Dead Prez:
They schools can't teach us shit
My people need freedom
We tryna get all we could get
All my high school teachers
Could suck my dick
Tellin me white man lies, straight bullshit
What are they teachin our kids in these school buildings...
(stop tellin lies to our babies!!)
I'm humbled. I have completed the first cycle of the teacher program @Hunter...I'm again excited to begin teaching, even though I cried today because I made all these mistakes during a mock lesson plan we had to do...I put a lot of work into it...but I was so exhausted from the intensity of the program all week...and plus there's simply so much shit i don't yet know about being a good teacher...but the folks who run the program are so fuckin supportive...they gave me all this positive feedback...i really love how friggin egalitarian they are...there's all this belief they have in me and the other teachers, no matter what our level of experience...they truly believe that if ur heart is there, good teachers are always made...it takes practice...i see why...i'm very glad that i get to practice teaching for a year since I'll be an assistant teacher for the school I'm with, not the lead. So I can make all my blunders (not the type that would be detrimental to a baby's learning though) from a safe position...there are so many amazing movers and shakers in the world of education that i've been exposed to...i have to send folks emails of thanks because i've been so inspired all week...the only thing i don't completely vibe with...is this intense focus on closing the 'achievement gap' between black kids and white kids...i'm like fuck that, let's go beyond the quote unquote standard...cuz even the standard in this country sucks...but that's radical ole me...but yea, on the other hand, i'm glad that the program does provide some sort of real analysis on the fact that education in this country DOES especially suck for black, brown, and poor people...i'm glad we really touched on race and racism in a lot of our readings...i have to read the remainder of this amazing book
I was exposed (through a video) to this amazing man...if u ever get a chance to hear a lecture by jeff duncan andrade, don't miss it...
Showing posts with label hunter college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunter college. Show all posts
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Kindergarten
I just got back from the Hunter program not too long ago...
I just feel compelled to blog...again...because I had SUCH an amazing experience today @ school. Today our entire lecture was centered on the art of effective classroom management. I was really challenged to grow today, and we had an entire presentation by a PHENOMENAL principal and educator from a charter school in Newark, NJ. Like...her presentation blew me away. She taught us about classroom management by putting us in the place of the students we'll be dealing with, modeling behavior with us so we could get some approximation of what it feels like to be a young learner again annnd so that we could learn the info she was presenting in a manner that was different from the typical workshop format that would truly stick to our memories. I was resistant at first to being treated like a kid...especially when she corrected how I wrote my own damn notes...but by the end, I was SOLD. It was such an inspiring day for me...that I wrote a little um...poem thing? ballad? about the feelings today inspired in me. I really connected with the budding educator in me today...we were in alignment, and were just really feeling each other's vibes. I really...GOT today how deeply revolutionary the teaching profession can be. I found myself anticipating and feeling mad affection for my students, most who I haven't even seen yet...kinda like a parent who anticipates and joyfully prepares for a child just conceived. I felt so ecstatic on the train ride home today that I had to get it out on paper. I hope you (the general you) can just get an idea of what I was feeling when I wrote the words...how humbled and honored I feel to be entrusted with the job of helping kids get in touch with their ability to learn and grow, of finding that precious balance between guiding them through the world safely and giving them the freedom to develop into their authentic selves, without imposing upon them archaic rules and limitations which have their soul-snuffing basis in colonization, domination and oppression.
In the spirit of sharing, I give you
Kinder Garden
Not having known you,
I already love you
And am creating space in my awareness
For your arrival
I'm pruning old, dying, and dead edges of me
Tearing down poison plants grown
From the soil of my conditioning
and clearing away bags of clutter
(deposited by old masters not myself)
So that when you come in,
There will be boundless room for you to
move
j
u
m
p
S T R E T C H
change me beyond belief
think
and breathe
Clean oxygenated air
and eat
Fresh fruits vegetables and grains
and drink
Plenty of fresh water
And love yourself
And the wide world
Without qualifiers
or endings(.)
<3
Maybe rather than a poem, it is the beginning of my teaching philosophy.
Meanwhile...
I have developed a strong desire to get my bottom lip pierced, on the side diagonal to my nose piercing. Wonder if a funky kindergarten teacher can fly...maybe I can get some real small, inconspicuous flesh toned jewel to wear for a while.
I just feel compelled to blog...again...because I had SUCH an amazing experience today @ school. Today our entire lecture was centered on the art of effective classroom management. I was really challenged to grow today, and we had an entire presentation by a PHENOMENAL principal and educator from a charter school in Newark, NJ. Like...her presentation blew me away. She taught us about classroom management by putting us in the place of the students we'll be dealing with, modeling behavior with us so we could get some approximation of what it feels like to be a young learner again annnd so that we could learn the info she was presenting in a manner that was different from the typical workshop format that would truly stick to our memories. I was resistant at first to being treated like a kid...especially when she corrected how I wrote my own damn notes...but by the end, I was SOLD. It was such an inspiring day for me...that I wrote a little um...poem thing? ballad? about the feelings today inspired in me. I really connected with the budding educator in me today...we were in alignment, and were just really feeling each other's vibes. I really...GOT today how deeply revolutionary the teaching profession can be. I found myself anticipating and feeling mad affection for my students, most who I haven't even seen yet...kinda like a parent who anticipates and joyfully prepares for a child just conceived. I felt so ecstatic on the train ride home today that I had to get it out on paper. I hope you (the general you) can just get an idea of what I was feeling when I wrote the words...how humbled and honored I feel to be entrusted with the job of helping kids get in touch with their ability to learn and grow, of finding that precious balance between guiding them through the world safely and giving them the freedom to develop into their authentic selves, without imposing upon them archaic rules and limitations which have their soul-snuffing basis in colonization, domination and oppression.
In the spirit of sharing, I give you
Kinder Garden
Not having known you,
I already love you
And am creating space in my awareness
For your arrival
I'm pruning old, dying, and dead edges of me
Tearing down poison plants grown
From the soil of my conditioning
and clearing away bags of clutter
(deposited by old masters not myself)
So that when you come in,
There will be boundless room for you to
move
j
u
m
p
S T R E T C H
change me beyond belief
think
and breathe
Clean oxygenated air
and eat
Fresh fruits vegetables and grains
and drink
Plenty of fresh water
And love yourself
And the wide world
Without qualifiers
or endings(.)
<3
Maybe rather than a poem, it is the beginning of my teaching philosophy.
Meanwhile...
I have developed a strong desire to get my bottom lip pierced, on the side diagonal to my nose piercing. Wonder if a funky kindergarten teacher can fly...maybe I can get some real small, inconspicuous flesh toned jewel to wear for a while.
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