Every summer, we welcome our new corps members to Chicago summer training: a rigorous, hands-on experience that combines intensive training with immersive teaching practice and coaching. This year, a staff member and a 2019 corps member will be blogging about their on-the-ground experiences! This is the third post from Adam Mogilevsky (Eastern North Carolina '15), a high school history teacher in Chicago. During institute, he has been coaching teachers on teaching English Language Arts, and helping them develop their instructional skills. Check out Adam's first and second post.

Summer training has almost come to an end, and while it's so sad to see my corps members leave, I am so excited for the next part of their journey to begin. Throughout the session, both summer staff and corps members have been working diligently to ensure that our students at our partner schools are receiving the best education possible. I have truly enjoyed working with passionate individuals who never give up, even when we face the inevitable road bumps here and there. Our corps members always persevere. As someone who really tries to build culture and create a network of ongoing support, my favorite memories involve laughter and camaraderie, as well as those a-ha moments where corps members make great leaps in their own pedagogy and leadership.

As I look back on the past couple of weeks, I am so proud of the ways our corps members have advocated for students and built a strong culture in their classrooms. Chicago has faced some really warm weather recently, and our corps members began brainstorming ways to be responsive and support our students through brain breaks, water runs, and propping up fans. This is just one small example of their empathy and ability to be proactive. I am in awe of the type of leaders they are, and I will miss them so much.

As they enter their classrooms in the fall, I have many hopes for these first-year corps members. I hope they build relationships with teachers and stakeholders in their building, as we can’t do this work alone. I hope they push themselves in times of stress, but also find ways to take care of themselves. I hope they pursue engaging and revolutionary learning strategies for our students. And finally, I hope that if things start off rocky in the fall, they remember that nobody got anywhere without tripping a couple of times, so they need to do their best to get back up and triumph in the face of adversity.

As I close out this summer blog, I want to reiterate the fact that this is a movement, and it will never be about two years. To our corps members, alumni, and anyone else reading: continue to be that light at the end of the tunnel for marginalized groups, elevate the voices of those who aren't heard, and lastly, remember the moments with your kids. After all, they are the ones who will continue to bring a smile to your face in the most stressful times.