let love move me.

Like this. And it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to hear a soliloquy I loved so much already, and have it come to life in a way it never, ever, did before. I feel like I grasp his motivations, his twists and turns, no longer on an academic level but on a visceral, instinctive one. Because he’s presenting his mental and emotional journey in a way that speaks honestly, like a real person.

1.  Sleeps in class 2.  Literally stares into space the whole period 3.  Is under the impression physical attendance equals an automatic pass 4.  Mumbles, then complains the teacher doesn’t understand them 5.  Doesn’t understand what “put your phone away” means 6.  Comes to class stoned most of the time 7.  Makes a mess; never cleans after themselves 8.  Needs to shower… with soap 9.  Doesn’t understand what respect actually entails 10. Not nearly as intelligent as you believe

“You and your child need family therapy because this household is so toxic and abusive. Your kid is a jerk because you are a jerk and your parents were probably jerks to you. Break the cycle so your kid stops inflicting harm on everyone around them as well as themselves.”

by Phillip Lopate

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron: Penelope did this too. And more than once: you can’t keep weaving all day And undoing it all through the night; Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight; And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light, And your husband has been gone, and you don’t know where, for years, Suddenly you burst into tears; There is simply nothing else to do.

Before I became a mom, I KNEW I was going to sleep train my daughter. There was no way I would allow her to sleep in bed with us. I would NEVER give in and feed her in the night. I would have discipline and structure in my life.

So, yeah. Spoiler alert. That didn’t work out. She does what she wants. I let it happen. 

I am the only person in the world who is surprised.

But I was so much smarter about child-rearing before I was doing it. I was an expert. I had parenting down.

It is much like that with teaching. 

Before you get into a classroom, you are a really, really awesome teacher. 

You have so many ideas.

You know so many cool activities.

You know how curriculum decisions should be made.

You got this.

I recently met a pre-service teacher and her confidence was astounding. I was there, all ready to Yoda her through the training, but basically, she schooled me. Did she have questions? Nope. Did she have opinions? Nope. She had answers.

I remember being that girl. 

I remember that energy.

And it is kind of beautiful.

The tricky part is to keep some of that lovely self- assurance when the boat of your pedagogy begins to smash against the rocks of experience. The trick is to keep the hope when you lose the certainty. It is easy to become jaded instead of wise. And very hard to remain creative and optimistic when you are tired and burned out. 

Emma Gonzalez

Malala Yousafzai

Ruby Bridges

Greta Thunberg

Mari Copeny

Autumn Peltier

Afreen Khan

Sophie Cruz

Charlottesville Black Students Union

Naomi Wadler

DAPL protestors (names not found)

by Lucille Clifton

some of us know we have never felt safe

all of us americans weeping

as some of us have wept before

is it treason to remember

what we have done to deserve such villainy

I’m like: