For Mckinley

You died
And my voice awoke

You died
and a voice inside of me
that I'd forgotten I'd forgotten
was nudged back into reality

A faint whispering existence
Apprehensive.
Unready to escape the unsure lips
of a body that unknowingly held it
trapped
and waiting.

You crossed your finish line
and in your stopping of time
reminded my core
that our innate connections go unspoken
Are broken.
Ignored fragments of memories
We've forgotten we've forgotten.

Memories of life-altering significance.
That we've conveniently tucked away
in the crevices of the monotony of reality.

You died
And I remembered to remember
that my voice will only be heard
if I acknowledge it. 
If I pick up a pen and blank pages
and  give it the time and space
to speak.

Oh, Misr

July 12-August 1st. I'm willing to bet that this will be unlike any other Egypt trip....

A Blessing in disguise?

I'll preface this article by saying generally a fan of unions for the most part, but the "last hired first fired" rule is a bit ridiculous. I'll be blunt: the number of tenured teachers at public schools who are not only a waste of space, but actually an obstacle to effective instruction, is painful. The fact that these teachers get paid a ridiculous amount more than I do and simultaneously make it harder for me to teach makes me wonder: why do we waste so much money on keeping ineffective teachers inside school walls? Why is it unheard of to fire ineffective, tenured teachers?

I'll also say, there are many tenured teachers who have been educators for 10, 20, 30 years, and are such remarkable instructors. I learn from them every single day. However, because they're so amazing, there's no way they would be asked to leave due to a change in last hired, first fired. What principal would get rid of a remarkable educator with 20 years of experience?

I can see the finish line...and beyond?

It's mid-April. The whirl-wind of being a Teach For America corps member is close to wrapping itself up into a neat little memory. The agony of grad school at Pace will only last for 3 more class sessions (Thank God). And my life as a second-year teacher at PS 161 will be behind me in less than three months.

So, what's next? Will I stay at PS 161? Will I move to another school in NY? Will I move to the Dominican? Oh, so many questions left to answer.

Something I know about myself (that I was reminded about today...thanks Trent:) ), is that I like to know what's next. When I have an opportunity available to me, I like to jump on it with no reservations. I also like to feel like I'm in control of what's next. Meaning, I pick what I want, then I zero in my efforts on getting it. I dislike applying for lots of things at once. I would rather just focus on getting the one thing I want. Now, this might not be the most efficient or intelligent way to make a decision, but hey, it's worked for me so far.

BUT, even though I find it very, very, very hard, I will TRY to listen to Trent and attempt to let myself wholly consider multiple options for at least one or two weeks. Sigh. For now, I suppose what lies beyond the finish line will remain a question mark.

Here's to May

In March, I thought: 
This month is non-stop. I have no time to breathe, work out, or sleep.  Just need to make it to April. April will be easier..

It's April. It's. not. easier. Now, I'm thinking:
I thought April would be easier? Why does it feel harder? Just need to make it past the tests. Just need to make it to May. May is the month it will get easier.

Dreamschools

 Katy and I are co-blogging. Here's a summary of our thought process (Written by: Katy Hayes) 

yesterday.
Sara: We should start a school one day. One that works.
Katy: Yes, we should. Let’s do that.

today.
Sara teaches brilliant yet sassy 5th graders in West Harlem. Katy teaches beautiful bilingual 2nd graders in the Rio Grande Valley.

tomorrow.
Our goal is to start a school that provides a meaningful education for children from low income backgrounds.
This blog is to help us organize our ongoing conversation about what our school will look like.

photo blog

it's nothing super sweet yet but the hope is, it eventually might be: