TEACHER VOICES

Family meeting week, the last of my advisees’ high school careers.

 Last week I did something few teachers do on a school night: I went to a concert.

Four of 15 advisees are out today. J is putting her mother into hospice care, but the others are just taking the day off, I guess.

“It’s portfolio season, and seniors are freaking out.”

“The first year you’re a teacher is the hardest year ever for countless reasons, but the thing that I think makes it the hardest is that you don’t have your teacher box just yet.”

“ I learned another valuable lesson this week. Don’t argue with students. Care about them. Work hard with them. But don’t argue with them.”

A busy day in the library: C is here, along with two other ninth graders who come with her. New friends! Each of them turn in multiple books and check out multiple others. Then they hang out and look at what’s on the shelves. They’ve been here every lunch the past few weeks. I think it’s their safe space.

"Sometimes when you get hit, the blow leaves a mark. This day left a mark."

"My love for [my students] is the only thing that keeps me sane."

"Teaching, especially these precious first weeks, is hard enough when everything is going smooth. You gotta be a tough cookie to not get bogged down by all the negative minutiae. But there I was, Week Two, not channeling my inner tough-cookie, and feeling eerily similar to the helplessness I felt my first year teaching."

“All of you are writing a personal statement. All of you are shooting high, and all of you are applying to college because all of you have what it takes to get a college degree.”

Today is the first day of the new school year. I love beginnings. The start of the year is so much fun. I've got dreams for my students and my classroom.

“That’s what you’re for,” he says to me. “You’re going to help me get into college. I don’t need another stranger in my life, getting all up in my business.”

Student T reminds me of the youth in Victor Rios's book, Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys. Michele's posts are always must-reads: well-written and poignant.

"This February, in what felt like an overnight makeover, everything was suddenly different about our school lunch program."

This is a feel-good story about what can happen when a community gets together, works extremely hard, and does something right for kids.

"If students are unfazed by a person’s sexuality, does it matter if teachers are out?"

I say yes, it does! Thanks, Dave, for this post.

This is where I can write stuff of my own. My little blurb, my curation notes. Right? Listen to what Trevor says.

But what I realize more and more is that the most crucial thing I can do to equip myself with the “armed love” that energizes me to do this work year after year after year, is to look deeply at the incredible young people who surround me for seven hours per day – and genuinely see them for their best selves.

Every year I have countless conversations with the frustrated parents and counselors of students like Sonia. Everyone wants to help the Sonias of our school get better grades, but few have found a way to help these struggling readers. This year I’m trying a few new things in my classroom and am having some limited success.

I appreciate many things about Dave's post, especially his focus on students and teaching practice. Dave is going to be writing much more for TEACHER VOICES, and I hope that you follow him.

A conversation among students:

Senior #1 to Senior #2: “But I want to make it big!”

Sophomore, who didn’t hear the first part of the conversation: “You want to make what big?"

Had my selfishness created a magical reading experience? Note to self: Why yes, it most certainly did.