"Moving on is easy. It's staying moved on that's trickier." - K. Klemer Something strange is going on. It's mid-August, and I am not in a flurry of butcher paper and books and PD's. There's someone new in that apartment on Wayne Avenue. I am not having a drink at Lou's or Rock Bottom, nor am… Continue reading Exactly Where You’re Meant to Be
Category: TFA
A Different Type of Signing Day
Today I was greeted with the news that anyone planning on not being at Northwestern in the fall would need to give in their letters of resignation. For many reasons, I did not want to have someone bring around a form to me to fill out and sign and I decided to fill one out… Continue reading A Different Type of Signing Day
You’re Gonna Miss This
You're gonna miss thisYou're gonna want this backYou're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fastThese Are Some Good TimesSo take a good look aroundYou may not know it now But you're gonna miss this I feel like it hits me like a ton of bricks. I'll be teaching and I'll feel my heart contract… Continue reading You’re Gonna Miss This
Time Out to Read
Whenever my environment had failed to support or nourish me, I had clutched at books -Richard Wright, Black Boy Today I caught up on my teacher email account. I was rewarded with an email that made me sit in my room crying with joy over the things one must always remember really matter. It… Continue reading Time Out to Read
If You Come Softly, Part II
"And the rich between us shall drink our tears" The most vivid instant message I can remember ever getting was senior year of college. It was the same year I thought that I could save someone from drowning and come back ashore unscathed. I was wrong, and I was marked, am marked by the tragedies… Continue reading If You Come Softly, Part II
The Ingredients to Mutually Prevent Destruction
Again I could feel the familiar mixture of anger, exasperation, and sadness at the slumped over head and shoulders, conscientiously opting to twist the pen between his relaxed fingers instead of making them dance across the pages of the bare and empty notebook pages. I rest my hand on drooped shoulders A split second thought… Continue reading The Ingredients to Mutually Prevent Destruction
“YOU MAY SIT BESIDE ME, SILENT AS A BREATH”
If You Come Softly If you come as softly As the wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. If you come as lightly As threading dew I will take you gladly Nor ask more of you. You may sit beside me Silent as a breath Only those who… Continue reading “YOU MAY SIT BESIDE ME, SILENT AS A BREATH”
The Importance of Sharing ‘Stories of Self’
"I'm tired of being normal. I'm tired of being inner city. I'm ready to be somebody else's inspiration." -Anonymous student going on Boston college tour I noted in one of my last blog posts that I don't often talk with my students in detail about the fact that I went to Harvard, for a variety… Continue reading The Importance of Sharing ‘Stories of Self’
“You Shouldn’t Be Here…You Should Be Somewhere Better.”
Another end to another grading period. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'm halfway through my second year of my corps commitment already. Sometimes it feels like just the other day I was struggling through those first lesson plans. And now my time in the corps is closing in on its… Continue reading “You Shouldn’t Be Here…You Should Be Somewhere Better.”
Roots that Hold Fast Even in Shallow Dirt
I love standing by my door during passing period and seeing my old students pass me. It's often followed by big smiles on both end, a quick hug, or a pat on the back. Some enter my room and take their seat for another year together, while others keep walking to new classrooms where they… Continue reading Roots that Hold Fast Even in Shallow Dirt
Odelia Younge 