No excuses

Monday morning at 8 am I become a teacher. I have spent a sleepless week preparing, a week of training for 14 hours a day, but I am still alive (for those of you who were wondering). In my head I envision the most perfect classroom, flawless classroom management, with an unparalleled bond between teacher and students. I know it will not be this way, but I will hang onto this vision with the highest of expectations for myself, for who am I to preach high self-standards without practice? In accordance with the Teach for America mantra, I would like to consider my goal both ambitious and feasible, yet though it is aligned with the first quality, I realize it is not feasible. I will not be perfect, but I will expect the best of myself in order to attain the best that I can do. As Teach for America has nailed into my skull, great teachers are made and not born. I have become the voice of TFA, using phrases like 'relentless pursuit' in conversation when discussing my mission to set up my single roommates with the available male corps members. I am envisioning my first day, wearing heels that click for intimidation factor, because I teach for America now. And as they say in TFA, my focus is now solely on two things: student achievement and students achievement. And this is why:

"So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that some states use grade-level reading statistics as a factor in projecting future prison construction."

-Bob Chase, President, National Education Association

The neighborhood in which I will be teaching this summer and in the fall is called Bushwick in Brooklyn, New York, the 7th most impoverished neighborhood in NYC. Residents spend over 50% of their income on rent, a per capita income that already falls well below the poverty line, hovering around 11,000 dollars per year. The area is largely populated with immigrants from Latin America and local industry involves illegal but continued sweat shop conditions. There are high rates of childhood obesity and lead poisoning. 2/3 of the students at the school are performing below grade level proficiency on state exams. The challenges these students face are immense, and the teacher's locus of control is very small outside of the classroom. Inside of the classroom, however, the teacher's focus upon achievement and high expectations is the key to success. Sadly, most teachers do not choose to focus upon student achievement and student achievement and these children are held to such low expectations that they never are able to achieve or break the boundaries that bind them. Teach for America aims to redefine what is possible for these students.

This is the reason I am here, a statement which I remind myself now at least once a minute. In this moment, however, I am so tired that I don't even have the energy to do just that.