Everyone has their own timeline....

I feel discouraged, sad and upset about the current education system in California. I feel deeply hurt and upset when I think about the status of my school next year. I feel even more disheartened when I think deeply about some of the students I have served who have since left my school. Where are they? Will they ever finish high school?

I just read another teacher's blog and she said something that resonates deeply with me. I feel like I HAVE TO believe in it with my whole heart in order to continue to have the motivation to teach where I do.

"Every student has their own timeline. I might be the right person at the wrong time.Students leave me and I trust that something down the line will pick them up and carry them where they need to go."

I like to think that when students drop out, go to juvenile hall or get kicked out that someone/something down the line will carry them where they need to go. But, in Oakland I just hear so many stories about failure especially when talking about African American stories.

The state of education is grim. 600 teachers in Oakland got pink slipped-that's 1/4 teachers in our district. At our school, decisions have not been made on the status of our school for next year. Where will students go?

In my class, students continue to come and go. I just had another male African American go back to juvenile hall. He chose "the streets" instead of education. Smart young man with what could be a BRIGHT future; I hope someday he finds that bright future. I would like to help him find his path in life but get exhausted by the dis-respect he shows, the language he uses and the choices he makes. Everyday I try to go back and give them endless choices...after all, they deserve an education.

But, is it just that I am the right person at the wrong time? Maybe...maybe they need to utterly fail before they realize what they "gave up"?

In a way, I hope I am the right person at the wrong time. It means at some point in the future, they will find the "right person" that will help them find their way. I want the best for them, I truly do even if I can't help them get there.