She's a Dreamer. A Thinker. A Doer. She Sees Possibility Everywhere. Freshmen are a tough group of students. I don't think I could start this post out with any other sentence than that one. But when I type that, there is so much more that I mean than just the fact that my ninth graders… Continue reading Wading Through the Smog
Category: Thoughts and Musings
A Comment on Gabby Douglas
I wanted to take the time to write down some thoughts I had ever since people started saying negative things about Gabby Douglas. People found fault in her hair, her gymnastics skills, and anything and everything in between. After she won the All-Around gold even more controversy arose. I did not know quite how to… Continue reading A Comment on Gabby Douglas
Easing into a New Life
AND SO WITH THE SUNSHINE AND THE GREAT BURSTS OF LEAVES GROWING ON THE TREES...I HAD THAT FAMILIAR CONVICTION THAT LIFE WAS BEGINNING OVER AGAIN WITH THE SUMMER. -F. SCOTT FITZGERALD When I flew into the Indianapolis airport, I was astounded to see the expanses of brown, dead earth that had creeped upon the usually… Continue reading Easing into a New Life
Saying Goodbye to Tulsa
“It is important to teach our children to read and write, but it is more important to teach them to be proud of themselves, and of us" (Other People's Children, Delpit, 1995, p. 89). My children have been my children and my students for the last four weeks. But in many ways they are also not… Continue reading Saying Goodbye to Tulsa
When a Piece Reads You
It has now officially been over a year since I graduated. May 26, 2011 seems like a lifetime ago on some days, and on other days I can remember distinctly the way the sun felt on me as I posed for millions of photos as if it were yesterday. For the majority of the past year… Continue reading When a Piece Reads You
A Return to the Town Where Time Does Not Reside
“When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that… Continue reading A Return to the Town Where Time Does Not Reside
“No Scars, No Story, No Life”
A man in Afghanistan once said to me, “No scars, no story, no life.” Sometimes, the best story is in the space between the words—a space that is a window onto a different way of seeing. And when there are no easy answers, stories are all we have. -James Orbinski, An Imperfect Offering Oftentimes when… Continue reading “No Scars, No Story, No Life”
Promoting Discussion
Before leaving for my vacation to Ethiopia, which I will soon blog about, I had the pleasure of spending a week surrounded by talks of promoting discussion of various topics from witchcraft to stereotypes to sexual abuse. It is a topic important to me because the simple act of promoting discussion is what opens doors… Continue reading Promoting Discussion
The Ones That Slip Away
It is hard for people with personalities like mine to feel as though someone has “slipped through the cracks” on “our watch.” We believe as though we can help everyone. But the truth is that it is sometimes beyond our control. Even upon realization, however, it is sometimes still hard to cope. In October of… Continue reading The Ones That Slip Away
Like Candy from a Stranger
Most of us have seen the public service commercials about it and have learned about it from our parents and at school. DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS. And especially when we are young, we are told not to go with strangers and never take candy or other presents from them. They just want to lure poor,… Continue reading Like Candy from a Stranger
Odelia Younge 