Graduate

In all the pain, fear, and frustration I've been consumed with this past week, to stop the crying, I forced myself to focus on some light in the darkness. There is more to be said, of Trevon and students like him, but took my big bro’s advice of giving myself 30min to write and publish.
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“Ms. Sara you didn’t hate us, you just hated how much you loved us” - Trevon Stanford, HS graduate!
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You’d enter class like a tornado

You’d sit in class like…correction,

You’d roam class like a nomad

You’d participate in class like an entertainer

And you’d exit class begging for one more chance, knowing very well I’d cave.

You’d leave me frustrated – not with you but with me. 

You’d leave me exhausted

You’d leave me ready to quit

But ultimately, you’d leave me inspired…

Because sometimes you’d slip

Sometimes those sparks of genius would flicker

Sometimes the personas of leadership would grab hold

Sometimes your walls of protection would crack

And then sometimes, your vulnerability to feel successful would seep out

But they didn’t see you how we saw you

They saw you as a square peg not fitting into their round hole

They saw you as a problem not to be fixed but forgotten

They saw you as a list of steps to show yourself out.

Then you chose to leave, despite our plea

You said, I need to go where no one knows me

You said, don’t worry I got this

You said, I promise, just wait and see

A year went by and you pushed on

Another two years went by and you kept on pushing

Today your sparks of genius cannot be extinguished

Today your personas of leadership are your truth

Today you know success, steadfast on the future 

Today you graduated

And today, like you did back then, you leave me – and all of us who know you – INSPIRED.

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them.

My students have the natural tendency to tag anything in sight. In years past I used to scrub away all markings, despite the content... until I took the time to look at what I was erasing. With the exception of some inappropriate tags or notes to 'follow me' on Snapchat, most were the names of and messages to loved ones who have left this world or locked up.  It was only then that I realized by ridding the tables of their tags, I was in some way also silencing their voices.

At that point I decided I was going to 'lean in' and not only allowed but encouraged my students to leave their mark. However, I quickly found the tables (and clipboards) covered only in sentiments that focused heavily on loss and pain. I wondered, how could we use the tables to not only remember but honor their loved ones? How can we find and foster hope and motivation from the loss and pain? So I began to add some of my own tags: "You are Beautiful!" "You are a mathematician" "SMILE 😀" ... and then during one class, while helping a group of students with a problem, decided to use the table as my writing surface. Since then, students have joined in - still adding sentiments towards those they love and miss but also adding their own motivational sayings or proofs of math knowledge.

Our classroom tables have become living artifacts. They capture the voices and narratives of my students, both as individuals and as a family unit.

#IfYouCantBeatThemJoinThem #MiamiAlgebraProject #Room3076 #StudentVoice #UnconventionalStoryTelling #NoneOfUsIsAsStrongAsAllOfUs!

None of us is as strong as all of us!

As I have mentioned in previous posts, a year ago I moved back home to Miami to pursue a masters degree in Urban Education. Through my program, I have had the opportunity and honor to learn from and with Civil Rights Legend, Dr. Bob Moses.

In connection to my graduate work, I recently accepted a position as The Algebra Project (AP) teacher for a cohort of incoming 9th grade students at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. AP is a nonprofit organization and curriculum, founded by Dr. Moses, aimed to improve the math skills of our country's most disenfranchised students with under-performing math scores. The goal of AP is to prepare these students for college level math for college credit at the time of graduation, and provide them the foundation for future careers in science and technology. The program also incorporates civics education, as a way to help students take charge of their lives and improve their community.

This summer I had the privilege to begin to work with 25 of my students who will be apart of The Algebra Project in the fall. Although we started out as strangers, in 3 short weeks, we came together as a cohort (or "squad" as my students now call themselves) embarking on a journey exploring the language of mathematics through shared experiences and the every day language we speak. The summer was a success; not just for my students but for me me as well, experiencing and gaining the awareness of what it means that "it takes a village." The accomplishments of this summer could not and were not achieved alone; rather rested of the collaboration, help and support of a village: Dr. Moses and another AP coach, FIU grad students, professors & The Education Effect, a group of educators from Ireland, members of a group called The Dream Defenders, and parent & community organizer and her amazing ability to help mobilize and involve the parents and community members of my students.

I would like to invite you to join the village. Please consider supporting our efforts through a donation to our DonorsChoose Project. 

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/help-us-create-our-dream-algebra-project/1261540?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=project&utm_campaign=copyURL&rf=copyURL-siteshare-2014-08-project-teacher_365796

Join the other 39+ donors and help us fulfill our project goal before the school year starts on August 18th. There is no donation too small!

Please also check out these links to learn more about The Algebra Project and see pictures from our summer institute:

• FIU news: http://news.fiu.edu/2014/08/fiu-algebra-project-train-next-generation-of-stem-grads-teachers/79940

• NPR: https://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2014/07/29/how-the-algebra-project-helps-math-make-sense/

• Pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fiu/sets/72157645721590562

Thank you in advance for any and all your support.  

"None of us is as strong as all of us!"