Compared to a white child...

My principal read this at our staff meeting today to celebrate the work we have been doing and will continue to do at our school. Today is "Day of the Teacher" and I think that this piece highlights why I chose to teach where I do....

Compared with a White child in the Oakland hills, an African American born in West Oakland is 1.5 times more likely to be born premature or low birth weight, 7 times more likely to be born into poverty, 2 times as likely to live in a home that is rented and 4 times more likely to have parents with only a high school education or less.

As a toddler, this child is 2.5 times more likely to be behind in vaccinations. By 4th grade, this child is 4 times less likely to live in a neighborhood with 2 times the concentration of liquor stores and more fast food outlets. Ultimately, this adolescent is 5.6 times more likely to drop out of school and less likely to attend a 4-year college than a White adolescent.

As an adult, he will be 5 times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes, 2 times as likely to be hospitalized for and to die of heart disease, 3 times more likely to die of stroke and twice as likely to die of cancer.

Born in West Oakland, this person can expect to die almost 15 years earlier than a White person born in the Oakland Hills.


Extremely eye-opening, touching and reminds me of the ever important work that I do to try and save my African American students from falling into this pattern.....



Excerpt taken from:
*Iton, Tony et al. Life and Death from Unnatural Causes: Health and Social Inequity in Alameda County Alameda County Public Health Department, August 2008

Modeling for my students

You never realize how closely students pay attention to your every move. They notice what you say, what you do, what you have for lunch, when you are frustrated, tired, upset and are not afraid to call you out when you do something contradicting to what you ask of them.

We set the tone for the classroom. My students watch me not only for how I manage the classroom, but how I manage my life. I think for my students this is especially important because they don't have an abundance of positive role models in their life.

If I complain about how tired I am because I stayed up late (watching TV, hanging out with friends, grading papers), I am modeling for my students that a good night’s rest is not important.

When I complain about other teachers, I am modeling for my students that I am not a team player. I am not looking for the good in my colleagues.

If I gossip about others, then I am teaching my students it is okay to spread stories about others.

When I complain about needing more time, then I am showing my students how to make excuses.

If I avoid learning new things by whining about how hard it is or that I don’t have enough time, then I am showing my students that they don’t need to try hard either.

I choose how to spend my time. If I’m tired, angry, or unhappy, then it is my own fault. I can’t change others but I can change myself. If I have run out of time to do something, it is because I chose not to use my time more wisely or I over committed myself. Again, it was a decision that I had to make and I can’t blame it on anyone else but myself.

I need to make a list of things that are important to me and prioritize them. I need to make absolutely sure that these things are done.

At times I forget just how much of an influence I can have on my students. If I don't start class on time, I am sending a message. If I pull my cell phone out during class, I send a message. If I am impatient, I send a message. Every minute of every day I am on the spot. And every minute counts with my students.



In other news, it is so interesting to teach in an urban, high need school. Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day and my friends who work in middle to high class areas received gift cards, appreciation cards and were so excited about it. I can tell you that I have yet to receive a card for anything yet alone Teacher Appreciation Day. And I am not complaining. It just reminds me of the VAST differences between higher and lower income areas.

Open Letter to Teachers

I stumbled upon this and am re-posting because I think this is fantastic. Next year, it will be up in my room as a reminder to myself....

Here in my neck of the woods, it’s the weekend before the start of classes. At my house, life got frantic this week as my wife, a high school language arts teacher, returned to work.

It’s about to get really busy if you are at all involved in education. As you gear up in whatever way that you do, I selfishly wanted to jot down a few reminders that I’d be telling myself if I were about to get started.

First. I hope you take lots of risks for the sake of learning this year. Not just for your students, but also for you. Make it a goal to try to learn something in a sustained and meaningful way that has little to do with your classroom life. I’ve been trying to learn photography this year, and while I’m nowhere close to proficient, it has been helpful to be in the mindset of a learner who’s struggling. That’s how many of our students feel everyday.

It doesn’t have to be a big risk that you always take – take little ones, too. Ask the question that you’re hesitant to ask. Share the writing you’re doing with your students. Volunteer to do the silly dance at the assembly. Just challenge yourself a little bit every now and then. We rise to the challenge when we’re pushed. But it’s easy to forget to reach.

Try very hard not to work all the time. I suck at this, at turning off my work brain and focusing on being a dad or a husband or “just a dude reading the paper at the corner coffee shop,” but I recognize the value of being at rest and at play, of knowing that it’s better to let small work things go in the name of preserving long term relationships. You CAN be that hero teacher that everyone loves and is in awe of, but only for a little while. Then, you burn out and fade away and don’t do anyone any good at all.

You need no one’s permission to postpone a due date or modify an assignment for the benefit of a student, or to delay some grading for the benefit of yourself or your family. All will be right with the world if you’re a day late, so long as you had a reason.

Be an expert when you need to be. Be a learner always. You are probably the most experienced learner in your classroom. But don’t assume you’re the most knowledgable person or object. If you’ve a computer handy, then you’re not. Embrace that. Relationships and mentoring cannot be outsourced or Googled. They take time and genuine concern.

Model always what you want your students to do. You and your behaviors and habits, no matter how much you might wish otherwise, are a curriculum of sorts, perhaps THE curriculum.

Be humble, but fight like crazy for your students.

Have at all times, as Geoff Powell says, “a healthy respect for young people.”

Work on your crap detector. Teach your students to develop theirs. Read and write lots. Let your students make meaningful choices in their learning. Hold them accountable for the choices they make, good or bad.

And share the good stuff. Your stories are all human ones, and they are all special, just as each one of you, and each of your students, is special. There is always someone curious about what you’re up to.

You’ll have nervous days and scared days and failure days. But you’ll also have “yes” days. Write about, reflect upon, and learn from all of them, but build a special place to keep a record of the “yes” ones. Return to it when you need a boost on some of the not-so-good days.

I wish you well. I ask you to be brave and humble and kind and tenacious and wise and caring and gentle and fierce. We so need you to do well. And there are lots of folks out there who want to help. Do good stuff.