"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’
Category: Work
Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight- Reflections on MLK Day
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. -Martin Luther King, Jr. When Nelson Mandela died, I played a tribute video for him in my classes. One of my students turned to me with a shocked face and… Continue reading Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight- Reflections on MLK Day
“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.”
“What ever happened to daddy’s little girl?”
"To be good at teaching, one has to be able to connect with students, to engage them, inspire them, communicate easily with them, get inside their heads and figure out what they don't understand and find a way to help them understand it." -from Standing on the Shoulders of Giants A week ago, I finished… Continue reading “What ever happened to daddy’s little girl?”
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
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…
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
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
Why the Threat of Violence is as Strong as Violence Itself
If you google 'how fear works' you will get some links as your first hit, describing fear as a chemical reaction in the brain that starts with a stress stimulus and leads to a racing heart, fast breathing, fight-or-flight responses, and so on and so forth. But anyone who has experienced fear, especially those who… Continue reading Why the Threat of Violence is as Strong as Violence Itself
So what’s the real issue here?
"To sum up, by paying teachers poorly, offering them no career ladder, and subjecting new entrants and old timers alike to the pressures and demands of local politicians, many countries have ended up with teachers who are not the best and brightest of every generation. Additionally, the working conditions of teaching place high demands on… Continue reading So what’s the real issue here?
Odelia Younge 