inside Rhodes

It would be quite impossible to tell you all what I’ve experienced over the past three and a half weeks here in Manchester, New Hampshire. As many of you know, I’m doing a teaching internship with a program called Breakthrough Collaborative. Breakthrough enlists college and high school students to teach talented middle school students for a portion of the summer. Breakthrough has many sites throughout the country where many students come to “teach and learn” for six weeks. I’m teaching 7th grade English at a Breakthrough program in Manchester, NH. I’m staying with three other teachers that are also from out of town. We wake up at 6 AM daily, teach and learn from 7 AM until around 5 PM, and work on lesson plans until around 10 PM each night. It’s a crazy schedule, but I’m loving it so far!

In many ways, Breakthrough Manchester is like a normal school. Breakfast and lunch are served everyday and students attend four classes each day as well as participate in an extracurricular activity. This program, however, is very unique in many ways as well. I like to describe Breakthrough as being “the model school.” The golden ratio is in effect: there are about 3 students to every 1 teacher. We have an “all school meeting” every day to allow students to display what they are learning and other special talents they possess. Teachers are encouraged to call home often and are required to call home if one of their advisees is absent. Parents are encouraged to attend Parent Conferences as well as events such as Back to School Night and Celebration. Additionally, we encourage every student and faculty member to learn every other person’s first and last name in the community. Each morning we open school with a greeting and attendance that includes cheers and fun activities. In many ways, Breakthrough strives to create a symbiosis between its students, teachers, family, and community. According to Dr. Smith, Professor of Education at Rhodes College, this web of connectivity between the school, students, family, and community must be present for any educational process to succeed.

I have included a few videos that talk about the lives of Breakthrough teachers and about parts of our day at Breakthrough Manchester. Throughout the summer, I hope to give you all more updates (when I find time!). For now, enjoy these little tidbits into a summer at Breakthrough! “Go teach and learn!!”

Every morning we greet students as they get off the buses. About 40 teachers welcome approximately 100 students each morning to the program. Many teachers have been at school for about an hour beforehand turning in lessons to mentor teachers and preparing to teach during the day ahead.

After greeting, we accompany students into breakfast. During this time, the entire school participates in attendance. Every name of every student and faculty member gets called in a 20-or-so minute period. Students and teachers can respond with a cheer, a fun fact, or simply…”Good morning, Breakthrough!” After all names have been called, our directors send us off by saying, “Go teach and learn!” Truly, both sides apply for teachers and students. Although I’m in the formal teaching role, I have learned so much from my students.

The golden ratio is also an important part of Breakthrough. In everything we do, we strive to keep faculty and student interaction as close to 3 to 1 as possible. In attendance, lunch, snack, greeting, and all school meeting, we are encouraged to disperse ourselves evenly to make sure we are communicating with all students in our school. Additionally, our class sizes are smaller than most normal classrooms. My B-period class has six students and my C-period class has five. This gives me a great opportunity to work individually with each student and give timely feedback on assignments. The small classes also allow for individualized assessments for each student.

At the end of each day, we see the students off much in the same way we welcome them. We stand outside and wave to the buses as students travel home with no less than 20 minutes of homework in each class. But the faculty’s day is not over! We stay for a few more hours for daily faculty meetings, department meetings, committee meetings, and for extra planning.