New Terrain

Here in DC, we don't play. Sure, there's snow falling and they're calling for sleet and ice in a couple hours. But bring it on, we have school. When all the other districts around us either closed or ended school early yesterday, we in the district kept on going. Today, we only have a 2-hour delay. And you know what? It's been OK. No accidents, no problems, nothing. I was on the roads all day going to schools and it was fine.

Now, that's not to say our teachers (and maybe a few students) weren't doing snow dances and up at 5 am obsessively refreshing the DCPS closings page. But once you lose the disappointment of having to go to school after hours of praying to the snow gods, we're actually proud that we're not pausing for the snow day, because quite frankly, the achievement gap isn't either. That said, thank goodness for those extra two hours of sleep.

Posted by Jessica Shyu at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Like so many of us from Teach For America and all over education, my manager didn't start of dreaming of teaching children, arranging centers or discussing student assessments. He wanted to be a poet, he earned a Masters in African Studies from Cornell, and he tried for a Fulbright to Africa. Then he joined Teach For America. And over the past decade, as classroom teacher, school principal and trainer of new TFA teachers, he hasn't left education or the fight to close the achievement gap. That doesn't mean he hasn't left social justice work or poetry.

This is a piece he wrote to kick our teachers off to the new school year back in August. But I can't think of any better words to commemorate this magical and awe-inspiring time for our children and for ourselves. More thoughts on MLK Jr. Day and Inauguration to come. In the meantime, here's to hope.

“No Day, One Day, Some Day Real Soon”
by MenSa Ankh Maa
Sam Cooke sings “A Change Is Gonna Come” in my memory as now, we prepare for what will be the first day of the rest of our lives; both for us and our children in the DC Region.

No day, one day, some day real soon.

No day: When the very laws of this nation stand in direct contradiction to our founding principles.
No day, slavery.
No day, genocide.
No day, segregation.
No day, immigration laws.
No day, Plessy Vs. Ferguson.
No day, Rodney King, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, DeAunta Farrow.
No day, the legal oppression of women.

No day, one day, some day real soon.

One day: Visions of what could be, but has never been.
Strides toward freedom, but the finish line of the race keeps changing, as do the rules of engagement.

One day, when the nine brave students of Little Rock, willingly laid their lives on the line so Black and White children could go to the same schools with the same resources.
One day, when Wendy Kopp had a vision that all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
One day, when a school chancellor had the courage to take on a union that did not serve the children and families who paid their salaries.

No day, one day, some day real soon.

“Some day real soon” is the hope and faith in what can be, but never was.
Some day real soon, when all of us can proudly claim this nation as ours without remorse or feeling like a hypocrite.

Some day real soon, we may not only have a Black president, but one who will radically change the status quo of politricks in this nation.
Some day real soon, the test scores of children in Congress Heights or Anacostia will beat the pants off many students in private schools in Georgetown.
Some day real soon, capitalism will be turned on its head as students of all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds have the knowledge and skills to be competitive in a global market.
Some day real soon, our vision will align with the priorities of this nation and we will all believe in every child’s potential.
Some day real soon.

But today is all we have. Today we remember what has brought us here and chart a course for where we need to go. Today we act on our faith and put much of the world on our backs.

Today we teach.

Posted by Jessica Shyu at 5:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy New Year! First off, there's a great discussion going on about Michelle Rhee's philosophy and tactics for ed reform. I'm currently on vacation in Taiwan for lots of family time and limited Web time. I can't wait to jump back in to the conversation when I return on January 13th, but in the meantime, keep the passionate debate going!

Secondly, this article on the enormous impact of mentoring caught my attention on Christmas: "Mentor Helps Hispanic Teens Stay in School." It profiles the work of amazing people out there who are neither certified teachers nor child development specialists nor experts on character development. Rather, they are the everyday wonders who are personal and positive supporters, cheerleaders, tutors, educators and role models for many kids from underprivileged backgrounds.

This reminded me of my current-favorite commercial out there by Big Brothers, Big Sisters, set out to recruit mentors for youth...

... which reminded me of a heartfelt conversation I had a couple weeks ago with a family member during parent-teacher conference day at Anacostia High School. The older gentleman was missing a number of teeth and walked with a limp. He had grown up "doing shady things" in the streets of Anacostia growing up and had learned a lot of things the hard way. But because he had a mentor through church, he figured out the right way to go. Over the years, he also became a mentor to other boys to help make sure they stayed in school and stay optimistic. He passionately and eloquently insisted that the key to closing the achievement gap in the roughest and poorest parts of DC was having mentors for each and every child so they would always have a strong and positive support system...

... which reminded me of an old friend, a Boeing engineer with no previously known interest in children, who decided to become a mentor in his Seattle community on a whim. Imagine my surprise when he mentioned this a week ago. He just came back from a ropes course and is now working to build a trusting relationship with boys with emotional and behavioral issues...

... which reminds me of the most incredible senior in Washington, DC, my mentee "Wendy." She arrived from China just three years ago knowing barely any English. Today, she can read, write and speak English with ease. She takes AP courses along with French and Spanish, and volunteers at a soup kitchen and at her school's Math Lab. We were paired up this past summer through Asian American LEAD, a nonprofit organization working to support under-resourced communities in DC.

We work on her college and scholarship applications, among other things. She's done an amazing job on her own over the past few years, but there's so much more information, support and help she needs to make this final push to college so she could pursue her dream of becoming an architect...

And what does she want to do immediately after college? Join the Peace Corps, so she could give back to people with the greatest need around the world. Mentoring is education. And education has a neat habit of coming full circle.

Posted by Jessica Shyu at 1:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)