At the beginning, middle, and end of each year, Teach For America sends a survey to its corps members and asks us to rate a number of areas with regard to our performance as teachers and the staff’s performance as guides to our professional development. While some of the questions change from survey to survey,…

Every now and then I’ll be talking about the teachers strike with someone and they’ll say something along the lines of “I understand why they’re doing this, but why do they need a contract?” or “Why do they need a union?” It is something I haven’t asked myself since taking U.S. History in high school,…

Two weeks ago, on the eve of my second first day as a teacher, I was a different kind of nervous. Last year I was worried about my classroom not being ready for my students and I was worried about whether or not I would be able to handle the responsibility of my role. This…

I’ve been meaning to post about the beginning of year two for some time now, but, in usual form, I’m too busy to type! In the first two weeks of school I’ve been putting together my classroom, getting to know my new students, continuing my own education at Cardinal Stritch University, and following the teachers…

Back when my friend (and soon-to-be roommate) and I moved to Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, we didn’t have the best impression of it. She took the high volume of shirtless men as a sign of it being a dirty place and I took the noise level of my neighbor and banjo enthusiast as a sign of…

Last night in grad class we had to come up with a phrase we wanted to hear our students say when they’re distracted by another student in the classroom. It took me a while to come up with mine, mainly because I almost always feel a little loopy by the end of class, but I…

Last year when I was debating whether or not to accept my placement with Teach For America, I had to work through a number of issues. First and foremost, I had to decide if I would leave Michigan. I did. Second, is our organization and are charter school anti-union and anti-public schools. That’s a more…

This past year I believe I was successful because I worked hard, built relationships with my students and their families, and built relationships with my colleagues. In particular, I found strength from my school’s Executive Director who now considers herself my “surrogate grandmother” and my TFA appointed Manager of Teacher Leadership Development–basically a teacher coach.…

Tick. The instructor clicks the mouse to turn to the next slide. Tock. I’m told about another theory I’ve never heard of but probably should have known about nine months ago. Tick. I’m exhausted from nine hours at work. Tock. I could really do without another four hours of grad class. Almost every Tuesday and…

What struck me most about Wendy Kopp’s first book, One Day, All Children…, is the fact that Teach For America, in my opinion one of America’s most corporate non-profits, at one time failed to have a cohesive financial plan. The book is dedicated to TFA’s first ten years and Wendy tells the story of how…

Michigan Radio recently received nearly $1 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to report on issues related to children in poverty. It is called “State of Opportunity: Can Kids in Michigan Get Ahead?” Obviously, this project covers a population near and dear to my heart. The first story, which aired today, profiled a hypothetical child…

Spike Lee sat down for an interview with Will Leitch from New York Magazine and among other things talked about schools in New York City and America. In particular I loved what he had to say about fine arts (art, music, and gym): “I had a great education. From kindergarten to John Dewey High School…

If you asked me six months ago what I thought about Milwaukee, I’d tell you it was a nice city. I’d tell you it reminded me of Kalamazoo due to its size, culture, and the “Midwestern grit” I attribute to rustbelt states, but I’d add that it didn’t feel like home. I’d tell you it…