THIS BLOG POST WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Really. This relevation is earth-shattering, so be prepared. Take a breath. Get ready to have your perspective shifted forever. It all starts with a little something I like to call “megossip.” What is this term, you may ask? As defined by the Bainbridge-Ward Dictionary*, “megossip” is “(n.) information…

“Leave your baggage at the door.” The past few weeks have been grueling for me — professionally and personally. I have been stuck in limbo, frozen just like the computers that my kids have tested on. As EOIs approached, I entered “triage mode,” prioritizing what was most important for my kids to succeed academically and…

On Monday, we tested. I has expected this day to be full of emotion — victory and disappointment and uncertainty and hope. I had expected this day to be a moment of truth, for me and for my students. It was a victory lap, an unexpected success, a wake-up call, and a hopeful sign of…

BIG NEWS. Our geometry test, scheduled for Friday 4/19, was pushed back to Monday 4/29. With this switch comes a major shift in review strategy & motivational gameplan — how do I keep my kids going for another week, when so many of them were ready to take the test on Friday? This past week…

My pre-calc class saved me yesterday, without a doubt. My lesson wasn’t as air-tight as I had hoped it would be, but my students were awake & alive & ready to learn. They were interested (& hard-working, even?) – asking about the reasons behind the math, not just copying down formulas & getting to the work. We let…

Sprinting. As teachers, that’s what we do 70% of our days. But at what cost? This weekend, I stumbled upon my reflection not in a mirror but in a New York Times article. What were these words of wisdom that sent my brain into overdrive? “He noticed that when I was anxious about something, I…

Ever since I became a teacher, I’ve started answering a lot of questions. My students ask me questions about my math objectives, my friends ask me questions about my social life, and my family asks me questions about my well-being. But on Wednesday night, at a dinner with TFA donors, I was asked a question I wasn’t fully prepared…

“I’m glad I came — intersession’s been a lot of fun.” Over this past week, my friends were exploring the streets of San Francisco and snowboarding along the Pennsylvania mountains. I, on the other hand, was still waking up before the sun rises and trudging with sleepy feet into John Marshall, spilling coffee onto my…

MY KIDS ARE INCREDIBLE. – While teaching 30+ middle schoolers, I had five high school “TA’s.” They circulated around the room, answered questions, and then taught the end part of the lesson in smaller groups. Thanks to them, the kids were able to grasp onto the material and work at a pace that matched their…

What does it mean to be a woman — a strong, successful, empowered woman? I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately — to assess my personal growth, and the growth of my students. Each day, I notice John Marshall female students acting in ways that promote themselves as empowered women…and in ways that degrade…

Today, I didn’t drive my students toward success. I led confusing & circuitous INM and struggled with classroom management. And I am prouder of my students than I’ve probably ever been. – DW (from my fifth hour class) didn’t have a cover during her fourth hour, so she came into my honors class & learned…

“I’m just here to take care of my own business.” One of my students has said this phrase since day one, and at first, I was taken aback. Didn’t she want to be part of a collaborative classroom culture? Didn’t she want to contribute to the success of others? Now, I understand that phrase differently.…

Amping up my behavior management may be the best thing that’s happened in my personal life in a while. Yep, you heard that correctly. The teacher who resisted negative behavior management and stressed out over consequences is actually enjoying it, learning from it, and starting to live her life by it. Growing up, I learned…

“I’m so proud of y’all!” “WHOA, it’s such a good day!” “…Huh?” “…You haven’t said that to us in months.” I shower my students with energy & positivity & happiness — to the point where they sometimes think I’m a robot. After a good class, or even a good discussion to reach a solution to…

My door handle has been acting up recently (it’s probably just as antsy for spring break as the rest of us). Just like the other moody things inside of my classroom (students only being one of them), it’s chosen to be wobbly and unreliable. On Tuesday, one of my football players would not stand for…

We have twenty-five class days until the EOI. My students will only step into my room twenty-five more times before they showcase their mathematical prowess on a test that unlocks their ability to graduate. It’s gametime. Today, I listened to my students drop some leadership knowledge during the Forward Thinking Program led by Sam Presti,…

Last night, I stepped up to the mic–for the very first time–and read some of my poetry. It felt exhilerating, nerve-wracking, and altogether liberating. After my performance, my roommate confessed that he had been skeptical about my poetic skills — and thankfully, I met that skepticism with a big “don’t-you-dare-doubt-me-you-jerk.” And here I am today,…

A wants to go to Harvard. M wants to be a pilot. Another A wants to be the President of the United States. And me? I want to…get through until tomorrow. Over the past few months, as I encouraged my students to think about their long-term goals, I had come to a sad realization: I…

This is where it all began. The room where we all met for the first time — where the “incoming” was dropped from our titles and we officially became corps members. Where “Teach For America” changed from some abstract commitment to a living, breathing entity that would inspire and challenge and frustrate and encourage us.…

Raise your hand if you think I only teach geometry. If you’re reading this blog, you primarily hear about my trials & tribulations in timeblocks 1, 4, 5 and 6. But what about 7th? Why, yes — I do have a class during that time. Why, yes — I do teach something other than geometry.…

“It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Proverbial wisdom has been ringing through my head recently (primarily in the form of Florence & the Machine). Not because I had experienced the hope of dawn, but because those words became all I had. I returned to some pre-fall break state of depression & angst. I felt like…

Note: This post was written a few weeks ago. I am publishing it for the sake of keeping up with my records & experiences, and perhaps, shedding light on the post I am about to write. It may give some valuable background and my headspace. My students accept behavior that is less than they deserve.…

Today, I am exhausted. From lack of sleep? Of course. From long days? Yep. But mostly from mental exhaustion. My mind has been on overdrive with ideas: for my classroom, for programs outside of my classroom, for my students, for my own identity. So much thinking. I’ve been meaning to blog for days, simply because…

POP QUIZ: When sitting at a class, staring up at a SmartBoard, holding a mini-whiteboard, you feel compelled to: (a) Fill every inch of your whiteboard with your signature, so that it’s absolutely perfect for the day when adoring fans scream for your autograph. (b) Text your friend from across the room, who you haven’t…

It finally happened. A new side of my teacher self made her debut appearance this afternoon. One of my students has been struggling to focus in my classroom for the past few months. He went from bringing his A game to distracting himself and everyone around him on a daily basis. He has incredible potential…