Countdown to Lockdown!!

As of today, I have 18 days before I have to be back at school and 27 days before the students come back. For those that don't know, I teach English to ninth and eleventh graders. Teaching is hard, but I love it. I’ll do a post or two later on the state of our educational system, but that isn’t was this is about right now.

Going back to school after chilling a lot over the summer is difficult. So rather than focusing on getting up at 5:45 AM, bad kids, tons of paperwork, and lesson plans, I want to focus on the positives of education. Tell me about your favorite teacher and why he or she was your favorite. What did that teacher do that set him/her apart from your other teachers. In your opinion, what makes a great teacher great? Or, tell me about a positive experience you had at school with a teacher, administrator, janitor, counselor, cafeteria worker, coach, etc. Basically, tell me sumin good!!!

I Miss Writing Poetry

I never knew I was a poet until I entered college. Most of the time I wrote about pain. My pain, normally from a relationship gone terribly wrong, fueled me to express my feelings in a poetic manner. I never knew sad language could sound so beautiful. Even though I was hurting, my poetry comforted me.

For a while now, I haven't been sad, depressed, or even hurt. I haven't written a "man hater" or a "God why me" poem in a long time. All of this can be attributed to two things: 1. I discovered a love for my Heavenly Father; 2. I discovered a love for my best friend (one of my best friends), my husband KB. I am happy. Im blessed. My cup runneth over. They give me a reason not to write--or rather, a new reason to write, but I find it much harder to write from this extreme than the other. I guess for a while now, I have associated my poetry with pain and anger. Now that I have a new schema for speaking methaphorically, expect to see a poem or two about being in love with love. ;-)

Excuse Me for Being Overly Race Conscious!

I love to run. I run on this asphalt path beside the main road in my neighborhood. Whenever I run, I may pass Hispanics, Blacks, whites, Asians; its a very diverse community. When you run on the path, most people run to the right side, just like how we drive on the right side of the road. Recently, I noticed how when I would meet some white people, they would be on the "wrong side." Normally, without thought, I would always move over to get out of the way. I would be all in the grass and sticks to let people pass, because Im just nice like that.

Then one day I thought, "Why am I moving over for these people? Why can't they move over for me?" Then I started thinking about my AFAM classes I took back in college. I thought about Fannie Lou Hamer who was beaten until she said "Yessir" to a white man. I thought about how Blacks used to have to get off the side walk and tip their hats whenever they met with a white person.

Ok, so yesterday I was out running. More like speed walking. Well, I came up on this white couple who were walking their dog . . . on the wrong side. Again, without thinking, I just moved right on over to the left side. And I thought to myself, "These people didn't even look as if they thought about moving over for me. They assumed I was supposed to move over." So I made a commitment to myself that if I saw another white person on the wrong side, I was not going to move over, just to see what happened. And sure enough, about 5 minutes later, I met a white woman walking her dog. I was walking too at this point. She didn't try to move over. I walked right up to her and her dog. I stopped. She stopped. She was not going to move over. I looked down at her dog because he was sniffing my legs, but I didn't move. Then she moved over and walked past. Her dog was still sniffing me (I bout kicked him, but it wasn't his fault); so she literally jerked his leash to pull him up to where she was.

I kept walking with a sly grin on my face.

Rev. DMX?

Rapper DMX is crazy. Take for example this YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtFOjUHcA4Y . But there is something about DMX that makes me think he is special. He has this new reality show on BET called, DMX: Soul of a Man, in which cameras follow him around, giving us insight to who he really is. On his show, and in the previous clip, he talks about how his true calling is to be a preacher.

I knew DMX was different because he would always have a long prayer on his albums, amidst wild cursing and violent lyrics. Some people may look at him as bi-polar or schizophrenic but I think, that maybe, God is talking to him. He could be one of those people who are in constant internal battle with what God wants them to do and with what they want for themselves. There are a bunch of "normal" people struggle with this same issue. So, with all of this said, do you take DMX serious when he says that his true calling is to be a preacher? Would you want to hear DMX preach a sermon? What would he have to do to convince you that he has become a man of God?

"Dang you've been out in the Sun!!"

Growing up, my mom, along with other black people I know, would make this comment after I've been out in the sun for while--meaning I had gotten darker. They would say it as if it was a bad thing to get darker. After hearing this, sometimes I would comment, "Well, I'll get lighter in the winter." Other times, I would rush off to the shower and try to scrub my skin so that the "darkness" would come off. Sadly, sometimes it worked.

Recently, my mom told me that she had told my 6 year old niece, Jaisen, that she was getting darker. Jaisen is fairly light skinned, but not light light (whatever that means, whatever that implies). She boldly responded to my mom with "Good, because I wanna look more like my momma." This comment did so much for me. Has society affected her in a different way so that she doesn't resent the color of her skin? Has having a Black Power, feminist aunt empowered her with a different voice? I was overwhelmed with joy when my mom told me this. I always tell my niece that she is beautiful and that her hair is beautiful. Maybe my work has not been in vain, and there is now one less black child growing up feeling self hate.

I love you Jai.

(By the way, Jaisen is the smartest, realest person I know.)

I Ain't Madd at Oprah

I am a huge Oprah fan. Im also a huge fan of supporting black businesses, black entertainment, etc. When I heard about the "beef" between Oprah and HipHop, I didn't know what to think or who to side with. After a little more investigating, I have to say that I side with Oprah.

So this beef supposedly started, correct me if Im wrong, after Ludacris criticized Oprah for: first, not wanting to invite him on the show to promote Crash, second, attacking him about his and other artists' lyrics, and third, for editing out his comments while on her show. His interview with GQ magazine sparked more lashing out against Oprah for not having HipHop artists on her show.

Well, Luda, what can I say? You should know Oprah is a huge feminist. She has been pushing this movement for women, especially young girls, to respect theirselves and be empowered. Many of today's HipHop artists contribute to reducing the woman to a sex object and help to facilitate a rape culture that exists in America. It would be counterproductive to have such artists on her show. Plus, half of the HipHop artists aren't talking about nothing:"GOOD googly moogly, that thang is juicy" or "Shake that laffy taffy."

Also, just because you're black, it doesn't mean that Oprah has to have you on her show. She doesn't owe you anything. Yes, Im sure it would be nice for you and your bank account to go on Oprah. Get over it. Ice Cube even argued, after he was denied several appearances, "She's had damn rapists, child molesters and lying authors on her show" . This is true, however, those guests acknowledged the error in their ways and were committed to changing.

Oprah has supported several HipHop artists such as Eve, Mary J., Kanye, Jaime Foxx, etc. To Luda and every other mad HipHop artist, stop talking about f**king, slapping a b**ch, smoking and dranking and write a song about something and maybe Oprah and her people will holla atcha.

Charter Schools Changing Education!?

Recently, my husband and I visited San Diego, CA for an education workshop. It was our first time traveling to the West Coast, and we had to constantly remind ourselves that we were not on vacation. The workshop was apart of High Tech High's Summer Institute 2006.

High Tech High is a charter school, created in 2000 by several businessmen and educators who were dissatisfied with the common problems plaguing today's school systems (i.e. the digital divide, the achievement gap, the lack of engagement, etc). Unlike traditional schools, HTH is a project based learning environment, in which students create projects to demonstrate what they have learned rather than take standardized tests. The projects provide independent, hands-on learning experiences for the students.

The classrooms are surrounded by glass on all sides in order to create an open atmosphere. I asked one of the school's architects if the students are easily distracted by students walking in the hallway or by the freedom of seeing into another teacher's room. He replied that the students are not distracted and he attributed their focus to the school culture he and his colleagues worked hard to create.

Since 2000, 6 more HTH charter schools have opened in or around the San Diego area. The schools, ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, educate roughly 2, 500 students. HTH has experienced great success since its initiation. One hundred percent of the students attend college and 80% attend 4-year institutions. Many school systems across America are looking to open their own "High Tech High" in the near future.

The success of the schools is centered on three principles: personalization, adult world connection, and common intellectual mission. These principles "[respond] directly to the needs of students, all three principles connect to the broad mission of preparation for the adult world. Moreover, all three call for structures and practices that schools do not now routinely employ" (http://www.hightechhigh.org/about/design-principles.php).

After a short 3 day visit, I can hardly serve as the voice of HTH schools. Visit http://www.hightechhigh.org to find out more.