First days in Houston

My allergies have, unfortunately, not gone away in the wonderful City of Houston. A few other impressions of the city:

(1) It is extremely large. My home city could probably fit into it approximately 617 times.

(2) The lack of zoning laws has made for an interesting experience in many ways. There are run-down areas next to very nice neighborhoods. The spirit seems to be “if it decays, leave it,” and move on to a new place further out, since there’s plenty of space.

(3) Many drivers are insane. Today, I saw approximately five cars make a left turn on a red light when the oncoming lane got a green.

(4) Texas cops are all over, and reputedly mean.

(5) There’s a lot of nice architecture, but the city plan (or, of course, lack thereof) is awful.

(6) The roads are in a horrid condition. Downtown, the cross-streets differ in elevation by about a foot, making for a pretty bumpy ride. Others are just full of potholes or inconsistent paving.

Induction was a fun experience. I certainly got to meet a lot of very interesting people from all over the country; the Midwest and South-Central (i.e. Texas and vicinity) seem to be predominant. But there are all types here, something for every taste, as long as you have an interest in rectifying educational inequity.

The jest has begun about TFA lines, the phrases like “work relentlessly,” “execute effectively,” and so on from Teaching As Leadership. And they certainly do hammer it in. But it’s important stuff, and right now at least, I truly give credence to the effects that it can have on teaching. What is disappointing is the boring repetitiveness and unnecessary nature of the other things that we have done. Honestly, optional workshops might have been a better idea for this period of time, as well as actually getting out into the city more. The activities were slow, dragging and not particularly challenging.

And so now institute has begun. The first day was long. We don’t start teaching until next week, but I am already tired… my roommate likes to go to sleep rather early (can’t blame him), so I’m in a computer lab typing up this entry. On the bus around 6:45, workshops all day… without coffee, too. It tires one out. They have insinuated that they will collect the pre-institute work (which I had trouble doing due to my late graduation) tomorrow, so I’m also trying to get that done simultaneously to typing this entry. We’ll see how far I get. The reading is interesting, and I did most of what was asked, particularly on the car drive here; but the questions are really not necessary and this is a waste of my time.