TQP-MATHUP Cohort #2

Thanks for visiting my blog, and welcome! My name is Renee` Ahmad. I am a United States Air Force veteran, and I am currently a graduate student of CUNY Lehman College’s TQP MATH-UP program, Cohort #2. I began my journey at Lehman as an ADP candidate and earned my bachelors degree in Linguistics with a minor concentration in Early Childhood Education. As a participant in the MATH-UP program, my area of study is in grades 1-5 with an interest in mathematics. Originally, I am from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and have spent much of my life abroad living in Europe. I am also a mother of three children attending elementary and middle school grades. In addition to full-time graduate study and motherhood, I am a freelance photographer and occasional cupcake maven.

The title of this post explains it all.  Five months have passed and everything is as I expected: confusion, frustration, bewilderment, wonderment, learning...lesson planning, lesson planning, lesson planning. I suppose you could say it's all in a day's work as a teacher. However, even in this state of unpredictability, I am having a grand time teaching my first grade class. In my absence from the blog, I have been observed three times, video taped twice and have attended umpteen meetings...

I can’t express how fast everything is happening.  Two weeks has managed to turn into almost a month.  My head is still spinning from all that has happened during  my first month at P.S. 55.

I’m ecstatic to be in a self-contained 1^st grade class with my mentor Mr. Nwogu, a second year mentor for the MATH-UP program.  Although I’ve worked with younger grades prior to this experience, nothing compares to being in the classroom for a full day.  I am completely comfortable and am always thinking of...