Contemplations with Mono

As I sit in my room for now the second full week of missed school with the oh-so-thrilling mono, I've had some time to think. A lot of time to think. At first, my thoughts were: what a freaking anti-climactic way to finish my two years teaching in Harlem through Teach For America! I'm sitting in bed with MONO?! Shouldn't I be laughing, crying, reflecting, hugging my kids, thinking "I made it," and other significant and emotional feelings flooding through my very being? Is mono making me side-step the emotions and the drama of it all?

But then I realized, no. I'm not done teaching. I'm not done trying to make a dent in education. Yes I'm moving schools, and yes I will close the Teach For America chapter (in a way), but I'm not done with this work, so there's not the same thrill of "it's over; I made it!" It's more: let's role up my sleeves for the next year and the year after and the year after that.

So next year, I will be working at a new charter school in Brooklyn called Leadership Prep Ocean Hill, which is part of the Uncommon Schools network. I will be part of the founding team of teachers, will be the lead teacher in my classroom, and will be teaching most likely.....KINDERGARTEN! Now, that is very, very different from 5th grade, which in many ways will make me feel like a first year teacher all over again.

So, as I sit in bed, with mono, for who knows how much longer, I'll take the time to mentally prep myself all over again for my next adventures in the classroom. Let's make it happen.