Storm's a Brewing

Hokay, so.

We just finished our first excursion with the kids. And by kids, I mean all the kids in the school. And let me be clear here-- I didn't know any of them (except maybe, like one) before we started this. So, not knowing any of the freshmen, we took them all to a college campus for a week to build community and so on and so forth. That means from around 7-10:30 at night, we are responsible for them. And we spend nearly every second together. For a week.

Just process that for a second.

First night, the girls on my floor were smoking weed in the dorms. Of course. (I have stories again! I typed to my significant other). Another student climbed out the third story window from a rope made of his sheets. The security guards found him and he told them that he "saw writing on his wall and was afraid." The next night, when he escaped (through a door this time...yay improvement!) he said "it was hot and I get stressed in tropical heat so I asked the security guard if I could go for a run outside and he said it was ok." We are in Colorado.  Hilarious. 

Not so hilarious? Woooo. I am going to have to be a tenacious pit bull of positivity and calm, because a handful of these boys have some serious trust issues. Not that I blame them-- you don't become totally apathetic, attention-seeking, utterly disrespectful, rude, or outrageous if you've had a good life. I'm sure the kids that act the worst are the ones who are the most damaged. No doubt. I know already that kids are going to ignore everything I say. I know already that they are going to walk out. I know I am going to get cussed out.  I know that I am going to have a hell of a time getting them to trust me, and then to respect me. I know I am going to have to be firm and hold my ground, but also be flexible. 

I know I am just going to have to tell them I love them anyway. I have to find the good, harness the energy, and flex it all in the right direction. Luckily, every person on my teaching team is incredible. We all think alike. We all know this is the fight we want to be fighting. We all know it is a war against so many things -- cultural biases and stereotypes, laws, family issues, gangs, poverty.... but that it is a fight we WANT to fight. 

I was in the thick of it before, make no mistake. But I have a feeling that those kids were my training wheels.

Oh dear, what has Miss J gone and gotten herself into now?

So, today I took the first official tour of my new school.

What?! Can it be so?! Returning to the classroom! Unheard of!

Well, as it turns out, I may have missed the kids. I missed having stories and feeling like I mattered. Not that long ago, I was able to go to my first group's high school graduation. To see my first legit group of 6th graders walk across that stage was pretty incredible. I may have cried. A lot. The experience served as one more reminder of how much I need being part of a community.

So, let's review experiences in education so far:

1. 5 years spent in Arizona at a Title 1 school teaching self-contained 6th grade (ELL) and 8th grade science

2. 1 year spent at a militaristic school parading as a utopia, teaching 7th grade science

3. 1 year spent designing curriculum (and teaching k-6) at a museum, and tutoring/designing intervention plans at a college access program for  9-10th grades.


And now?

My first foray into high school.

That's right. I am going to teach 9th graders. And I'm sure people are going to think I'm just as nuts as always. The school's vision is to create a bunch of revolutionaries that are concerned about social justice. The lens? Expeditionary learning. It is like.... they read my soul and put it onto paper.

We are year round.
We are extended day.
We do field work.
We take the kids on 3-4 night long trips across the country.
We have vast partnerships from slam poetry to scholarship funds to the YMCA.
We are 90% free and reduced lunch.

This school year is going to kick my ass. I can already feel it. The sheer amount of work that goes into expeditions, unpacking the standards and creating all the curriculum from scratch, of linking social justice and equality to everything.... is absurd. But I love it.

This year, I feel like I am going to do the work that matters. I think my voice is going to be heard. I am going to get to work with people that believe the exact same things that I do. That these kids matter. That education is a civil rights issue. That teaching should be a holistic endeavor and not a series of checklists. That relationships are the key to everything. That we should teach kids to question everything and fight for what's right. To stand up. To have courage. To persevere.  To go into their communities and do good.

Every time I leave this school, I feel refreshed, excited, and overwhelmed by the people who understand what it really means to be an Educator.

I am going to learn so much. I am going to have insane stories again. And I am going to keep trying to fix the world.

I really, really hope that this is my new home.