teach.run.pray.

Dear Students, Many of my current and former students will, most likely, never see and read this, but I need to express myself.  You, sweet young people of America, are worth fighting for. Every single one of you is worth the fight. Do not let anyone else convince you differently. YOU ARE WORTH IT! I am a teacher, but I am also a person with raw emotion. I am a teacher who pretends to be fine and ok for 10+ hours a day, but I am also a person with raw emotion. I am a teacher who gives 1,000% everyday in order to NOT FAIL her students  - I am also a person with raw emotion. I am a teacher who opens her heart to love every child no matter the color of their skin, the religion they believe in, they country they were born in, the country their parents were born in, the clothes they wear, the family they come from, the address they do or do not have, the social class they belong to, the emotional, physical, or academic challenges they face - I love them anyway. I am also a p...

I'm not quite sure the direction this post will take or how long it will be. What I do know is I have some things I need to say, and I'm going to say them.  I have played my feelings and thoughts over and over in my head the past few days. I have even questioned my heart. I have sat in my car and cried before going into a place of business because my sister-in-law sent me a text with nice words in it before I exited my car. I have cried on the way to work thinking about my sisters, my cousin, other family members, and my friends and their rights to love and marry whomever they choose, whether white, black, American, Asian, Jewish, Buddhist, man, woman, or whatever else, without feeling judged or looked down on, or without feeling afraid - just because they fell in love. I have cried before falling asleep, because I think of the kids and the families that walk through the door of so many public schools that are fighting their own battles against poverty, against domestic viole...

Throughout my young life, I watched marriage after marriage fail. I've witnessed marriages fail due to physical, mental, and emotional abuse. I've witnessed marriages fail due to mental illnesses such as addiction and bipolar disorder. I've witnessed marriages fail due to infidelity. I've witnessed marriages fail due to finances. I've witnessed marriages fail due to lies, disagreements, and stubbornness. I've witnessed marriages fail due to changes in sexuality or sexual preferences.  Growing up, there weren't many healthy marriages around me. Working in a family law office during graduate school, I was inundated with unhealthy and failed  marriages. I remember sitting in the office filing paperwork one day, examining the dates of marriages and divorces. More than 50% of the clients that stepped into our office were filing for divorce within 10 years and a majority of those clients were filing for divorce within 5 or less years.  At age 32, I look ar...

In order to prevent myself from being "the sludge," I've had to step back and examine my teaching style. What I realized, my students and I needed to have more fun. I had to dig deep and get REALLY creative to plan lessons that would ignite the child and passion of learning inside all of us. I had to pull out my inner Ron Clark and Kim Bearden.  Most of my day is spent teaching within the inclusion model, so getting creative had the potential to be challenging. Lucky for me, I work with an amazing group of teachers who wanted to infuse their classes with fun as much as I did. Feel free to steal these ideas, and allow yourself and your students to have fun. Room Transformation  (Stolen idea from Kim Bearden at The Ron Clark Academy & initiated by fifth grade inclusion teacher, Mr. Carwile.) This fifth grade inclusion class had been studying nonfiction text features. The classroom teacher wanted to spice up the test review, so he transformed his classroom in...