Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines

Surviving Teach for America: What I Learned from the Corps

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] As I just finished my two-year commitment with Teach for America, I cannot help but think back on this journey I have just completed.  Never in a million years did I […]

Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Uncategorized

Letterman’s Top Ten Tribute to Teachers Needs More than Teach for America

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Tributes for teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week are appreciated coming just as the school year comes to a close, when very tired teachers are looking back to see student progress over the past […]

Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized

Us vs.Them:Why Can’t Veteran Teachers and Teach for America Teachers Get Along?

My colleague made a very interesting comment in our meeting today. He said, “There’s a competition between veteran teachers and T.F.A teachers.” I raised my eyebrows and was intrigued by his comment. We had a T.F.A (Teach for America) teacher in the meeting with us. I’ve never viewed such a competition, but with further discussion, I understood […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

What Teachers Can Learn from an Afghan American Student Living in America

Teaching in Pinole, California over the past twenty years, I can count on one hand the students of Afghan descent I have encountered, let alone taught. As I watched what was unfolding in Afghanistan in the first few weeks of August of 2021, my first thoughts went to my current Afghan student who I have been blessed to know for the past four years. I had her sister in previous years as well. My mind also went back to my first Afghan family from over a decade ago, wherein I also had two of their three sisters. I became close with their families and stay connected to this day.

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

Stop Asian Hate Now: Using the Injustice Against Asian-Americans as a Teaching Movement

Eight dead Americans… yet, again. Six Asian women…someone’s grandmother, mother, aunt, sister. As a Black Female Educator, I found myself remembering stories of Asian hate at my own school. The young female Chinese teacher who had Asian hate speech angrily etched into a desk. The new female Mandarin teacher being Zoom bombed, having to endure […]