We’re ravaging the school supplies sections of the SuperWalmart and the Walgreens and the two dollar stores in town. This morning, I walked the half mile to Our Lady of Victories. It’s across the road from a cotton field, like every building in Cleveland. And sitting there in a pew, I was confused and kind…
read more »WOW! What an amazing year this turned out to be! I really couldn’t have asked for anything better than what I experienced with my 5th and 6th graders this year. I think an overlaying theme of my school year has been personal growth. My students and I both, have grown so much and we’ve helped…
read more »After a year of teaching kindergarten, the thought of standing in front of middle schoolers filled me with anxiety this morning. It was the first day of summer school for both these students and me. I was unsure if I would be able to communicate effectively or personably with students who stood taller than 4…
read more »In the Mississippi Delta, the sun rises low and orange over the foggy corn fields. The stalks go on forever, flooding up to the trunks of the trees that mark property lines. You pass tractors parked idly by the highway, aluminum barns rusting in the morning humidity, and the state penitentiary on your left at…
read more »I flew into Nashville, Tennessee from Dallas, TX almost a week ago. It seems like so much longer. Two weeks ago, I would have never guessed that I would have met such awe-inspiring people who are my own age. The people who get stuff done are no longer the older ones, telling us what…
read more »“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama Anyone who knows me well knows that I feel something like “buyer’s remorse” every time I make any decision, monetary or otherwise. I’ve changed high schools, I’ve changed colleges, and I’ve changed career paths, and with every…
read more »In a nutshell, I have fallen down on all lines of communication. I don’t remember the last time that I talked on the phone with my parents, I haven’t talked to my brother in over a month on my way to my reunion, and the only real conversation I’ve had with anyone I reconnected with…
read more »One of the exciting things about taking a teaching job in Tennessee last year was hearing about all the plans for change and improvement across not only at my school and in my district, but also across the state. After a crazy day, which ended on a hectic note because of the tornado watch, I…
read more »Coming out of my teacher bubble to interact with adult people sometimes feels like yet another culture shock. Many want to hear the stories. Some, as I’ve documented here previously, as quite hilarious. However, a majority of them want to hear about the “bad” stuff and how difficult my school is. I always get conflicted…
read more »I had to double check the date when I saw I hadn’t posted in almost 6 weeks – has it really been that long? In some ways, this quarter has felt like it has dragged on forever. In many other ways, I feel like I’m still scrambling to get things in my life in order.…
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