Things I am thankful for....

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for quite a bit in my life, but I wanted to put together a list of things I am thankful for that relate to the work I am doing in Oakland....Here is what I came up with:

1. Colleagues I work with: the dedication and passion they put into their work each and everyday is evident and inspiring to me on a daily basis.

2. Students: they consistently amaze me by their smiles, their laughs, their warm hearts and their determination to keep on going when everything in their life could cause them to stop. They warm my heart and make me smile.

3. Trell: the student who consistently puts a smile on my face and who I am extremely proud of. I have seen him make a huge turn around in his life and in his commitment to his education. He is ALWAYS engaged, pleasant, respectful and loving. He gives the best hugs, has the best smile and the most infectious laugh. On Friday, he was in my room after school making up homework and tests because he wants to earn his higher grades. Simply amazing....

4. Gloria: Outside of school and my teaching life, I could be great friends with Gloria. She ALWAYS amazes me because she has had to endure some tough life circumstances, but she is determined to make it. I will do anything to ensure that happens.

5. Nina: She is a 9th grader this year and never ceases to put a smile on my face. Every morning she comes to see me before school to say hello and give me a hug. She says funny things, but has THE most caring heart.

6. Many moments already this school year that have stopped me in my teaching and in my thinking because they are once in a lifetime. Moments where you see that a student gets it, moments where you see that they want to be in class with you learning, moments where you see the mutual love and respect for one another when at this time last year we were no where near that and moments where I can see that I am truly making a difference. I am extremely thankful for the work that I do and feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to be where I am teaching who I am.

This Thanksgiving, give thanks to life. Life has SO many blessings-the music we listen to, our health, the people that we are surrounded by, the food in front of us, the jobs we have, and all the little things that put smiles on our face. It is these things that make me thankful to be alive...

Pictures to remember

I want my experience in Oakland to last me a lifetime so I am going to try to document more of my experience through pictures....Here are some of my classroom, a couple students and the outside of my school.....

The mural painted outside school....

Students and I being silly...

Different angles of the beautiful classroom!

Ironic Day

Today had it's fill of first for me which I will blog about later, but it was also a tad ironic.

A lady from the district came to observe me during English and not only interrupted my class but proceeded to begin teaching the class. Needless to say, I was QUITE offended and frustrated when she told me she did not think I was/am doing a good job but is not eloquent AT ALL in expressing these things.

But, then my principal wrote an e-mail to his boss and the head of special education about an issue. And, he copied me on the e-mail and said some of the NICEST, most affirming comments that proved that I am doing a good job. There is nothing like reaffirming words from your boss...

The shock to my SDC Teacher (me) would almost guarantee that this would be her last year at EOSA, another unbearable lost.

We currently have an amazing SDC program at our school anchored by a dedicated, passionate, and committed teacher, Ms. Searing. The success of the program and Ms. Searing's ability to create a rigorous learning environment has everything to do with her assistant. Our program has the largest case load of any SDC program in East Oakland. One of the reasons why we have so many students is because the SDC classroom is a learning environment that is safe and expects students to perform well academically. It works because the two of them work well together.

That is about all I need to keep a smile on my face and passion in my heart....