In my class, I have 2 pregnant girls. One recently gave birth and the other is due in May. I’ve never thought much of it, teenage pregnancy. I guess I just didn’t know how to react. I mean I let them go pee the 10 times they need, I ask how they’re feeling, and I…
read more »After I was no longer their teacher, I became friends with many of my students on facebook. Sometimes I’m dismayed by the things they post (and hope they have privacy settings or something), though I’m pretty quiet unless there’s a status or a photo that I particularly like. I wish them happy birthday, send them…
read more »A few weeks ago, fellow TFA alum Matt Barnum invited me to a public ‘discussion’ about education reform. Though Matt seems to consider himself further to whatever direction ‘reformers’ are in the spectrum, I’m not so sure I’d place him there. Still, based on the massive number of comments (72, though a lot are from…
read more »Over the course of a school year, there are thousands of things that a student attending school in a low-income community deals with that his or her more financially stable counterparts don’t. From lack of parental support to poor nutrition, gang violence to high teacher turnover, the kids that I have become so close to…
read more »I had intended to post here about my experience student teaching at least once a week. My last post was a rather depressing one, regarding my questioning my effectiveness as a teacher and wondering what I could do to reach my students. Weeks later, I sit here at my desk knowing that today is my…
read more »Hard to believe that a year ago I found out I had gotten into Teach for America. Actually, I think it was a year ago this week. I remember the criticism, the anger from my family that I would do this, the fear of not knowing what the classroom would hold. I would read critics…
read more »I have officially accepted my offer to join Teach For America in the South Louisiana region. It was a difficult decision, but I am so happy with the outcome and can’t wait to get to Baton Rouge in June. So why did I join TFA? That’s kind of a complicated question, but I’m going to…
read more »The school year is beginning to wind down. This week we began administering state standardized testing. The feeling is like having prepared a team for the championships and its about to go in for the big game. So far, I have been favorably impressed by the sense of determination and focus I’ve seen in the…
read more »…is currently a mess. But that’s okay! Because we made solar ovens this week to wrap up our electricity unit. So there are little scraps of foil and aluminum foil and tape scattered on the floor and under desks and strange foil-covered pizza boxes are covering all available desks and flat spaces. It is so…
read more »My pre-calc class saved me yesterday, without a doubt. My lesson wasn’t as air-tight as I had hoped it would be, but my students were awake & alive & ready to learn. They were interested (& hard-working, even?) – asking about the reasons behind the math, not just copying down formulas & getting to the work. We let…
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