placement regions

My final Teach for America interview is scheduled for December first. :) I'm really excited and would love to have a position teaching with them. I need to prepare a 5 minute lesson that I will teach to the other applicants on the interview day. It can be for any grade level and subject area, but I only have 5 minutes and I need to both teach a concept and measure their understanding of the concept. I'm a little nervous because that's such a small amount of time, but I'm already thinking of ideas and I know I'll come up with something solid.

I also need to finalize my grade level, subject area, and regional placements by the 27th, which doesn't give me too much time. Of course, I love New Mexico and that will definitely be one of my highest, if not my highest, priority. I love Boston. I haven't been to California and was considering it but not completely sold. . . I found this on TFA's info page about California:

"This year, San Francisco Unified will pioneer the nation’s first family diversity curriculum to build awareness among its students on issues related to LGBT families and households."

I am now completely, 100% sold. I would LOVE to teach this. I think acceptance and understanding are crucial and this needs to be done. I would go to San Fran in a heartbeat to teach about LGBT families.

Other interesting things I discovered....I clicked on the South Dakota placement more or less for laughs, thinking that nothing interesting could possibly be in South Dakota. I proved myself wrong. It turns out that the South Dakota placement involves living out in the country and working at Native American reservations. The schools are centered on Lakota values like courage and respect, and the land out there is beautiful. There is a strong push to stay in touch with the native heritage, and as a TFA member, I could take local classes to learn about the culture and language. I would REALLY be out in the country. . . we're talking a half hour drive to the grocery store. It seems like an interesting, rewarding experience, though, and I'm definitely considering it.

Here is the link to the list of Teach for America placement regions:

https://www.teachforamerica.org/corps/placement_regions/placement_regions.htm

If you have any recommendations or see anything that you find particularly interesting, let me know. :)