You set up your place in my thoughts, moved in and made my thinking crowded.

It's my last day of my first year of teaching.  All I can think about is how far away this moment as seemed for so long, and now it's actually here.  I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes and, believe me, I'm more surprised than anyone about that.  It's harder -- much harder -- than I thought it would be to say goodbye to these little people who have made me so humbled, happy, frustrated, hoarse, tired, sad and proud for the past year.  As much as you don't want to admit it sometimes, these kids get under your skin, yet somehow, in doing so, make their way all the way into your heart.

They have been in my every thought since August, and I wonder what I'll worry about all summer now that I won't have plans or assessments or behavior management to think about every second of every day.  Maybe I'll be able to read a book without thinking about how I could use it to illustrate cause and effect, or change in setting.  Or maybe I'll still worry about them and whether or not they are reading and who is passing summer school and are they being nice to people and if the helmets are strong enough at football camp.

For today we're cleaning up our classroom, eating ice cream and having a dance party.  As we do that, I wanted to say thank you to Jada, Nicholas, Aja, Winston, Bishesh, Jennifer, Lawrence, Samrawit, Cindy, Marzae, Amina, Xavier, Vanessa, Leul, Zoe, Roxana, Rijan, Karen, Kristopher, Mariah, Armari, Jaslyn and Amaya for letting me be their teacher, and for letting me into their lives.  It's been a privilege to be there.

xo kate

If you're sexy and you know it put your hands up and show it...

Currently the one and only sexy thing about my job is that in four days it will be over for 6 weeks.  But I'll take compliments wherever I can get them.  (This would be funny if it wasn't quite so true.)  Teach for America, the second sexiest job you can have.  Clearly the authors of this piece have never actually been to a Teach for America event, which may be the least sexy thing in history.  Especially if that event is institute.

xo kate

Sometimes I love children.

Just not the ones in my own class, this week.  These kids are pretty funny though.

Kids (first grade) had to finish the common sayings and idioms.

xo kate

Just ace it

We're in full test-taking mode here in teacherland, with the DC-CAS starting throughout the city (and, for the very first time, in second grade) on Tuesday.  Although I just generally hate all things test-prep and test-stress related, my school did throw a really fun pep rally this morning to get the students psyched for Tuesday.  It started with all the students in the lower grades lining the hallways to cheer for the testing students as they ran into the auditorium for the pep rally.  Several of my students exclaimed that it was the greatest moment of their life.  Something you learn pretty quickly as a teacher is that second graders speak, nearly exclusively, in hyperbole.  But it was pretty cute.

At any rate, my school is very into student performances, and there's an unspoken competition between teachers about whose class does that best performances.  Fifth grade generally takes it for content, because they are just so much bigger, but the second grade has been known to pull it out as well.  This time, I learned on Wednesday afternoon that my students would be performing on Friday morning, so the pressure was on.  Given my competitive nature and uncanny ability to rewrite pop songs, I decided that my kids would make a music video.  Unfortunately, I couldn't convince the boys that it was completely awesome to do a synchronized dance on video.

xo kate

A person's a person no matter how small.

Dr. Seuss is one of two authors that made me love to read.  (The other was Roald Dahl.)  I struggled to learn to read -- I was a low reader through first and second grade -- but when I got it, when it clicked, I read everything.  And I haven't really stopped since.  Loving to read has changed the course of my life and currently I spend my days, largely, trying to convince 23 second graders to love to read as much as I do, because I know it will change their lives too.  Thankfully, I have Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl and Jon Scieszka and James Marshall and Giles Andreae and about a thousand other fantastic authors to help me along the way.

In a crowd of giants, Dr. Seuss stands the tallest to me.  I love him, not just because Green Eggs and Ham is inspired by my hometown -- Hanover, New Hampshire -- but because his wit and humanity shines through in all his writing.  Dr. Seuss teaches us to care about our environment, not to be racist, to believe in our dreams and to love the people around us.  Today would have been Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday and is a holiday in hundreds of thousands of school across America.  In my classroom, we'll be eating green eggs and ham (technically turkey bacon because I'm not allow to serve ham to students) and talking about our favorite books.  For those of you who don't spend the day with seven and eight year olds, here's an opportunity for you to celebrate at your desks with the wise words of the great doctor.

xo kate

Thanks Baby E.

xo kate

We don't have to wait for destiny, we should be the change that we want to see...

I know that you've spent all day wondering what possibly could have caused me to need a five hour nap yesterday and to miss Eminem winning Grammy number 12 -- luckily I woke up in time for win number 13 -- well, wonder no more, wildcats.  I spent this past weekend in DC visiting some of my very best friends from graduate school who were attending Teach for America's 20th Anniversary Summit.  I didn't attend the conference (by the time I decided to go it was sold out), and instead spent the day with my best friend and Wellesley big sister, Lauren, at Sidwell Friends School -- a very different kind of school than the ones I typically spend time in -- which was lovely.  In addition, I got to hang out with some of my very favorite educators, and, in doing so, had the chance to be reminded of a couple of things; (1) teachers are really fun and (2) sometimes I forget to that I'm so lucky to be working toward educational equality with such a smart, innovative and dedicated group of people.

I work in and study education reform because I, like Teach for America, believe that one day all children will be able to attain an excellent education.  However, when you work in a broken system, one piled high with bureaucracy and inefficiency, and bursting with well-intentioned people who don't know how to make change, it can be very easy to feel like one day is impossibly far away.  It is also too easy to treat the people around you like they are the problem and to forget that they, often times, are searching as fiercely as you are for a solution.  In my frustration with the slow pace of change, and my desperation to reach all students right now, I am nearly always guilty of blaming teachers, administrators and support staff for not trying hard enough, or not knowing what to do.  Although I will steadfastly refuse to put the needs of adults ahead of the needs of students, Camika Royal words this weekend remind me that when it comes to one day, we are all in this together.

Reflections: Camika Royal (Baltimore '99) from TFA 20th Anniversary Summit on Vimeo.

Teachers are the key to education reform -- the single most important factor in fixing our schools is getting a high quality teacher in every single classroom.  Teaching is hard, and great teaching is all-consuming, nearly impossible work.  But, as Camika says, in order for our students to do and be better, our teachers must do and be better.

Spending the weekend with some of the very best teachers and (current and future) leaders in education -- those who already are better -- was uplifting, inspiring and motivating.  These beacons, who I am fortunate to call friends, made me think that maybe one day isn't so far away after all.

John Legend Performs from TFA 20th Anniversary Summit on Vimeo.

xo kate

Dr. King's legacy

It was the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who said, "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable...  Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and the passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Teachers who inspire me -- thank you.

As we remember him today, let us not forget those brave individuals who have continued Dr. King's movement for the past 43 years.  The teachers, politicians, academics, community organizers, parents and citizens who tirelessly devote their lives to justice and equality.  In millions of unnoticed ways they fight to keep Dr. King's dream alive.  It is because their quiet heroism that we continue to move toward a more just society.

So, today, let us celebrate Dr. King's life and message by thanking those who honor it every day.

xo kate