ClumsyMonkey.net

How long will you be in Atlanta? It's about a 3-4 hour drive from here. I honestly know nothing about what to do there, good places to live, etc. You have GA Tech and University of Georgia all close by. Plenty of concerts and sports. I'm certain that if you can handle Detroit and it's suburbs, Atlanta will be no problem.

I have experience teaching . . . I have taught English to new Canadian immigrants, and to university students in Cuba. I have never heard of Teach for America, though - could you explain the program a little bit?

For language teaching, though, I would highly recommend two books: A Course in Language Teaching by Penny Ur, and Lessons from Nothing by Bruce Marsland. The first looks at the principles of language learning, the second is some useful ideas for creating lessons with few resources and activities to use if you don't have enough material prepared. Language teaching can be difficult, but it is VERY rewarding

Oh that's very cool, Meg! I don't have any tips about teaching or those areas, but my cousin was in the Peace Corps. The good news is, if you go and can't handle it, you CAN come home early. He only lasted like... a few months. Not that you need that now cos you got into this, but if you decided teaching wasn't for you and decided to look back into it.

Good luck and keep us updated.

beautiful liar wrote:I have experience teaching . . . I have taught English to new Canadian immigrants, and to university students in Cuba. I have never heard of Teach for America, though - could you explain the program a little bit?

For language teaching, though, I would highly recommend two books: A Course in Language Teaching by Penny Ur, and Lessons from Nothing by Bruce Marsland. The first looks at the principles of language learning, the second is some useful ideas for creating lessons with few resources and activities to use if you don't have enough material prepared. Language teaching can be difficult, but it is VERY rewarding

Wow, thanks for the book recommendations! Both of those seem like they will help a lot in developing lesson plans (and are both available on Half.com for super cheap!).

Anyway, Teach For America is a non-profit organization that is affiliated with Americorp (a volunteer org.) where you commit to 2 years of teaching in a a low-income area. It's for college graduates who don't major in education and are then trained during a month long institute (that's why I'll be in Atlanta) teaching summer school. During this time I also will have to be taking graduate courses and will end up with a Master's in Education when all is said and done (tuition is covered by TFA). I know that posting a Wiki link is always kind of sketchy but it basically covers everything: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teach_For_America

Oh, and like I mentioned briefly above I'll only be in Atlanta for a month, and staying at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

That sounds very cool - good luck with a great cause! If you want to know anything about my experience with teaching, ask away. I've completed a certificate in English teaching as a part of my degree, so I do have some technical knowledge, but I'm sure you'll be great.

Sweet, we only need a CM'er from Kentucky and I'll be surrounded by them.

If you ever by chance receive free Indy 500 tickets and can't think of anyone who would possibly want to go then hit me up.