Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting at Growing Power. Maple Tree is home to one of their community gardens, so a meeting between stakeholders of the community around the school and employees of growing power was held at their farm yesterday afternoon. I meant to take pictures, but decided against it since we didn't have time to take the tour they had told us about in the email.
The best part of this meeting was, without a doubt, the part where I got to meet Will Allen. Will is the founder of Growing Power and has been featured on Oprah's talk show, as well as a guest of honor by Michelle Obama as part of her Let's Move campaign. One can only imagine the look on my face when I was sitting at a table in a greenhouse rocking my mom jeans talking to a pastor, a president of a neighborhood association, and a growing power employee and Will Allen just strides in and starts shaking hands with everyone. It was pretty surreal. I wanted to be a nerd and ask to have my picture taken with him, but decided against it for two reasons: 1) I looked like crap (I learned during my first visit to growing power that wearing nice clothes there is a bad idea, since you will leave smelling like fertilizer), and 2) my hair had become a giant poofball, compliments of the greenhouse we were meeting in.
I mentioned to the employee holding the meeting the theme of Americorps week for this year and asked if Will or somebody could do a guest speaking event at Maple Tree and she totally went for it! I asked how likely it is that Will could do it and it sounded like if there's no scheduling conflict that he's in. I'm SO excited about this!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
I'm so excited!
BECAUSE I FINALLY HAVE A PARENT DOING SNACK!!!!!!!!!
::does happy dance::
i'm also enjoying having my entire office space to myself right now, since the speech pathologist is not in for some reason, and the social worker and diagnostics professional that I also share my office with do not come in on thursdays.
if only our VISTA webinars were scheduled on days like today instead of the days when students are in here misbehaving during their speech sessions...
today is our monthly action team meeting. this one will be interesting, because in addition to the regular attendees of these meetings, we will also have our cluster's sos social worker and the HIP coordinator's supervisor. I have been harassing the people at Growing Power in hopes of getting a representative here for today's meeting, though i feel like it won't happen. I'm planning on calling them again a little later today. I really want them to be here for the meeting, since the topic du jour is the science fair scheduled for april. we need to plan this now because spring break takes place from april 2nd through the 11th, and the science fair is scheduled for april 22nd. it's my hope that they will donate a door prize of materials for a family to grow their own plant.
also, I'd like to announce the start of my second blog! http://www.povertygourmet.blogspot.com this blog will explore how i maintain a healthy diet while purchasing food solely on foodstamps.
::does happy dance::
i'm also enjoying having my entire office space to myself right now, since the speech pathologist is not in for some reason, and the social worker and diagnostics professional that I also share my office with do not come in on thursdays.
if only our VISTA webinars were scheduled on days like today instead of the days when students are in here misbehaving during their speech sessions...
today is our monthly action team meeting. this one will be interesting, because in addition to the regular attendees of these meetings, we will also have our cluster's sos social worker and the HIP coordinator's supervisor. I have been harassing the people at Growing Power in hopes of getting a representative here for today's meeting, though i feel like it won't happen. I'm planning on calling them again a little later today. I really want them to be here for the meeting, since the topic du jour is the science fair scheduled for april. we need to plan this now because spring break takes place from april 2nd through the 11th, and the science fair is scheduled for april 22nd. it's my hope that they will donate a door prize of materials for a family to grow their own plant.
also, I'd like to announce the start of my second blog! http://www.povertygourmet.blogspot.com this blog will explore how i maintain a healthy diet while purchasing food solely on foodstamps.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
new blog?
recently I've found myself spending a lot of my down time reading various blogs with a similar theme: nutrition. more specifically, childhood nutrition. even more recently, a coworker sent a mass email with a link to an article about hipsters on foodstamps. all of this information has got me thinking about my own situation...
i feel no shame in telling people that i am currently receiving foodstamps. in fact, i consider it a benefit of serving Americorps, along with kickass health insurance and an education award to help pay for grad school next year. without foodstamps, it is likely that either a) my parents would have to help me with money, or b) i would starve. however, i would like to point out that i have made some major sacrifices since the days of my meal plan exemption at earlham, including putting an end to my all-organic diet and giving up juice, soda, and other overly-processed drinks in exchange for tap water (note: i do drink coffee and tea, but i only drink one cup of coffee and brew my own tea).
to this date, i only have one issue with foodstamps. i currently receive $200 a month in foodstamps, which is put directly on my QUEST card. this is the maximum amount that an applicant can receive. this means that the unemployed single mom with three kids is receiving the same amount as the college educated Americorps volunteer who receives a living allowance. granted, i do not receive other forms of government assistance, such as unemployment, subsidized housing, or energy assistance, but i doubt that it could total to my monthly living allowance, which is enough to cover the rent for my studio apartment, utilities, parking, cable, and internet. for a person living at the poverty level, i definitely get by.
ok, enough with my off-topic rant. back to the point of this post...
i am considering starting another blog that would focus less on my day-to-day VISTA life and more on how i maintain my vegetarian lifestyle and cook healthy meals for myself on the budget allotted by my foodstamps. i want to prove that there doesn't have to be a correlation between a tight budget and lack of nutrition. the blog will include photos, recipes, and my weekly shopping list (complete with how much my trips to the grocery store total out to).
so here is my question to you, blog followers (if there are any of you left): would you consider reading/following this blog? this would be a time-consuming project, so i want to make sure this effort doesn't go wasted! leave a comment with some feedback, please!
i feel no shame in telling people that i am currently receiving foodstamps. in fact, i consider it a benefit of serving Americorps, along with kickass health insurance and an education award to help pay for grad school next year. without foodstamps, it is likely that either a) my parents would have to help me with money, or b) i would starve. however, i would like to point out that i have made some major sacrifices since the days of my meal plan exemption at earlham, including putting an end to my all-organic diet and giving up juice, soda, and other overly-processed drinks in exchange for tap water (note: i do drink coffee and tea, but i only drink one cup of coffee and brew my own tea).
to this date, i only have one issue with foodstamps. i currently receive $200 a month in foodstamps, which is put directly on my QUEST card. this is the maximum amount that an applicant can receive. this means that the unemployed single mom with three kids is receiving the same amount as the college educated Americorps volunteer who receives a living allowance. granted, i do not receive other forms of government assistance, such as unemployment, subsidized housing, or energy assistance, but i doubt that it could total to my monthly living allowance, which is enough to cover the rent for my studio apartment, utilities, parking, cable, and internet. for a person living at the poverty level, i definitely get by.
ok, enough with my off-topic rant. back to the point of this post...
i am considering starting another blog that would focus less on my day-to-day VISTA life and more on how i maintain my vegetarian lifestyle and cook healthy meals for myself on the budget allotted by my foodstamps. i want to prove that there doesn't have to be a correlation between a tight budget and lack of nutrition. the blog will include photos, recipes, and my weekly shopping list (complete with how much my trips to the grocery store total out to).
so here is my question to you, blog followers (if there are any of you left): would you consider reading/following this blog? this would be a time-consuming project, so i want to make sure this effort doesn't go wasted! leave a comment with some feedback, please!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
for the first time, things are still the same
(except I wish this wasn't true)
I've only had a handful of interactions between myself and the HIP coordinator since my last post. I've tried to be nice to her, but my actions have not been reciprocated on her end. I say good morning to her while passing her in the hallway, and she responds by shrugging her shoulders and sighing. no longer does she stop by my office to check in with me when she arrives at maple tree in the morning. the more I think about her actions, the harder it is for me not to feel like I'm back in high school.
yesterday was saint patrick's day. I opted not to wear green for two reasons: a) i thought it would be too cliche, and b) i don't own a lot of green clothes (not a good color for me). after a two hour staff meeting at maple tree, i went home and had two hours to get my eyebrows done, get dressed, and eat dinner before heading over to paddy's to celebrate with some friends. naturally, there was a 45 minute wait at supercuts to get my eyebrows done, which meant rushing through everything else. Got to paddy's 10 minutes late, but it wasn't the end of the world. that is, until lizzy arrived and was told that she wasn't allowed upstairs where the rest of the group was because they were at capacity. this was such b.s. regardless, i said goodbye to the group and went to a different bar with lizzy to hang out with steve, nicole, and some of their friends. we drank some beer and discussed our halloween costume plans (it's gonna be AWESOME) and our super-cool kickball team. went to bed a little on the late side, and was woken up at 12:30 in the morning by syd calling to tell me about the failure that is blue fish fencing. i'm amazed i'm awake right now.
today has been productive so far. I've written up some reminders for the parent who is volunteering for snack sales, which i'm going to stick in the cash box. I've also been fielding phone calls and emails for an event i'm going to tomorrow and trying to schedule a meeting with growing power about their community garden at our school. This has become a huge priority for me, because i just found out that the reason why growing power hasn't been in contact with me is because the representative i was working with no longer works there. this means i need to seriously make up for lost time with them.
This weekend is the camping trip planned by the HIP coordinator. I was planning on going to help supervise, but I'm no longer going. There's a summit for the Milwaukee Graduation Project tomorrow that VISTAs are required to attend. I've agreed to help out as a facilitator for a group discussion -I'm hoping it works out. I signed up a while ago to do a canvassing project on saturday, but I'm thinking I might bail out if the weather is anything like they've been predicting...
I've only had a handful of interactions between myself and the HIP coordinator since my last post. I've tried to be nice to her, but my actions have not been reciprocated on her end. I say good morning to her while passing her in the hallway, and she responds by shrugging her shoulders and sighing. no longer does she stop by my office to check in with me when she arrives at maple tree in the morning. the more I think about her actions, the harder it is for me not to feel like I'm back in high school.
yesterday was saint patrick's day. I opted not to wear green for two reasons: a) i thought it would be too cliche, and b) i don't own a lot of green clothes (not a good color for me). after a two hour staff meeting at maple tree, i went home and had two hours to get my eyebrows done, get dressed, and eat dinner before heading over to paddy's to celebrate with some friends. naturally, there was a 45 minute wait at supercuts to get my eyebrows done, which meant rushing through everything else. Got to paddy's 10 minutes late, but it wasn't the end of the world. that is, until lizzy arrived and was told that she wasn't allowed upstairs where the rest of the group was because they were at capacity. this was such b.s. regardless, i said goodbye to the group and went to a different bar with lizzy to hang out with steve, nicole, and some of their friends. we drank some beer and discussed our halloween costume plans (it's gonna be AWESOME) and our super-cool kickball team. went to bed a little on the late side, and was woken up at 12:30 in the morning by syd calling to tell me about the failure that is blue fish fencing. i'm amazed i'm awake right now.
today has been productive so far. I've written up some reminders for the parent who is volunteering for snack sales, which i'm going to stick in the cash box. I've also been fielding phone calls and emails for an event i'm going to tomorrow and trying to schedule a meeting with growing power about their community garden at our school. This has become a huge priority for me, because i just found out that the reason why growing power hasn't been in contact with me is because the representative i was working with no longer works there. this means i need to seriously make up for lost time with them.
This weekend is the camping trip planned by the HIP coordinator. I was planning on going to help supervise, but I'm no longer going. There's a summit for the Milwaukee Graduation Project tomorrow that VISTAs are required to attend. I've agreed to help out as a facilitator for a group discussion -I'm hoping it works out. I signed up a while ago to do a canvassing project on saturday, but I'm thinking I might bail out if the weather is anything like they've been predicting...
Friday, March 12, 2010
March Has Arrived as a Lion and Will Probably Leave the Same Way
Conflict has arisen between myself and Maple Tree's HIP coordinator. True, she has picked on me from early on, but I always considered it to be friendly, since she only did it occasionally and in a joking manner.
And then things started to escalate. The friendly jokes about my hair flipping turned into harsh criticism about how I carry myself and my lack of energy when I was sick. She started telling me and our coworkers that she has taken it upon myself to play the role of my mom since my parents live so far away from me. That bothered me. I have two parents, and they are more than enough. I have lived without them since my freshman year of college, and I can continue to do so without her help.
The breaking point occurred roughly two weeks ago. In anticipation of a Parents Plus workshop hosted by Maple Tree's Action Team, I contacted Trader Joe's for a donation. They donated $25 worth of snack food -popcorn, cookies, chips, and salsa. When I told her about the donation, I referred to the activity we were using it for as "the thing on March 9th," by which I meant the Parents Plus workshop. However, the HIP coordinator thought I was referring to the magic show that she had planned for later that night. When I told her that wasn't true, she picked a fight with me, accused me of refusing to work with her, then dismissed the argument when I proved that she had no reason to be upset with me. I sent an email to Yvette and told her to call a meeting for next week.
The meeting consisted of myself, Yvette, my site supervisor, the HIP coordinator, and her supervisor. The HIP coordinator decided that instead of using this meeting as a chance to resolve our conflicts so we can work together in an efficient manner, she would take this opportunity to act like she's hot shit and tell me how to do my job. In the process of doing so, she accused me of not attending/helping out during her events, that I don't know how to relate to the parents, and that I never asked for donations before she suggested it. When I called her out on all of these accusations and proved her wrong, she simply dismissed me and said that there was no reason get into details. Whenever someone criticized her activities, she got defensive and claimed that parents aren't coming just for the raffles and free food. She also wasted no time in bashing everything that was said by myself and my supervisors when they left.
I met with my with site supervisor yesterday afternoon to make sure we were on the same page about the meeting, and I'm happy to say that we are. She also mentioned that before she was offered position of HIP coordinator, this parent was only seen in the school for conferences. I reported all of this to my Parents Plus supervisor today, and I'm glad that we're on the same page, too. Furthermore, the three of us all agree that the best thing to do is just finish up the school year at Maple Tree, make sure the Action Team will continue next year, and have minimal contact with the HIP coordinator.
Between this meeting and two 12 hour days, I'm pretty exhausted. I foresee a weekend of sleep.
And then things started to escalate. The friendly jokes about my hair flipping turned into harsh criticism about how I carry myself and my lack of energy when I was sick. She started telling me and our coworkers that she has taken it upon myself to play the role of my mom since my parents live so far away from me. That bothered me. I have two parents, and they are more than enough. I have lived without them since my freshman year of college, and I can continue to do so without her help.
The breaking point occurred roughly two weeks ago. In anticipation of a Parents Plus workshop hosted by Maple Tree's Action Team, I contacted Trader Joe's for a donation. They donated $25 worth of snack food -popcorn, cookies, chips, and salsa. When I told her about the donation, I referred to the activity we were using it for as "the thing on March 9th," by which I meant the Parents Plus workshop. However, the HIP coordinator thought I was referring to the magic show that she had planned for later that night. When I told her that wasn't true, she picked a fight with me, accused me of refusing to work with her, then dismissed the argument when I proved that she had no reason to be upset with me. I sent an email to Yvette and told her to call a meeting for next week.
The meeting consisted of myself, Yvette, my site supervisor, the HIP coordinator, and her supervisor. The HIP coordinator decided that instead of using this meeting as a chance to resolve our conflicts so we can work together in an efficient manner, she would take this opportunity to act like she's hot shit and tell me how to do my job. In the process of doing so, she accused me of not attending/helping out during her events, that I don't know how to relate to the parents, and that I never asked for donations before she suggested it. When I called her out on all of these accusations and proved her wrong, she simply dismissed me and said that there was no reason get into details. Whenever someone criticized her activities, she got defensive and claimed that parents aren't coming just for the raffles and free food. She also wasted no time in bashing everything that was said by myself and my supervisors when they left.
I met with my with site supervisor yesterday afternoon to make sure we were on the same page about the meeting, and I'm happy to say that we are. She also mentioned that before she was offered position of HIP coordinator, this parent was only seen in the school for conferences. I reported all of this to my Parents Plus supervisor today, and I'm glad that we're on the same page, too. Furthermore, the three of us all agree that the best thing to do is just finish up the school year at Maple Tree, make sure the Action Team will continue next year, and have minimal contact with the HIP coordinator.
Between this meeting and two 12 hour days, I'm pretty exhausted. I foresee a weekend of sleep.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Remember that time I actually updated my blog?
Naturally, a lot has happened since my last post. there isn't enough time to go into detail, so i'm just going to do a fresh start.
today is our Read Across America celebration in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' birthday. Students and staff were invited to wear their pajamas to school, and parents were asked to join us for breakfast/lunch and to read to their child's class. I managed to get donations from panera for breakfast and lunch, as well as from bruegger's for breakfast.
I came in at 9:00 this morning because the sandwiches had to be made fresh this morning. Also factor in the fact that panera thought the event wasn't until April 2nd (that was a fun conversation). Have I heard any positive remarks in the hour I have been here? no. here is what I've heard so far:
"When are the students getting their posters back from the black history poster contest?"
"What do you want to do with all of this breakfast food from the breakfast that no parents came to?"
"There's no reason to serve a snack at your event if the HIP coordinator is serving dinner later that day."
"Is there snack today?"
"What's on these sandwiches?"
oh, did i mention the roach i found in my office?
I also got another chocolate stain on my americorps hoodie while drowning my sorrows in a chocolate croissant that I shouldn't have eaten, since I'm still recovering from yesterday's chocolate overload (dark chocolate from trader joe's followed by a boston cream donut during the Action Team meeting).
so I guess the point to all this rambling is that I'm not really feeling appreciated. maybe I'm feeling the six-month blues, but no matter what the reason is, I feel like I need nothing more than someone at this school to tell me that I'm doing a good job.
time to go return snack money to all the teachers!
today is our Read Across America celebration in conjunction with Dr. Seuss' birthday. Students and staff were invited to wear their pajamas to school, and parents were asked to join us for breakfast/lunch and to read to their child's class. I managed to get donations from panera for breakfast and lunch, as well as from bruegger's for breakfast.
I came in at 9:00 this morning because the sandwiches had to be made fresh this morning. Also factor in the fact that panera thought the event wasn't until April 2nd (that was a fun conversation). Have I heard any positive remarks in the hour I have been here? no. here is what I've heard so far:
"When are the students getting their posters back from the black history poster contest?"
"What do you want to do with all of this breakfast food from the breakfast that no parents came to?"
"There's no reason to serve a snack at your event if the HIP coordinator is serving dinner later that day."
"Is there snack today?"
"What's on these sandwiches?"
oh, did i mention the roach i found in my office?
I also got another chocolate stain on my americorps hoodie while drowning my sorrows in a chocolate croissant that I shouldn't have eaten, since I'm still recovering from yesterday's chocolate overload (dark chocolate from trader joe's followed by a boston cream donut during the Action Team meeting).
so I guess the point to all this rambling is that I'm not really feeling appreciated. maybe I'm feeling the six-month blues, but no matter what the reason is, I feel like I need nothing more than someone at this school to tell me that I'm doing a good job.
time to go return snack money to all the teachers!
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