THIS BLOG POST WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Really. This relevation is earth-shattering, so be prepared. Take a breath. Get ready to have your perspective shifted forever. It all starts with a little something I like to call “megossip.” What is this term, you may ask? As defined by the Bainbridge-Ward Dictionary*, “megossip” is “(n.) information…
read more »“Leave your baggage at the door.” The past few weeks have been grueling for me — professionally and personally. I have been stuck in limbo, frozen just like the computers that my kids have tested on. As EOIs approached, I entered “triage mode,” prioritizing what was most important for my kids to succeed academically and…
read more »Geoffrey Canada recently did a TED talk entitled ‘Our failing schools. Enough is enough.’ Canada is the president and CEO of The Harlem Children’s Zone and star of ‘Waiting For Superman.’ The premise of Harlem Children’s Zone is a good one. It serves to provide school and complete wrap-around services (health, mental health, nutrition, etc.)…
read more »If given the opportunity, would a student hack a teacher’s Facebook profile? The normal Monday morning routine usually begins like this for my 7th graders. Me -> “Good morning class! Happy Monday-” Random Student -> “BOOOO! It’s not a Happy Monday!” or “Whatever Mr. E” It’s also obvious that they are looking to the end…
read more »FINE, I guess I’ll have my fourth root beer float in two days. If I must. And while I drink it, I’ll think about how crazy it is that I’m actually, seriously considering teaching next year. How weird it is to realize that might be what I want to do. So weird, in fact, that…
read more »I watched the tears stream down his face while his mother continued to abscond him in here broken English. “I work hard every day for you. Your teachers, they work hard every day for you. Is this what you want? Is this the life you want to lead?” Eduardo* continued to cry but didn’t say…
read more »Still working on pre-work. Today I read about Homeboy Industries, a project by a Jesuit priest in LA that for the past 25 years has provided jobs and help for former gang members and prevented other youths from joining gangs. Consisting of a cafe, farmers markets, diner, grocery, bakery, silkscreen/embroidery, educational counseling, tattoo removal, legal…
read more »This last week, during my planning periods I’ve been helping to administer the WIDA test. The WIDA test measures the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills of English Language Learners, aka all of my students. Students are scored on a scale of 1-6 with a one meaning that they are unable to communicate in English…
read more »7th Grader: “Is that phone a 3G or a 4G?” Me: “It’s a zero-G.” 7: “Are you serious!?!” My kids are always concerned about my lack of coolness and technology. They normally look at me with a mix pitying looks and judgement when they see my old phone, but I think I completely blew their…
read more »People often ask me what Teach for America is, and why I am doing it. It’s hard to muster up the words to give the right reason, what I am feeling inside, and to put my passion and belief into words. I realized that there must not be enough words to express passion. It is…
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