You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now. -Wayne W. Dyer As I am thoroughly revived through sunshine, food, and relaxation in The Town Where Time Does Not Reside, I've finally found some time to process my feelings and thoughts on my summer spent in the… Continue reading The Joys of Summer Bundled Up in One
Author: odeliay
The Gift of a Day, The Promise of Hope
I have a younger brother. He's now 21, but at one point he was 17, and wore hoodies, and snacked on Skittles just like Trayvon Martin. Being an older sibling is a very special role in one's life. I constantly "meddle" in my brother's affairs, wondering who he is dating, what classes he's taking, who… Continue reading The Gift of a Day, The Promise of Hope
The words, “I don’t know I can’t”
This summer I have been working as an ELA teacher for the non-profit College Tracks in San Francisco. The premise behind the organization is that taking students from traditionally under-resourced communities and giving them added academic and personal assistance throughout their four years of high school and then making sure to keep track of them… Continue reading The words, “I don’t know I can’t”
And So Ends the First Year…
Time really did fly after Spring Break. It still seems surreal that an entire year of teaching has gone by. Just a year ago I was headed to Tulsa like the 2013s are to teach summer school, and now I'm dusting off the final pieces of my first year of teaching as I put the… Continue reading And So Ends the First Year…
Practicing Identity
I think the things we want most in life, the things we think will set us free, are not the things we need. -Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz Sometimes who we are is clouded by distractions. In Blue Like Jazz, Miller states that he would never stop his spiritual journey with God for intellectual reasons but only… Continue reading Practicing Identity
Rejecting the Single Story
A week and a half ago I stood in front of my students and unfolded a story. I narrated to them about the 'single story' people have about students in intensive reading classes. I described my introduction during ETO (district) training and how low the stories in our Edge book curriculum were. I told them… Continue reading Rejecting the Single Story
To the Two Who Showed Me How To Walk the Tight Rope
It didn't hit me quite as hard until Alumni Induction that next year will not be a year filled with my two amazing mentors. Most people just have one TFA 2nd year mentor, but I've been lucky enough to have two, both "official" and "unofficial" who have been nothing short of two of my closest… Continue reading To the Two Who Showed Me How To Walk the Tight Rope
A Pause to Reflect During Teacher Appreciation Week
Every day isn't going to be perfect. In fact, many days won't be and we'll limp out of the building at 2:20 as if we'd just been through battle. Then there are the neutral days where things were good, learning happened, and behavior was fine. But we live for those days that are the diamonds… Continue reading A Pause to Reflect During Teacher Appreciation Week
If You Like Piña Coladas, Getting Caught in a Good Book…
I wouldn't be doing the work of a good business woman if I did not talk about my passion for the start-up work that I do in every space that I reside in, one of those spaces being my blog. Growing up I was an avid reader. My mom is a writer, and when classmates… Continue reading If You Like Piña Coladas, Getting Caught in a Good Book…
Don’t Say the “F” Word
I try to pride myself in being a woman who believes in actions being stronger than words, and I attempt to teach my kids that same value. I often tell them that they don't have to tell me sorry, they just need to change the behavior. Because of my strong belief in this principle, the… Continue reading Don’t Say the “F” Word
Odelia Younge 