that I can really cherish being here. Today we had professional development. It was a nice break from teaching and while some of my day felt like a waste of time, it was great to have a change of scenery, to be near the water, and to get out early. Our p.d. was at the Independence Seaport Museum, an organization that our school has a close partnership with. They provided lunch which was an added bonus. And I was able to take SEPTA there and walk a few blocks in the finally crisp autumn air. So, overall it was a good day. Tonight Amy and I are going to check out First Friday so that should be a great way to spend a Friday evening, checking out the Old City art scene. I dig the arts so it will be nice to see what's here in Philly. One of these days I am determined to go the ginormous art museum we have here. I'd also really like to see what the theatre scene is like here so perhaps that will be my next venture. The nice thing about First Friday is that it's free - how beautiful is that?! Sorry but I really don't have anything deep or interesting to say - that's all I've got. ]]> Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:22:21 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/302653 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/262777 Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:18:41 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/262777 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/247260 are you doing right now? ... That's what I thought, get back to work please," followed by a smile. And it's not that I'm hopeless, I'm actually hopeful. I see the problem so now I can, with God's grace, readjust and teach with grace and love. One of my students, Ebony, has come to school four days out of twelve. I know she has some issues at home and when I've seen her, I've done my best to let her know how much I care about her and how important it is that she is at school and learning. I even bought her an alarm clock as one of her arguments for not coming to school was that her mom often doesn't get up in the morning to wake her up. I asked, "Do you get yourself ready?" Yes. "And do you get to the bus by yourself?" Uh huh. "Great! So the only thing you need is a way to get up! That's such an easy problem to fix. ..." For the next three days in a row, she came to school. And then, she disappeared again. Ebony is a bright girl. While I haven't completed her diagnostics (as she has missed every day of testing), I can tell that she is at least a critical thinker. Unfortunately, she gets caught up though when she senses that she could be wrong, or sound wrong, or when she fears she might not get her way. That's when the 'I coudn't care less' attitude shows up... blah! I spoke with her mom the other day. After I very politely informed her that, "I'm sorry but if you cannot speak to me in a respectful manner I'm going to have to end this conversation," she finished her screaming rant with, "Well I've said everything I wanted to say! I'm hanging up now, bye!" And she did. I don't know if it's wrong but I actually laughed when she hung up. I started a diagnostic called the San Diego quick with many of my students. The students basically read grade-leveled lists of ten words so that I can get a quick idea of the grade level at which I should begin their more in-depth reading diagnostics. I was surprised at how many students scored fifth grade and sad, but not shocked, at those who scored at a second grade level. It is, of course, just one quick snap shot but the fact that they could not read words like 'abolish' (6th grd), 'discussed' (5th grd), 'certainly' (4th grd), and 'drew' (3rd grd) is a good indication that they need lots of help and fast. Alright, back to the Green Line work zone! Hope life is splendid! Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." -Deuteronomy 7:9 Student names changed for confidentiality purposes.]]> Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:54:17 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/247260 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/233710 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:25:21 -0700 http://virb.com/bethf/posts/text/233710