 Completed First Year of Teaching 2017-2018 |  2020 Black History Showcase |
Sponsored 3 of my students to attend 2019 Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. My mentees and I, who have their own blog: her-diaries.com
Alvin Ailey Dance Company Live at The Orpheum in Memphis When I graduated from Wesleyan University in May 2017, I could not imagine all the prepared places that God had tailored-made for me! Although I found out that I would be doing Teach For America Mississippi (now the Greater Delta) in January 2017, it still didn't hit me that I would be moving 1400 miles away from home to the Deep South just 5 days after graduation. While most of my peers were celebrating with graduation parties, I was unpacking pieces of my college life, only to pack up again for adulthood. Even though the transition felt rushed, I truly believed that God had called me to do this service work in Mississippi (I'm from Brooklyn, NY). My parents couldn't see why, but when God calls you to do something, it's something that only you can understand. So, I'm grateful the Lord put my parents' hearts at ease.
On one hot June afternoon, I arrived in the Mississippi Delta with my mother and sister for moral support. I have been away from home before due to my boarding school and university experiences, but this time felt different. There were God's calling and the fact that I was moving for a job. I cannot lie that there were so many uncertainties that ran through my head. Could I teach? I didn't go to school for teaching. Am I too young to do this? Am I truly a leader? Am I ready to commit myself to this place, to the people, to the educational system for two whole years? I knew I was having an "Abram moment." The Lord called me to leave everything familiar to me and to serve in a new environment without a car, teaching position, place to live, or a certified teacher license (I still didn't pass my Praxis exam). I had no choice but to trust God and believe that His plans for me are of prosperity and not harm (Jeremiah 29:11).
At the end of my TFA training in July, I passed my English certification exam, obtained a teaching position at a middle school, purchased my first car, and signed a lease for a beautiful place. Hallelujah!!
Now I was challenged to start my first year of teaching. I experienced culture shock of the Mississippi Delta. I had to adjust quickly to the food, dialect, and other cultural norms that were unique to the environment. Based on oral histories from locals, I discovered that being an effective teacher meant understanding the socioeconomic challenges that affected students and their families for generations. The educational system that I currently work in has struggled to obtain a C accreditation and maintain qualified teachers. It has also endured the social stigma of being a failing school with limited resources and a lack of parent involvement. Therefore, my challenge was to overcome stereotypes made about low-income and at-risk children and envision a high-quality education that met the needs of all of my students in the classroom. With a lot of journaling and prayer, I decided to become more intentional about grade-level texts my students read and invest in the leadership skills of my students that went beyond the classroom. I knew it was important to build character, confidence and academic excellence in students.
During my second year, God gave me the vision to create a program that counteracted narratives surrounding low literacy rates and to prove the naysayers wrong. First, I created a blog titled, Inside Her Diaries, for middle school girls to articulate their experiences about growing up in the Mississippi Delta and for the first time, these students traveled to neighboring towns to recite their stories. The audience response was extremely encouraging! We also raised over $3,000 to sponsor three participants from Her Diaries to attend the 2019 Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. Our trip to D.C. This Summit emphasized the importance of positive female role models and the necessity of female representation and mentorship in political and educational structures. The girls came back even more inspired. I even have male students who want me to take them to a leadership conference! I recognized too how crucial it is to develop strong character in young males.
This creative program continued as I began teaching dance during my third year. As the only dance program in the District, I envisioned my students dancing in spaces that went beyond the classroom as well as the middle school dance project. I danced at Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted & Talented, and the way my dance teacher, Mrs. Hirschfield taught me how to love my body and to love my creativity, I wanted these girls to do the same. I fell in love with these girls because of their talent, creativity, and passion. I also challenged them to think outside of the box. With support from the parents, we went to see The Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform in Memphis at The Orpheum. It was amazing to see parents attend this live performance alongside their daughters and support me as an educator who loves their children. After the show, we enjoyed the rest of the day in Memphis sight-seeing and eating locally. For most of my students, it was their FIRST time going to Memphis (which is about a 1 hour 15 minutes from Clarksdale, MS). Weeks, later my students are applying for the Alvin Ailey Junior Division 2020 Summer Dance Camp. They are excited for this amazing opportunity.
My heart continues to grow even more content when I think about how good God is. He is SO good and I am so happy that I trust His call to come to this area and teach. I realized that teaching is also about exposing your students to possibilities that are not impossible for them to achieve. Currently, my 8th-grade students are journaling as part of the end of their project in my class. This activity stems from The Freedom Writers Diary book and film, as well as the need for educators to just listen to adolescents. Working in a Title I school district, we often spend so much of our conversation with other adults, but not enough time listening to teens who are most affected by our decisions. We should pause and just listen.
On one hot June afternoon, I arrived in the Mississippi Delta with my mother and sister for moral support. I have been away from home before due to my boarding school and university experiences, but this time felt different. There were God's calling and the fact that I was moving for a job. I cannot lie that there were so many uncertainties that ran through my head. Could I teach? I didn't go to school for teaching. Am I too young to do this? Am I truly a leader? Am I ready to commit myself to this place, to the people, to the educational system for two whole years? I knew I was having an "Abram moment." The Lord called me to leave everything familiar to me and to serve in a new environment without a car, teaching position, place to live, or a certified teacher license (I still didn't pass my Praxis exam). I had no choice but to trust God and believe that His plans for me are of prosperity and not harm (Jeremiah 29:11).
At the end of my TFA training in July, I passed my English certification exam, obtained a teaching position at a middle school, purchased my first car, and signed a lease for a beautiful place. Hallelujah!!
Now I was challenged to start my first year of teaching. I experienced culture shock of the Mississippi Delta. I had to adjust quickly to the food, dialect, and other cultural norms that were unique to the environment. Based on oral histories from locals, I discovered that being an effective teacher meant understanding the socioeconomic challenges that affected students and their families for generations. The educational system that I currently work in has struggled to obtain a C accreditation and maintain qualified teachers. It has also endured the social stigma of being a failing school with limited resources and a lack of parent involvement. Therefore, my challenge was to overcome stereotypes made about low-income and at-risk children and envision a high-quality education that met the needs of all of my students in the classroom. With a lot of journaling and prayer, I decided to become more intentional about grade-level texts my students read and invest in the leadership skills of my students that went beyond the classroom. I knew it was important to build character, confidence and academic excellence in students.
During my second year, God gave me the vision to create a program that counteracted narratives surrounding low literacy rates and to prove the naysayers wrong. First, I created a blog titled, Inside Her Diaries, for middle school girls to articulate their experiences about growing up in the Mississippi Delta and for the first time, these students traveled to neighboring towns to recite their stories. The audience response was extremely encouraging! We also raised over $3,000 to sponsor three participants from Her Diaries to attend the 2019 Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. Our trip to D.C. This Summit emphasized the importance of positive female role models and the necessity of female representation and mentorship in political and educational structures. The girls came back even more inspired. I even have male students who want me to take them to a leadership conference! I recognized too how crucial it is to develop strong character in young males.
This creative program continued as I began teaching dance during my third year. As the only dance program in the District, I envisioned my students dancing in spaces that went beyond the classroom as well as the middle school dance project. I danced at Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted & Talented, and the way my dance teacher, Mrs. Hirschfield taught me how to love my body and to love my creativity, I wanted these girls to do the same. I fell in love with these girls because of their talent, creativity, and passion. I also challenged them to think outside of the box. With support from the parents, we went to see The Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform in Memphis at The Orpheum. It was amazing to see parents attend this live performance alongside their daughters and support me as an educator who loves their children. After the show, we enjoyed the rest of the day in Memphis sight-seeing and eating locally. For most of my students, it was their FIRST time going to Memphis (which is about a 1 hour 15 minutes from Clarksdale, MS). Weeks, later my students are applying for the Alvin Ailey Junior Division 2020 Summer Dance Camp. They are excited for this amazing opportunity.
My heart continues to grow even more content when I think about how good God is. He is SO good and I am so happy that I trust His call to come to this area and teach. I realized that teaching is also about exposing your students to possibilities that are not impossible for them to achieve. Currently, my 8th-grade students are journaling as part of the end of their project in my class. This activity stems from The Freedom Writers Diary book and film, as well as the need for educators to just listen to adolescents. Working in a Title I school district, we often spend so much of our conversation with other adults, but not enough time listening to teens who are most affected by our decisions. We should pause and just listen.
"We should pause and just listen."
I was motivated because I believe in Teach For America (TFA)‘s mission statement that “every child —no matter where they live—should have access to a high-quality education that will lead to college, career, and expansive opportunities in life.” I realized that this teaching philosophy was more than an idea. It became my lifestyle, grounded in social justice activism and passion to empower students to be leaders in their communities.
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