Bodega Dreams for Brooklyn Students

Ahhhh....teaching in the NYC DOE is always an adventure.

As much as you might plan curriculum, give your administrators the lists of the books you need months in advance, etc., there is always an excuse as to why those books can't be ordered: budget cuts, waiting for another teacher/subject to get their lists in b/c they're a higher priority than you, oh--yes, we said we had $8K and wanted to buy books, but then the history teachers needed textbooks and they're $90 a pop,` sorry....

So, I am left to my own devices.

Besides my students begging me to buy the Twilight series as well as The Coldest Winter Ever for my classroom library (my husband refuses to let me spend our budgeted money on my classroom), I am in need of a class set of Bodega Dreams for my 11th grade curriculum.

I have posted a grant proposal on Donors Choose in an attempt to get these books myself. If you can even buy ONE book, that'd be super helpful. Or, if you need a tax deduction , shoot, buy me all 30 of 'em!

And, if you're a fan of The Great Gatsby and like an urban setting, you should read Bodega Dreams. It's a fantastic book to teach.

You'll get a handwritten thank you from one of my lovely kids. Promise.

Gracias!

(Self portrait of me and my 8th grade ESL kids on my first field trip ever as a teacher, spring 2001. I took them to Central Park and we had a picnic. They had never been, and their highlights of the day were making fun of the joggers, picking up men twice their age, and riding the carousel...Good times.)