The video, Unpretty:
My Thank You, thank you and thoughts:
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Reflections On Being A Summer Teaching Fellow
My summer as a Summer Teaching Fellow has truly been a blessed experience. I have felt blessed to be a part of this cohort and to be surrounded by peers of color who also have a burning passion for education. We have been able to challenge each other and better develop more nuanced understandings of our own visions regarding the future of educational reform. I feel privileged to be able to go through this experience of tremendous growth and learning with other future leaders.
Becoming a part of the Excellence Boys Charter School community has also been a blessing. This is a community that is holistically dedicated to the mission of education for the purpose of transformation and legitimately invested in teacher growth and development. Everyday at Excellence Boys is fun, lively and filled with reminders as to why I am here, in that school, in this program and in this movement.
I’ve also come to realize that I am not an island, but that we are a part of a movement. It’s been a blessing to have many of the leaders doing the good work we envision ourselves becoming a part of take the time to meet with us, share what they know and ultimately become an active part of our own development.
Lastly, this blessing realizes one of the main reasons I chose to take part of this program. Education in academia has left me with lots of theories about education and teaching but without the techniques and tools actually needed to teach and provide education. Being a Summer Teaching Fellow has exposed me to multiple environments where instructional techniques, backwards planning and assessments are valued, taught and implemented. It’s a blessing because I know that I became a better teacher, not by a fluke of magic or because I was born that way, but because of the guidance, effort and feedback that I received throughout the summer.
Throughout the summer, there has been this growing and deepening swaying within me that tells me, this is where it’s at, that I’m in it for the long haul. Just as the scholars at Excellence Boys complete their Life’s Work everyday, I’ve realized that what I chose to do with each day is my Life’s Work as well. Though it can be overwhelming at times, I mostly have this great sense of focus and clarity. In knowing my Life’s Work, I feel secure and more able to make decisions that will guide me towards the aspects of educational reform where I need and want to be.
* Cross-posted at : http://summerteachingfellows.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/reflections-on-the-final-days/#comments
Becoming a part of the Excellence Boys Charter School community has also been a blessing. This is a community that is holistically dedicated to the mission of education for the purpose of transformation and legitimately invested in teacher growth and development. Everyday at Excellence Boys is fun, lively and filled with reminders as to why I am here, in that school, in this program and in this movement.
I’ve also come to realize that I am not an island, but that we are a part of a movement. It’s been a blessing to have many of the leaders doing the good work we envision ourselves becoming a part of take the time to meet with us, share what they know and ultimately become an active part of our own development.
Lastly, this blessing realizes one of the main reasons I chose to take part of this program. Education in academia has left me with lots of theories about education and teaching but without the techniques and tools actually needed to teach and provide education. Being a Summer Teaching Fellow has exposed me to multiple environments where instructional techniques, backwards planning and assessments are valued, taught and implemented. It’s a blessing because I know that I became a better teacher, not by a fluke of magic or because I was born that way, but because of the guidance, effort and feedback that I received throughout the summer.
Throughout the summer, there has been this growing and deepening swaying within me that tells me, this is where it’s at, that I’m in it for the long haul. Just as the scholars at Excellence Boys complete their Life’s Work everyday, I’ve realized that what I chose to do with each day is my Life’s Work as well. Though it can be overwhelming at times, I mostly have this great sense of focus and clarity. In knowing my Life’s Work, I feel secure and more able to make decisions that will guide me towards the aspects of educational reform where I need and want to be.
* Cross-posted at : http://summerteachingfellows.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/reflections-on-the-final-days/#comments
Monday, August 9, 2010
So So In Brasil!!!!
Oi!!!!
This is my welcome back to myself-- from Brasil!!!
So I have been in Brasil for about two months, and it has been quite the adventure. I've seen a lot of things that I had not really considered that I would come across, especially since my main goal was to get out of Swat and experience a different way of life that does not have the affect of crushing my soul. And so far, I've succeeded in that.
NOTE: Unfinished, 8/22/09 -- though I wish that I had finished this post, I probably went out to have a great time... so, no regrets!!! :D
This is my welcome back to myself-- from Brasil!!!
So I have been in Brasil for about two months, and it has been quite the adventure. I've seen a lot of things that I had not really considered that I would come across, especially since my main goal was to get out of Swat and experience a different way of life that does not have the affect of crushing my soul. And so far, I've succeeded in that.
NOTE: Unfinished, 8/22/09 -- though I wish that I had finished this post, I probably went out to have a great time... so, no regrets!!! :D
So So Natural
We are approaching our one year anniversary -- me and my natural hair. And I have to say that it has been a year of growth, increasing self-love, exploration, insights, beauty, reclaiming, claiming for the first time and coming into ownership.* Yes, my hair motivated me to do and see all these things, in myself and others too. It makes really think about the power of hair, especially for Black women.
*The product of a community and history of so many role models and elders, alike
NOTE: Unfinished, 5/15/09
*The product of a community and history of so many role models and elders, alike
NOTE: Unfinished, 5/15/09
So So Yummy
cinnamon vanilla wafer
oreo
twinkie
milano
chocolate
why are we so obsessed with talking about race via small edible and sometimes delectable carbs? why do we need to minimize our identities, histories and experiences to mere cookies? i like to think that we are all more than that -- a substance that yields temporary pleasure, but eventually becomes inconsequential, absorbed and passed through our bloodstream within hours... -- when we need to sustain ourselves for so much longer than that, for lifetimes, for movements, for generations to come.
what are your thoughts? why am i a cookie? why are we just flavors? tell me what you think about that, and please share what you can beyond the fucked up-ness of each individual one.
oreo
twinkie
milano
chocolate
why are we so obsessed with talking about race via small edible and sometimes delectable carbs? why do we need to minimize our identities, histories and experiences to mere cookies? i like to think that we are all more than that -- a substance that yields temporary pleasure, but eventually becomes inconsequential, absorbed and passed through our bloodstream within hours... -- when we need to sustain ourselves for so much longer than that, for lifetimes, for movements, for generations to come.
what are your thoughts? why am i a cookie? why are we just flavors? tell me what you think about that, and please share what you can beyond the fucked up-ness of each individual one.
Sometimes I Wish...
That Swarthmore would exist without the work.
* NOTE: Written on 2/9/10, yet it still rings true to this day and will continue to do so until 5/29/11.
* NOTE: Written on 2/9/10, yet it still rings true to this day and will continue to do so until 5/29/11.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)