What Causes the Gap?

5:00am.

This morning, I am up knowing that there will only be two more days here! Friday the 13th is our last day teaching.

Yesterday, the students took the infamous CRCT (Georgia state test). It was definitely an experience. If these students do not pass the test, they do not go onto 4th grade.

The expectations for my students at Woodson Elementary School in Atlanta are very different from the expectations that were held for me as a third grader in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The injustice in the system is so prevalent the moment to glimpse into the system.

What makes for this huge achievement gap?

When "average" people are polled, they say that parents, lack of parental involvement, and parents who do not care about their students are what cause the gap. This feeds into the bias that poor parents do not care about their children.

However, the same poll among educators comes up with a different answer: Low expectations, poor teacher quality, and poor principal quality are what cause this gap between the rich students and the poor students.

So, I guess I am about to start working on closing this gap.

There were some definite frustrations this summer, and I question if the students learned anything; however, this summer is making me very excited to teach in Miami!

Lyrics I'm Humming
Ben Harper: Change the World With My Own Two Hands

Just breathe...

Being in Atlanta has been interesting... I feel as if I sometimes lose myself in the midst of all the busy-ness. It is somewhat relieving though to understand that the "busy-ness" that manifests itself so awfully in my daily schedule is for a greater purpose.

This summer I have had an influence on 12 3rd grade scholars! : ) I don't know how much influence, but I hope my positivity and love for learning has rubbed off on each of them.

I feel that so many times we get so caught up in our daily mundane tasks that's it's hard to step back and see the big picture. So often we just go through the motions... why is that?

Why do humans search for the habitual?

Is habit what makes us human?

I have been struggling with my daily schedule...I dread getting up at 5:00 am because I know my day will be full of challenges and growth. What is wrong with me?

"And the day came when the pain of staying in a tight bud

became greater than the risk it takes to bloom."

-Anais Nin

I am here to help a greater cause, and I am here for kids who do not have the opportunity to receive an exceptional education.

However, there are so many systematic sins that I've been experiencing daily.

Today, my prayer is for the mundane, the schedules, the daily tasks that consume us. What are we living for? What is the point?

"Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter."

I need to always remember my purpose if I am to survive these next two weeks in Atlanta. I've been here for three weeks, but it feels like months.

I will continue because I believe I am a part of a bigger movement to end educational injustices.
I will continue.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

I'm Falling On My Knees, Offering All of Me.

Oh ...You Silly Rollercoaster of Life!

Oh my! I can't even begin to tell you how crazy this day was! I feel like I was just thrown around on an upside down, arms hanging all over rollercoaster!

5:00am-wake up. tired. starting to feel a little depressed. questioning why I am doing this.

6:00am-exhausted. falling asleep.

7:15am-meeting with one of my "trouble girl's" mom. I was super nervous. I called the mom last night, asking her for a meeting to discuss her daughter. We met at 7:15 and I was feeling like a little girl trying to act like a big girl...I felt like I was playing teacher in my basement. The conversation went very well, and the girl was an angel all day in class!

8:00-still dragging...

9:00am-when is lunch?

10:00am- fell asleep in the bathroom...

11:00am- Teaching kids! Yeah! Highlight! I love being in the classroom

12:30pm-back to being exhausted...

****12:50- Special announcement from our School Director that we had an emergency meeting in the libray. (Great, 10 minutes off of my short break...)

12:50: He told us to bring laptops to take notes on... His tone was serious as he told us that we were not meeting our goals and were needing to stay late at school today for an extra 3 hours! What?! The buses were going to pick us up at 8:00pm and take us straight to our Learning Team Night Classes at Georgia Tech. Urg....

I thought I was going to officially enter depression...

He built up this new strategy that the staff was going to teach the teachers. We were all dragging...

.......Then....after a ten minute build up the staff surprised us and told us that the buses were waiting in the parking lot and that we had the ENTIRE afternoon off!!! No Learning Team Night Classes! No afternoon sessions!!!

Ahh!!!! My eyes welded up with tears! My friend Elaina started crying! What the heck is going on?!?! I was so excited!

We had NOTHING to do this afternoon?!?!

We all ran to the buses with our stuff and greated the bus drivers with HUGE grins!

Then...they made it better! They gave us coupons for Barnes and Noble, pedicures, manicures, masssages, and told us that there was a BBQ on campus at 5:30!

Sweetness!

So, me and some girls went to Midtown Atlanta and got our nails done! I fell asleep in the massage chair! : )

What a wonderful afternoon!

How amazing that a horrible morning can be transformed into such a beautiful night!

Oh man! I love surprises!

Lyrics I'm Humming:

Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations

The Only Constant is Change...

(I did not take this picture!)

Wow...where to start? These past three weeks have felt like months.

Quick Summary of What I'm Doing:
-I'm teaching in inner city Miami this Fall through Teach for America. I am so stinkin excited!

-Right now, I'm in inner city Atlanta training for the summer. The training is hard. It's a total boot camp. I'm teaching 3rd Grade at Woodson Elementary School (Gettin' It Done Woodson!)

-My schedule is 5:00am to about 9:30pm (and then I write lesson plans at night for the next day of class)

-I am learning about how to work. I don't work harder; I work smarter!

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I feel like I've been thown into a hurricane,

and I don't know how to swim.

It's been a whirlwind of learning,

thinking, trying,

messing up, and laughing.

For the first time in the past three weeks, I got to b r e a t h e. Tonight, I went to this wonderful church...It was such a great treat. Thank you Lord for Your perfect timing.

I am seriously struggling with my desire to change the world as well as my desire to enjoy the world.

"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy...If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But, I rise in the morning torn between a desire to improvef the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."
-E.B. White

Christianity is not as black and white as the Pharisees claim it to be...It can be messy. People are messy.
Embrace the fact that things get messy!

Hold the non-negotiable parts of scripture closed hand. Hold the gray areas open hand.

Look to scriptures...not to American Christian culture.

I am learning so much right now. I wish I could pin-point a common theme or trend to pass on to you!

But...for now I'm going to have to leave you with this: You sing all around...But I never hear the sound. Lord, I'm amazed by You. Lord, I'm amazed by You. Lord, I'm amazed by You. How You love me.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

Psalm 13 by Shane and Shane

A Grand Entrance

This past sunday, I had the best Palm Sunday service ever. At Church Under the Bridge we remembered Palm Sunday by having Jesus enter the church on a donkey. It was an incredibly moving experience.


Jesus was played by a homeless man named Evan. It was so real and beautiful watching Evan become Jesus. In fact...Jesus was a homeless man himself. Jesus was a pedestrian god. He was a walking man. And, the one time that he "splurged" on transportation, he took a donkey!



We all lined up in the back of the church, everyone holding palm leaves. And, we waved them, sang, and celebrated as Jesus rode through on the donkey. It was such a human experience. Jesus was waving, smiling, laughing, telling kids to be careful, kinda tipping off the donkey. I thought he was gonna fall off the animal one time! It was very human.
A motorcycle in the back of the church...after Jesus rode on the donkey, he rode the motorcycle back and forth! How beautiful.

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On Palm Sunday, we also did a feet washing ceremoy. Micheal, the man in the orange hat above, washed my feet, and I in turn washed Robert's (the man kneeling in the white shirt). Robert then washed Morgan's (a college friend) feet. It was so humbly to have Micheal wash my feet. He took so much care and detail in the process.

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Two women, Freddie and her friend, listening to the sermon and songs.

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Two people praying during the service with their dog.

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Singing and dancing to music after church!

Man, I love this church!