I took a brief break from writing here as I was in final approach for my interview with Teach For America. I had to plan a mini lesson to teach and there was a bunch of reading to complete. I also needed to put my head into the right frame of mind for the day-long interview process. It turned out to be a total blast. In the morning session the 10 interviewees each teach a little lesson. (I taught a fourth grade math class: Patterns and shortcuts for the multiplication table.) There were a few other activities (which we are not supposed to disclose—to keep the application process fair for all the applicants). In the afternoon I had my personal interview with Jessica. I hope she liked me as much as I liked her — I’d really love to have an opportunity to join the Bay Area teaching corps. And I would be so happy to be able to teach in Oakland. I will hear from TFA around the 8th of March.
On a totally unrelated note I got up this morning and read about a 3.8 magnitude earthquake centered 50 miles west of Chicago. (Not a typo.) That would put the epicenter somewhere near Elgin, IL. We had felt a couple of little quakes when we lived in Moline, but this morning’s quake is definitely a little bigger than the mini temblors that struck during our Midwestern adventure. I haven’t spoken with my brother yet this morning, so I don’t know if they even felt it, but the local papers are reporting the story on their website. No word from Pat Robertson yet about the effect of Midwestern religious sensibilities as the root cause of the quake.