This week is my seventh week in the classroom, and boy, has it been a crazy ride. There have been ups and downs, celebrations and tears. If I had to sum it all up in a single word, I would say it has been HARD. In the face of that hardship there were moments when I lost sight of my mission, when I didn't know if I could make it or if I was where I really was meant to be. However, every time I would stop, embrace silence, and seek God, he continuously and faithfully confirmed that I am right where he wants me to be, and so I remain in this battle for my kids to have the same quality education I was blessed to receive. Part of this battle is working with students who in the 9th grade, are reading at a 2nd or 3rd grade level, not due to any deficiency of their own mental capacity, but simply because our education system has failed to hold those responsible for ensuring these students grasped basic concepts, accountable to that end. And so, the fight goes on; and yes, it is a fight, every day.
My classroom is a battleground where my students and I partner to fight tooth and nail to get them to where they need to be so that by the time they graduate they will have the skills and knowledge necessary to have choice in shaping the direction of their lives after high school. In my recent unit on Revolutions, my students were charged with the task of writing an essay answering the question "Why do some people feel that democracy is a form of government worth dying for?" (Yes, I am aware I ended that question with a preposition-it made it easier to understand). Although this was a hard topic and my students struggled through it, we ultimately came to the conclusion that to be human is to have choice, without choice we are slaves or animals driven by need or conditioning. Part of furthering the humanity of my students is preparing them to have the autonomy to choose; college or trade school, straight to the workforce or to the military, start my own business or start something much bigger than anyone has ever dreamed?
In working to develop these young minds I have come up against challenges surrounding a severe lack of resources at my school. Although the passion to learn is present in my students and the drive to teach them pulls me back to the classroom each day, without the tools necessary to move forward, our battle is made even more complicated. My school is a second year start up sharing a building with another school. Our current space and financial constraints have left us without a school library, and as we are working toward becoming a technology school, we also do not have textbooks- two very real challenges to being able to facilitate effective classroom instruction. Although my students and I refuse to allow a lack of resources deter us from our goal or knock us off our grind, it is a very prevalent reality that access to these materials can significantly enhance their learning experience.
Right now, I am working to create a classroom library for my students. If you wild like to partner with me in this endeavor you can donate here http://www.gofundme.com/eq6nu0 or you can contact me and I can pick up any books you would like to donate.
Below is a video on why I think books are an essential part of providing my students with the education they deserve.
