Atlanta update

So... quick catch up on what has to be the fullest week I've ever had. I arrived in Memphis last Tuesday, had a great week of induction with my fellow 52 corps members, interviewed at quite an intense hiring fair. I have a school placement (huzzah!) at Mitchell High School barring a massive failure on the teacher certification test I'm taking Saturday before teaching summer classes the first time Monday. I'm doing 9/10th math in a great school south of the city, and both the administration and facilities are incredible- much more than I expected. On calling the principal at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon, he left his home and came to the school to give a tour and show me my classroom- something I still have yet to process as my own. Another TFA member is also teaching at my school and we're house shopping as soon as we get back to Memphis. I'm also tentatively starting and coaching a swim team.

We had a dinner to meet many of the funders and proponents that brought TFA to Memphis, and this is verbatim how one conversation went:

"Welcome to Memphis! We're so excited to have you here!"
"Thanks! We're excited to be here"
"We're expecting great things this year- we've heard so much.... no pressure, huh? We only expect you to change the face of public education in Memphis..."

Right. So after that, I had a fabulous 6 hour ride with a lovely Louisiana native in our corps to Atlanta (where about 500 of this year's 2,400 new corps members are training- we're with people from Charlotte, St. Louis, North Carolina, Miami, and others I can't quite remember), checked in and haven't really started breathing again since training started. Things are good, stressful, insane, wonderful and I think the only way they could be to get such a monumental task accomplished in the time at hand. I'm spending summer training at an Atlanta middle school, this first week soaking in all the information we can, and then transitioning into half days teaching and half days learning next week and for the 3 following that. I'll be teaching 7th grade Literature/Reading for the four weeks of summer session. Another subject, another grade. Bring it.=) There are reasons for what seems like crazy, and all we can do at the moment is try to sleep some, work our tails off and trust that they know what they're doing. It's worked for the past 15 years, so TFA has to have something good going on.=)

I've been trying to figure out a way to convey why this is so exhausting, and the best I can do is that it's like 15 hours of the most intense engaged classes I've ever taken and then trying to find time to do lesson plans (much more complex than I'd originally imiagined) and study for my certification tests. We start at 5 am and go until at least 9 pm, then debriefing and bonding with Memphis corp folk until we can't keep our eyes open any more. It's like college on speed- learning new subjects, new approaches, new skills, new mindsets at every possible opportunity.
I can't believe this is only day two- I've put so much in my head it doesn't seem possible. Literally, every two hours or so we learn something that will have a daily impact on how we run our classes.

Ok, I'm really out and spent. I miss home and friends, singing, familiar places and free time, but I can't imagine a better way to run myself ragged.=) Love you all!

In case you feel like sending me love notes, cookies or other happy mail this is where to find me until July 10 or so:

Shannon Marsh/Corps Member
c/o Teach for America/Memphis
Georgia Tech
555 8th Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30332-0550

-last cool caveat, we're in the dorms the olympic athletes lived in back in the day.