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Moorings from the Pier
At the Sunflower County Freedom Project in Sunflower, MS. Seen on TCU Civil Rights Bus Tour, 1/2013. Welcome to the latest edition of my personal blog, the first version for which I have used...
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Chips on the Table
I’m sitting in my motel room in Douglasville, GA, about to drive 30 minutes to Georgia Tech for Induction and Institute — a five week marathon of intense learning, growing and applying of skills. I am...
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A New Contract
Critics said the new Tom Cruise science fiction movie Oblivion really wasn’t that exceptional, but that won’t stop me from using it for an introduction to my reflection on the Metro Atlanta Corps...
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Promises to Keep
The first week of Institute has ended with a whimper, as I shuffle back to my apartments on the Georgia Tech campus after a Friday dinner social with little will to do anything but bury my face in a...
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Let’s Be Frank
One week of teaching at Institute has now concluded, as my start to the two-year-plus race has begun with me looking more like TCU’s Bleacher Creatures than TCU’s 100-meter dash champion Charles...
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Paved with Good Intentions
Another week down at Institute, with only about a week and a half remaining to somehow be placed on the right path to becoming a “highly qualified” teacher. Now, while the amount of learning here...
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Making Lemonade
The recent tone of my reflections on Institute has been more skeptical than substantive, as I have spent more time trying to dismantle what I thought were false narratives of social systems,...
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Weighing Anchor
With relief and gratitude, I pushed through the last few days of Institute and thanked the merciful powers that be in the Teach For America bureaucracy for giving me an extra four hours Wednesday...
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The House That Wendy Built
Why is Teach For America a controversial organization? An article featured in The American Prospect a few days ago outlined the creation of an anti-Teach For America national campaign filled with TFA...
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Representation without Participation? A Reflection on Atlanta’s “Justice for...
What does it mean to be a citizen? What are the responsibilities and the rights of membership in a political union? I have always been fascinated by this question, with my answers buried in...
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Educators as Givers: Review of “How Children Succeed” by Paul Tough
Successful reform movements must be driven by a powerful ideology to back up their conviction. We can probably name the intellectual supports for the big upheavals in recent history: the Enlightenment...
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Reversing the Classroom Resource Curse, One Hope at a Time
I couldn’t get too far out of college without making a reference to my social science background, and so I am capturing the past week with “the resource curse.” Properly used, the resource curse...
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First Week Blues: Schooling the Politics of Public Education
Blues music has become a bit more a part of my life since coming to Atlanta, and a recurring theme in blues or blues rock is a long, burdensome struggle with emotions and a journey to escape them. A...
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Does Effective Teaching Start from Head or Heart?
Two weeks of the teaching road have passed under my feet, and I am plenty covered in the dust and sweat of long hours in school. It’s hard to tell if my voice is scratchy and throat dry from...
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March on Washington 50 Years On: Let Freedom Ring From Stone Mountain
With four weeks down in the classroom, my blogging content decreases as both the gravity of the work and the humility from inexperience increase. Ever wondered how to perfect the “Wake Up, People!”...
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I Survived the Audition: Welcome to the Team!
What if the first couple of weeks of teaching was like The Voice? Call me crazy, but after watching some episodes idly with my roommates while grading papers in the past week, I’m convinced we could...
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An Open Letter to College Students on Public Education
Dear American college students, I’m sure you have had a lot of questions about our public education system, especially as you face decisions about whether or not to join the ranks of our nation’s...
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The Old Story: Review of “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man”
How about the race question? Of course I would bring up such a sensitive and recurring topic in the American story right around Thanksgiving. Aren’t the holidays the time to rest in the comfort of...
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A Christmas Carol for Education
What does Charles Dickens have to do with public education? Read on to find out, if you want to handle the increasing amount of what feels like social criticism from my blog. I don’t worry so much...
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I Heard the Bells on (the Fall Semester’s Last Day!)
Why does the work of educators matter? I feel like the question gets lost in the haze of conversations about education reform and the contentious debates in political arenas such as in Pittsburgh and...
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