Donate Now Warning: This post is not about teaching. Today was supposed to be my last day of teaching in my 2-year commitment to Teach for America and the Mississippi Delta. Instead of in my classroom, I spent the day at the funeral services of one of my best friends that I’ve been fortunate to…

Donate Now Arkansas became the 25th state because we won against the Britishes. I was so excited when that happen. But it is very sad for the Britishes now. In the early 1800s, the Americans began to disagree about slavery. I mean like who wants to be a slave? Why did they even argue about…

I just made 4 students cry by reading a poem. Not even a poem by a successful published poet, but a poem from the book Love That Dog. And when I finished, we just sat there and i kind of was very sad for a minute, then they said “is that a poem in real…

And then suddenly, we only had 11 days left. How it got from months and months and months left to suddenly, two weeks, I’m still not sure. In fact the only thing I really am sure of is that, having finished this year, I’m only slightly more confident in what I’m doing than I was…

A flawless uninterrupted Benchmark week? We had made it through Thursday with no interruptions! No crop dusters buzzing our school. No carnival setting up in the front parking lot. Not even a snafu with the booklets! Totally on schedule (on Tuesday we were 5 minutes AHEAD of schedule), I was convinced we’d make it through…

Dear not-the-delta, When I get there, please smile at me and, with a tilt of your head when you look at my license to let me by, say “I figured you weren’t from around here.” That should help. When I sit on my couch on Friday night thinking of what to do, please limit my…

I know, I know, every comparison or analogy I have revolves around baseball and statistics, curses and high hopes. This blog might as well follow my fandom as well as my teaching career. But that’s not the point. The point is that I found this amazing Whitey Ford quote that describes how I feel about…

Jorge: “I thought a chisel was where you get to relax and stuff.” Clifford: “No, that’s chill.” Jorge: “Yeah- Chizzill!” I know, I know, I owe a real entry. Give me a minute to wrap my head around my ever-changing glorious life and I’ll write you one. Ok, mom?!

“You look like a teenager for real…like you’d be working at Subway.” – Dane Two weeks until benchmark, not including the week of spring break bliss to which I am counting down the hours. What am i doing on this magical week of no students? dentist appointment, visiting schools, summer job applications, and sleep, brief…

My life has been full of changes recently, which is out of the ordinary. I guess you might say it’s a change.  I said on March 1st that this would be a good month and I stand by it 100%. Yes, I recognize that it’s only March 11th, but if it’s been this good so…