Well, I certainty started this blog with intentions of regular update that were fostered by my own habit of scouring the web for more information about the possibilities of this experience before I, well, experienced it. Oops. Failed that endeavor. I’m now officially a second year TFA corps member and I have found that something (or a…

This entry marks my first piece of writing on race & racial identity, as inspired by Alysia Harris and the Not Dalton’s Kids Project. When I was in seventh grade, my energetic history teacher bravely chose to tackle a new topic in her classroom full of homogenous, upper-class students: diversity. She explained the concept of…

Throughout my teaching career, one thing has remained constant: what I’m trying to accomplish.  Back in the early 1990s there was no focus on test scores, thankfully.  My goal back then, as it is now, was for my students to like math more when they complete my class than they did when they began the…

Last summer, I rode a bike from Charleston, SC to Santa Cruz, CA for affordable housing through a program called Bike and Build. It was one of the hardest and most amazing experiences of my life, and I am finding that my summer spent with Teach for America is quite similar to it in a…

Gary, That’s some fire-and-brimstone rhetoric you’re using, Gary. You’re absolutely right that pro-reform people like me are not doing a good job if we want to hide our tracks for when the reform-apocalypse is nigh. I’m not too worried though. I don’t like being deemed ‘moderate’ – because I think ‘moderates’ too often just vapidly…

Sometimes you come across a piece of writing (thanks Claire!) that perfectly encapsulates your feelings on something —  in a much better way than you ever, ever could. And when you come across something like that, you feel like you just have to share it. So here’s David Chura’s piece from Huffington Post that got me…

“Don’t you believe there are any good white people?” I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I told her, “People’s deeds I believe in, Miss — not their words.” “What can I do?” she exclaimed. I told her, “Nothing.” She burst out crying, and ran out and up Lenox Avenue and caught a taxi. ~…

Summer is officially here as evidenced by an adorable sleeping baby strapped to my chest and the Spurs rolling in the NBA Finals(1). My first year as a general ed teacher is done. My first year of teaching with the STAAR Geometry test is done. My third year is in the books with the fourth…

I came across a TFA corps member’s old letter of intent, and in addition to showcasing some grade A positivity pablum, it featured this utterly disgraceful passage: I’ve been following Teach for America for several years.  Alum (sic) like Michelle Rhee(1) at DC Public Schools or KIPP founders Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin have used…