This past week I had a portfolio assignment where I had to write emails for possible future situations. These emails were responding to student/parent concern or me expressing my concern for a student’s behavior and grades. I think about how hard it is to write to students about their grades or behavior being a student myself. I think about how scary it was to write to a teacher asking for help or for some extra credit and I think about the teachers who responded kindly and those who responded less kindly. 

I remember being in Middle School and receiving a C- in my science class. I truly and wholly believed it was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. I thought it would ruin my life, my future, all my chances and I was certain my parents would kill me. However, I still made it to college just like everyone else. 

Many students put themselves under a lot of pressure regarding their academic success, and many parents put their children under this pressure as well. I found it difficult trying to contextualize the situation without sounding like I did not care. A grade is just a grade, but to a high schooler trying to get into college it’s everything that matters. It’s the only thing that matters. However, that is not true. 

I learned that in the future these correspondences will happen often and although they seem rather awkward and tough to word, I need to learn how to be able to write to upset and frustrated students and parents. I also need to remember to hold firm to classroom policies and explain that it would not be appropriate to make exceptions for some students regarding grades and extra credit. 

Lastly, I wanted to say that I need to always remember to add a kind, cheerful/hopeful note and the end of the email. I think that is something parents and students need in their lives. Every kid wants to do their best, and sometimes saying something encouraging is all they need. 

It’s been fascinating to live during a time like this. Because right now we live in a world where we have to line up 5 feet away from each other at Home Depot, where we don’t have the option of eating at a restaurant, and where the government has recommended we leave our house no more than one time a day, for no more than a walk around the block. We live in a world where my Mom calls me to say something like this, “Oh my God, your sisters are driving me crazy. I can’t even send them anywhere!” These times of social distancing have been lonely and pressing. Not just because we can’t see our friends or because we’re stuck with our families, but because we can’t even legally spend time among the general public. There is currently no general public about. 

These “lonely” times provide the one thing everyone is always desperate for more of; time. I know that I have spent these homogenous hours reflecting on myself, my relationships, and the type of world we live in. Because even though these times have shown me that I have to be ashamed of the fact that my own mother is hoarding toilet paper and rice, they have also shown me how kind people are. How willing they are to adapt to a different type of world, for the sake of a few lives. And how much kinder everyone seems. Even though most of our country is unemployed and struggling to pay rent. 

 I know that not everyone has been kinder, but for the sake of argument let us just say I am rounding up. There are several ways to be of service to those in need during these trying times. There’s been lots of talk about supporting local businesses by buying their take-out, or even purchasing gift cards. (You get bonus points if you give away the gift card to someone in need). There’s of course easier less expensive ways too. This can include merely smiling at the person you are passing with a respectable distance. This could also look like offering someone much older or who is clearly at risk with buying their groceries. 

We are currently experiencing strange and unknown times, uncharted territory, and what seems like if we blinked fast enough could just be called the twilight zone. But here we are all tucked away at home, just waiting. And while we wait, we might as well pass a little joy with the time.  

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to try new things. I have found that because of my anxiety I often stick to what I have always done. Kept the friends I have and rarely take a leap of faith. This summer that was supposed to change. I had a study abroad trip planned; I was going to be in Zambia for three weeks, and without knowing a soul going before I left. The not knowing anyone gave me some pause, but if you spend your whole life not really getting to know anyone than what’s the point? This was also a way for me to see and experience first-hand what it would be like teaching English in a place where I don’t know anyone, much less the language. Something, I could see myself doing in the future. However, I am ashamed to admit that a part of me was relieved when I found out the trip was cancelled. I didn’t have an extra load of classwork the remainder of the semester, and of course I now do not have to go somewhere out of my comfort zone.  

As much as going new places and meeting new people by myself is a stressor for me, it is also doubly exciting. It’s so interesting to see how big the world is and feels, and yet meet someone from home 10,000 miles away. Someone you would have never met before. I suppose my question is: How is one supposed to try new things when they are unable to leave their homes without endangering the health of themselves and others? I have some ideas regarding this matter, however when a wrench is thrown into every last plan, then it really does feel like the walls are caving in at an alarming rate. 

When that feeling happens, we turn to things we find that are familiar. For instance, I turned to all of childhood my journals. I re-read my middle school journals multiple times and realized that I had actually looked up prompts for myself and wrote to them, every day for a month out of the year. I also realized how much I have changed, and that was something that surprised me. I realized that I used to pray every day, something I barely remember doing, and of course I used to read and write for fun every day. I wonder why I ever stopped doing those things? But you see, my middle school penmanship, active imagination, and the fact that I wrote several pages at a time in pink, purple, and even on occasion yellow highlighter provided plenty me with plenty of amusement. 

Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with trying new things and putting yourself out there, especially if it’s all about reading and writing all by my lonesome self. However, how often are we truly and completely honest with ourselves about our past experiences, our mistakes, and even our own feelings. I think that deep self-reflection can be a good thing for me. Maybe I’ll finally discover why meeting new people is so scary to me, and so exciting to others. Or maybe I’ll finally discover why I decided to write full journals in highlighter 6 years ago like a crazy person. Either way, I am excited to learn more about myself in these next few months. And I hope you are too! 

The corona virus is all anything people seem able to talk about. For the first time ever, we have no sports or no large audiences to watch these sports. Parades, festivals, concerts, even Disney, is closed or cancelled. Spring breaks have been ruined, and the economy has taken a nose-dive. The never-ending conversation regarding school closures, deceased rates, age-risk zones, and the fact that every grocery store in America is out of toilet paper is leaving citizens scared, and with feelings of extreme uncertainty regarding our future. 

Students are just as uncertain as everyone else. Their education hangs in their teacher’s and professor’s ability to communicate and teach effectively on the internet. Which leads me to ask one simple question: How prepared are American school systems to fully teach online? If we look at an article by Dana Goldstein from the New York Times that asks this same question, than we can see that American schools and its students are not equipped to teach and learn online. 

The article says that although many health officials have not determined whether closing schools and universities will greatly aide in the prevention of the virus, thousands of schools are looking at closures, and others have completely cancelled this second semester. This epidemic has affected at least 20 million students. The article continues to explain that educators teaching online cannot be expected to provide an equivalent education to their students. The NY Times also takes into consideration that students who cannot afford the technology to be online for class cannot learn; and as I have learned in pervious education classes half of America’s public-school students live in some degree of poverty. Teachers who have had to teach online stated, “it is not unusual, educators say, for siblings to try and complete their schoolwork on a single cellphone.” This of course is less than ideal, but it also shows that students who are not wealthy will not have the same opportunities to succeed in schools. In fact, I know first-hand that the entire Milwaukee Public School System has shut down for the next 3 weeks, with no attainable plan to educate its students. In addition to hurting impoverished students, many students with physical and cognitive disabilities will struggle as well, especially without one on one and face to face assistance. 

Lastly, the author ended with this quote, “If you think about it, the school is a city we provide to kids. . . when the city shuts down, no online learning platform can replace all the structure and vibrancy that is lost.”  Educators and students must be brave and try their best. However, this epidemic needs to be a lesson to all Public Schools that their district must be prepared to teach online, because kids can’t afford to not be in school. 

Throughout my short education on the education system, I have noticed that someone or something is always being left out. In the past, students were separated by skin color and teachers were only allowed to teach if they had the right skin color and beliefs. Today, we still see a lack of diversity in our public education system. Students are separated in schools based on social class and nothing else. There’s a large amount of inequity in our education systems that stems from past prejudices. 

Growing up I always went to the best public schools, in fact, my parents made it a point to live in neighborhoods where we had that opportunity. Parents were actively involved in their children’s education and almost every student succeeded. It wasn’t until I met my future best friend, Liliana, that I realized this wasn’t the experience of every child. She grew up in Milwaukee where class sized were often 35 to a teacher and if a student got a B they were seen as someone who tried too hard in school. She remembers that drugs, alcohol, and fighting were common in her middle school; none of which I experienced. I wondered how she could grow up 15 minutes from me and have had completely different experiences. 

I was reading an article from Education Leadership, and they said that in some school districts each student is allocated $15,000, and in others there is less than $4,000 allocated per student. How did a united country allow for such unequal school funding? How are students expected to succeed, if they aren’t being given the same opportunity too? 

A lot of this lack of funding stems from school funding being taken from property taxes, so richer areas have much nicer and more successful school districts. They are able to pay teachers more and can purchase the resources necessary to ensure students are learning all that they can. I think that the inequity of schools also leads to the lack of diversity in schooling, because minority groups are often in lower class neighborhoods. If school funding can be more equally distributed throughout schools we can help increase graduation rates, teacher pay, and this can benefit all communities. 

While leading a discussion in the classroom a few days ago, we were speaking about the history of patriotism in classrooms. Historically speaking, the book Teacher Wars explains that in the 1930s, “Teachers who did nog purchase Liberty Bonds, did not display the American in flag in their classrooms, or did not salute the flag were depicted in legion literature as “fifth column” loyal to the Soviet Union. Speaking on this topic it was only natural that the Pledge of Allegiance came up. I can remember methodically saying it since Kindergarten. Being 5 years old, I wasn’t even sure what “pledge of allegiance” meant, which means I most certainly didn’t know what “Republic under God” meant either. Which led me to wonder whether this blind patriotic or nationalistic routine that we teach young children is harmful of not?

One if my fellow classmates shared her experience of having to say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag as well as the Texan flag. This routine seems very strange to me. Teaching children to pledge their loyalty to their country’s flag when they barely know what a country is seems like blind nationalism. Another fellow student shared her experience with the Pledge of Allegiance. She went to school abroad for the majority of her life until 7th grade when she came to the US and heard the Pledge of Allegiance being spoken. She said it reminded her of a cult. She also said that she has not experienced anything stranger than seeing a group of students her own age speaking to a flag every morning. Her refusal to participate almost got her suspended. Which leads me to ask another question, Isn’t that against the First Amendment? Or, is it school policy?

My fellow classmate’s experiences made me feel very uncomfortable. No one should be able to make someone say a loyally pledge when they don’t believe it. In addition to this, is the line “under God” appropriate for school children? Many children in the public education system do not believe in the Christian god, and if church and state have to be separate then where is the line supposed to be drawn? What needs to be taken into account is what makes students feel the most comfortable. If we don’t teach young students the meaning of the pLedge of Allegiance then we absolutely do not have the right to make them say it. Teachers shouldn’t have that right anyway.

Forced Patriotism in schools shouldn’t be allowed, just like enforcing religious ideologies. At my high school for years we had graduation at a big church right across the street on account of our field house having no air condition. A parent took the school to Wisconsin’s supreme court where they ruled that graduation should not be held in a church, especially where the crucifixion of Jesus is displayed rather predominantly in the center of the church. We debated this issue in my principles of American democracy class. Several students, Christian students, argued that no one was forcing anyone to be a certain religion so why should it matter. I raised my hand and said, “If that was a Mosque across the street do you think that the school would have even approached them to host senior graduation?” No one responded. I knew that would be the case, especially having my step-mom and step-sisters being Muslim and witnessing first hand the verbal insults they hear daily while shopping at the grocery store or for new jeans.

I think that it’s too easy to think as white Christian Americans that there isn’t religious inequality in the US, or the US education system; that there isn’t a total separation of Church and state, so long as that church is a Christian church. This had made me realize that we need to be more mindful about how we teach students, especially young, students new things regarding religion and “American” values.

“Erecting the Wall of Separation between Church and State is absolutely essential in a Free Society”

Thomas Jefferson

I often think about what teaching my first class will be like. I think about a class of 20-30 high schoolers all staring at me, or rather through me. That’s my biggest fear, they’ll see through me and know that I’m afraid of a bunch of teenagers. I am afraid that they won’t listen to me, afraid that they won’t respect me, but most of all, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to make the positive difference in student’s lives that I want to.

I want my students to love reading and writing as much as I do, but I know that these aren’t activities that everyone excels at or even enjoys. But, because I love to do these things so much, and they are in fact the main reason I want to teach. I am afraid that I won’t be able to make these things interesting or “cool” enough for my students to take part in. I wonder how I can make my students not only do the reading, but want to do the readings and raise their hand in class.

Which leads me to my next fear, what happens if they never raise their hand in class? I have noticed throughout the years that it isn’t just the teacher that makes a class, it’s the students. Sometimes, the best way to learn is by discussing the subject with your fellow peers where the teacher is there to supplement information that was left out. It makes the class fun, and feel more like a conversation instead of lecture. However, students must raise their hand and have done the readings to participate, which is what a lot of my classes in the past and now have been missing. There has to be a mutual respect between teachers and students, and I am afraid that I won’t be able to foster an environment where this is possible.

I know that these fears are more like anxieties plaguing my thoughts before sleep comes. And, I also know that with time and practice these fears will hopefully go away; however, it’s way too easy to stress about things that are in the very near future. Especially if those things will turn into your livelihood. Which leads to my last point, teacher pay and education reform. I hope that by entering into this field I can make a positive difference. I want to be a part of the next generation of teachers who show America that we are important, well-educated, and that we do deserve better pay. After all, teachers are trusted with molding the minds, educationally and morally of the next generation. I know that I won’t be able to change things on my own, but I’m afraid that I won’t even be able to be a catalyst for change. Because the future should have equally funded schools and higher paid teachers, as well as stricter curriculum.

Even though I have a lot of fears regarding classroom management and whether or not I’ll be able to make a positive difference, I am very excited. I can’t wait to meet my first class of students, and teach my first lesson plan; even if that thought keeps me up at night.

In 11th grade I had my first class with my twin sister since kindergarten. It was an English class which she had been dreading and I couldn’t wait for, Our teacher, Mr.s S, took a rather special interest in the two of us. I was never sure why, but I am going to assume he wondered what everyone did about us; how are two girls, the exact same age, raised in the exact same environment so different from each other?

We weren’t the only students he took a special interest in because it was honestly the entire class. He read a book my friend Katie recommended to him, and never forced any of the shy kids to participate. Overall, I remember him being a good teacher and a good man, for more than one reasons.

One day during class he asked me if I ever wrote for fun. I was shocked at the question because no one had ever asked me that; even though I’ve been writing stories and essays for years. For the first time ever I let someone else’s eyes look at my work. I had romantic stories, mysteries, and even some essays on religion and the meaning of live. He showed up the next day in class and said to me, “Thank you for letting me read your writing.” I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t until the end of the day. Now, I am uncertain of the exact words we both said, but I remember feeling elated at the sound of someone who had read my work and appreciated it.

I know that maybe this memory does not have much impact on anyone but myself, however, I remember feeling for the first time a sense of pride and comfort at school. It was in that moment that I knew if I needed something I had someone I could trust. Trust is something that is necessary in classrooms. Teachers can’t teach if they don’t trust their students, and students won’t listen much less learn from their teachers if they don’t trust them. It took me a long time to find a teacher I could trust and a teacher that inspired me. I hope that one day I can be that for one of my students.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

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