Bienvenido a Miami!

I am here!

Being here in Miami feels like that cold glass of lemonade you've been yearning for after the hot afternoon kickball game. Which doesn't really make sense because it is so hot here! : )

I am so happy to be here. My mom and I are unloading our stuff, and we are moving me into my new home.

I received my first piece of mail today! And, it couldn't have been from anyone better! My beautiful cousin, Sarah, sent me the kindest letter. It was so encouraging, and it was so kind. Sarah is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met. She is incredibly sincere and real.

Allie (my sister), Sarah (my cousin), Andrea (my cousin), and me ...trying to fake sleep at Christmas time! : )

So, as I unpack my life and get ready to begin a new adventure in Miami, I feel so lucky. I feel so blessed. And, I feel so joyful!

So, Welcome to Miami!

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Welcome to Miami by Will Smith (of course!)

Hit the Road Jack!

Me in my classroom before the students arrive, getting ready for the day!

Well, today, my mom and I begin to 24+ hour trek down to Miami Beach! I am so excited to get down there and settle in.

My last day of teaching in Atlanta (Friday) was wonderful. The kids wrote their own acrostic poems, and I was blown away at the creativity and hard work of the students. Their poems were wonderful! We had a readers theater and shared our poems with the class. It was very emotional to see kids who the first day of summer school wouldn't even say their name aloud in front of the class. Now, those same students are reading beautiful poetry as a presentation!

What a change-filled summer. And, I am ready for more!

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Rehab by Amy Winehouse

Am I Good Enough?

Wow. Tomorrow is my last day teaching 3rd grade at Woodson Elementary in inner city Atlanta. I am ready. I am sad. I am excited. I am tired. I am rejuvenated.

Tonight we had closing ceremonies. Tears filled my eyes and sniffles my nose as we reflected on the past 5 weeks through pictures, speakers, videos, and thoughts.

I think tonight was the first time I really internalized the movement that I am apart of. I am one teacher in a group of thousands who dedicate their lives to closing the achievement gap in the Land of Opportunity. I am a part of the vision. I am a part of the movement. I am Teach for America.

I think before tonight I looked at Teach for America as "them." However, it is me. Teach for America is people. People are what we live for. People are who we work for. People are why I wake up every morning before the sun has a chance to say "hello."


Where I eat breakfast at Georgia Tech each morning

In fact, every day I way up and I must choose excellence over mediocrity.
I do not merely want to survive life...
...I want my life to thrive...

Thrive, not survive.



Every day, I must increase (not just maintain) effort in the face of challenge.

Opera, when working with educational injustices internationally, asked the question, "Am I good enough?" I ask myself this question every day. What am I doing here? Did Teach for America make a mistake when accepting me?

My insecurities in my ability to teach students only hurts the students I am trying to help. My insecurities contributes to the achievement gap.

So, tonight...I am on a mission. I am in the vision. I am here to bring part of the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth: a place where children are equal and people are valued regardless of race, location, or class.

I have learned this summer that I need to get over myself.

This is not about me.

College was about me...it was about my learning, it was about my growth, it was about my academics.

Teaching in inner city Miami will not be about me.
There is not time for me to be frustrated...my students do not have time for me to be unprepared.

So, I sit here, going to bed at midnight...ready to wake up in about 4 hours. And, I am ready. I am so content right now. I am so peaceful right now.

I feel at peace right now.

I leave myself with this challenge...one that I hope you will remind me of in October 2007 when I am frustrated, overwhelmed, and tired: Be open that this experience will change you.

So, am I good enough? It doesn't matter. I have to be. My students deserve the best. I have no other choice than to be good enough every day for the kids in my classroom.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
This is the Air I Breathe

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.