On Teaching Writing

"Writing is a craft before it is an art; writing may appear magic, but it is our responsibility to take our students backstage to watch the pigeons being tucked up in the magician's sleeve." -Donald Murray

Save Ethnic Studies Now

Last May, I posted about my homie Curtis's classroom in AZ. His ethnic studies class was threatened to shut down and they recently made that happen!! :(

For someone who hopes to teach Filipino Americans about our history, this is disheartening. For all the young people who took so much away or would have taken away so much from Curtis's class and classes like his, it's a huge loss.

As many of us know, learning about ourselves in school is rare if not totally unheard of and the excellent programs they had in Tucson are now gonna be demolished with the signing of a bill. That's power for you, isn't it?

So what can you do?

Check out the Save Ethnic Studies website.

Read about the teachers behind the Ethnic Studies programs being shut down.

Sign the petition.

Donate.

Say a prayer.

The struggle continues.

Changing Education Paradigms

The release of Waiting for Superman has greatly increased discussion around what's wrong with the public education system. Having worked in public schools for a few years, I'd been having that discussion for a while, but mostly with folks who already knew! I recently received an email forwarding this awesome animated video (can you tell I love animated videos?) analyzing the history and issues in public education today. Much of it, you already know, but the video is pretty entertaining and well done!

Brainpop

I can't believe I never knew about BrainPOP while I was teaching. Clearly, I would have used it. I am also like, 8 years old and love any type of cartoon or media for the use of teaching. When I get back into the classroom, I wonder if this will be around, or if something more hi-tech will be in place!

About BrainPop:

Water Cycle:

"I Am Undocumented and I Am Not Afraid"

Matty posted this amazing website on FB and I just had to share it. Peter Holderness does amazing photo journalism work. Some of his stuff consists solely of photographs, while other work is accompanied by an audio piece as well. This piece about the struggle of undocumented immigrants is absolutely beautiful and chilling.

First Days Back

I hope that all my teacher friends are having a great first week back at school! I'm a little jealous, but not really!! Hugs, kisses, and blessings.

The Story of Stuff

I can't believe I haven't posted about this before. This is probably one of the best teaching tools I've come across. The Story of Stuff is a short, animated documentary that teaches about our society, consumption, and the impact it has on the planet and people. The woman behind the project, Annie Leonard did The Story of Stuff and also has pieces about Bottled Water, Cosmetics, and Cap and Trade. It is a great teaching and learning tool and very enjoyable! I recommend you watch it now!

5 Years Later, Teaching Katrina

I can't believe it's been five years since Katrina hit. It seems like yesterday.

The NYTimes posted some resources for teaching about Hurricane Katrina for teachers who want to create lesson plans about the disaster in their classrooms. Check it out!!

Cocoa Mamas

Since I started teaching, I started reading a few parenting books to get some perspective. My fly friend Salina writes for this dope blog called Cocoa Mamas: Raising Cocoa Children in a Bittersweet World. I love the title and love reading what these different mommies have to say about raising young'uns. Do check it out!

Literacy Expertise?

Four years as a history teacher, listening to other educators speak about their practice, and living with Li this summer has really made me think more about the process of reading.

Reading is something that I have always loved doing. Like so many things I like to do, it is difficult to break down the process of doing something that I consider to be natural and simply enjoyable. This isn't the case for so many of my students, though, and while I completely acknowledge and love the talents my babies have, I would just love to share that love of reading and imagination with them in a more effective manner. There were so many times when I would look at a student's writing and think, "Ugh, you can do so much more than this!! What am I teaching you?! How can I help you become a better writer!?" The answer is in helping my students be better readers.

I'm seriously considering doing some formal or informal study in literacy in order to move towards being that teacher that I want to be. Professor Marcelle Haddix's program in Syracuse really made me think of this practice in my own life. I had the pleasure of taking Professor Haddix's class at BC as a grad student and learned so much. Now I'm ready to do even more work with literacy and assessment. I'm grateful to people like Professor Haddix and Li for planting those seeds and am excited by the prospect of learning how to teach reading and writing in a better way!

Biba's Boston: 12 -Artists for Humanity

Number 12: Artists for Humanity, Epicenter
Any organization that develops young people in a healthy, sustainable, and effective way is okay by me. Actually, places like that make me really happy. AFH encourages the growth of young artists by paying them to do and sell their art! They have both art and academic mentors at the organization and have studio time for the students to work on their projects. Painting is probably their biggest studio but they also have sculpture, video, fashion, printing, and graphic design.I first learned about AFH from two of my students who are amazing artists. I was teaching them English at summer school 2 years ago and they constantly talked about AFH and their mentor Rob aka Pro Blak, a member of one of the oldest graf/art crews in Boston. Since they knew I loved art as well they encouraged me to come and see what they did after class.


The Epicenter is located in South Boston and it's probably one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. It's one of the greenest buildings in Boston. It recently just won Boston Business Journal's Green Business Summit Award. Much of the materials used to make the Epicenter are recycled and the cooling and heating systems are all natural. They leave the windows open at night to release the warm air and close the windows during the day to keep the cool air in. They also have huge solar panels for energy.


While the exterior of the building is gorgeous it's what's happening inside the building that makes all the difference in the world. The day I saw it for the first time, I met Maliek and Mushri at the Epicenter and they brought me around the building . They took me up to the painting studio and what I saw there was probably one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced. I saw at least 50 young people working hard on their paintings. Some were laughing, talking, and/or consulting with one another while others had headphones on and were zoning out to their work. Still others were getting feedback from the painting mentors. It was a beautiful sight, and even though I've seen it so many times by now, it still makes me feel so dope when I go into that studio. The energy in there is raw and real and indescribable.

Along with the beautiful art that's being created, the staff there is amazing. Over time, I came to know some of the folks who work there, and when my homegirl Sahra got back from L.A. she joined AFH's staff as well. They have a lot of love for art, the youth and their development and I have so much respect for the work that they do with the babies. I'm so glad I got to know them and the organization.

They have studio ever Tuesday and Thursday, they have an awesome/fun fundraiser every year in April, and they sell the students' work, of course. If you're in Boston and you've never been, you MUST go check it out and experience it for yourself!

Curtis Throwing Down in Arizona!!

Earlier this month, I posted a timeline about Arizona's descent into its most recent unjust, racist legislation banning ethnic studies in schools. A friend of mine, Curtis, teaches a Latino Lit class at his high school. He's doing amazing work and it's being shut down. Check out this piece from CNN highlighting his work and other classrooms teaching through an ethnic studies lens.

We Need You

I obviously haven't been updating too much about the progress of my classroom. I didn't tell you guys about the experience I had with one student finally completing his paper last week, May 13.

This student and I have always had a bumpy relationship since his sophomore year. While I've always cared very much about him, he and I have bumped heads quite a bit. This year, we went through the same ups and downs. There were times when I would push and push and push and after a while, I'd be like, "Forget it!!" Then, we'd push and push again. He almost didn't make it in my class and in others. The afternoon before the senior papers were due, he was in my classroom along with other students until about 7pm. Toward the end of his paper, he began to get anxious because he was actually going to finish. He felt the anticipation. At 7, his work was done minus his acknowledgments page. We almost cried together. I gave him a huge hug and sent him off. The next day, I cried in class, when he told me he presented the final paper to his mother. I was relieved and happy that he had finished his paper, and was so proud of himself.

One thing that always concerned me about this student was his lack of self confidence. The dude is really smart, thoughtful, sensitive, and hilarious, but it's really hard for him to read, write his thoughts on paper, to work for extensive amounts of time and to type. I've often gotten the sense that in spite of his humor and talents, he felt himself a very stupid person, especially since he began taking medication for ADD. I have constantly watched him fight himself and drag himself down because of his lack of self esteem. It has been painful and exasperating.

Yesterday, I spoke with him about RC's death. Most of my students know that I've experienced a death, but they don't know the details. I shared RC's story with him because I don't ever want him to feel like he can't keep going anymore. I don't ever want him to allow his low self esteem to impact him to the point that we lose an invaluable person in our community. I simply talked to him about things that he should know about himself -that he is a thoughtful, creative, intelligent, and humorous person in our community. He needs to know what he is good at and what he is not so good at and accept those things instead of hating himself for whatever he perceives himself to be missing. The last thing that I said to him was that RC was an intelligent and passionate individual -an amazing brother, son, and friend. His family and friends needed him. His community needed him. The world needed him, but he's not here anymore. As Jill Scott's song The Fact Is says, "And even thought I can do all these things, I need you...We need you." For my student, I want him to know that if he never realizes his own potential for himself, if he doesn't pursue his goals of being a zoologist, he won't be happy, and our world will be missing an important individual who can never be replaced.

Janelle Monae's track Cindi says it well:

"Who's that girl in the mirror?

...She wants to dance but she has cold feet.

Her confidence is low

So much talent, but who'll know

When she's afraid to follow her dreams.

So I talk to her heart and made up her mind

That I gotta except her for me.

But it's so lonely, when I'm only being me.

...You've gotta be you and I've gotta be me." -Janelle Monae

Love yourself.

Arizona Timeline

My homie Curtis Acosta is a DOPE Latino Lit teacher in Arizona. The new law banning ethnic studies is hittin' him HARD. I'ma be blogging about this SOON. Until then, here is a timeline of Arizona's path into SB 1070 from one of my favorite magazines, Colorlines.

How Did Arizona Get to SB1070? Not Alone. on Dipity.

Geekin'!!!

Side note to the whole Food Inc. excitement: while I was watching the movie, I remembered how much I LOVE learning. I have to thank God and my parents for giving me that excitement for knowing more and for caring about what I learn. Mad people know lots and lots but don't care or don't do nothin about it!! Not only does this keep me smarter, I know fo sho it's gonna keep me younger and flyer! haha. Thank goodness for geekin'!!

Food Inc.

I just finished watching Food Inc. and am completely amazed by what I saw. I'm still processing and have a lot to think about when it comes to food, freedom, and justice.

There were so many parts of the movie that dealt with real farmers, workers, and families suffering/challenging the problems of agri-business. It made all of the things I had heard about before a little more tangible.

There are so many important decisions to make about food and how we buy it, cook it, and eat it. I would love to hear how other people have dealt with this personal dilemma. I have already started my brainstorming and will try to update when plan of action has been concretized. Until then, those of you who have not yet watched the movie, DO IT!!! Check out the trailer below.

Also, for those of you who are interested in sustainable food systems, check out CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. I learned about CUESA from Farmer Jane's blog!

P.S.-Why the HELL is this movie a repeat of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, only 100 years later? REAAALLLYYY?!?!?! Why do we learn nothing from history?!?!?!

Throwback!! BCLA 2006

I was looking through some old emails in my "teacher email" today and found this photo and note from the students who basically got me hired at BCLA. After they got me hired, they threw me a party. They were the first class I graduated out of BCLA -the Class of 2008. What a great group. Finding this now was so fitting as I am going to be leaving the school. Gotta love how it all comes back around.

Hey Ms.,

I'm glad you like our celebration for you as a good teacher for our school, and I cant wait for you to create miracles with next year's sophmore class, the way you did with our sophomore class.CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~**--Yessy @ ur service @ all timez, cuzz it 1 luv out herre--**~~

One on One

The more I have the opportunity to spend time speaking with students one on one, the more I think about teaching at a very small school or becoming a school counselor. I don't know how I feel about leaving the classroom and the content behind but I love having conversations with students, mentoring them, and talking with them about how to attack problems and develop as individuals.

We'll see what happens...

Senioritis

I never knew that senioritis came with the side effects of being RUDE!! Maybe I'm being rude? But dang, I understand folks are tired, but that doesn't mean students can do whatever the heck they want! It's really frustrating. And I'm just venting. It makes me really tired. Senior teachers, what do you do when senioritis hits?!

Planning to Change the World

If you don't know, this is an excellent planning resource from the Education for Liberation Network and NYCOREfor folks who are social justice educators. I have used this since its inception. Check out my comments and other teachers' comments below:

Planning to Change The World: A Planbook for Social Justice Teachers 2010-2011 from Social Justice Planbook on Vimeo.