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.)

Wassup

i am so obsessed with this election.
this made me happy today. minus the white power asshole on youtube who commented on it calling for obama's assination. W!T!F?!

Race and the Race

Listening to NPR last night (no surprise there), I was saddened by some comments made by Virginians regarding Obama--as a Black man--running for president. The moderator was asking a small focus group of individuals what they thought might happen if Obama were to be elected. One woman, a teacher, talked about the profound affect it would have on youth of all races to see a Black man as president and how that visual representation might spark hope, or ideological shifts regarding race, from a young age onwards. Then the moderator asked her sister what she thought.

This woman stated that although she "was not racist," she felt if Obama were to be elected that Black people all over America would seek revenge for past wrongs. She gave the example of how Black people used to have to get out of the way of a White person if they were walking down the street and expressed fears on how--if Obama were elected--the situation would be reversed. How "those people" would want pay back. How Obama would listen to "his people" only. It went on...

When I hear statements like this, I am not surprised. I'm from the South (VA & NC), and believe me, I know how certain groups of people think down there, but it makes me sad nonetheless. For your typical White girl, I feel I know a large amount of Black people of all ethnicities--African American, Caribbean, African--it comes with working in a public school in New York. And let me honestly say that not ONE person of any age or political persuasion, even the most radical and disgruntled and "White people suck!" student or co-worker that I know, has EVER mentioned that Obama = payback time. That is simply ludicrous.

The vilification of Black people of all backgrounds in this country is surprisingly alive and well. Though not a religious person, I fervently pray that Obama will get into office so that perhaps some folks might see that regardless of our skin color and our political parties there is quite simply more to us as people that we can unite beneath.

Clip from "Bowling for Columbine" that parodies the White man's fear of Black people in a historical context.

Updos for Obama

I have never before donated money to a political campaign nor have I ever attended a political fundraiser, so Saturday night's festivities were a first for me. My fabulous hairdresser suggested the Updos idea back in September, after the RNC, when Sarah Palin seemed to be lighting the GOP on fuego and we were all terrified. Thankfully (and hopefully), it seems like things have taken a turn for the better, but we gathered regardless in our attempt to be ever vigilant.

The premise was to come and pay $75, get your hair done in one of three Palin-inspired updos (the maverick, the reformer, or the huntress), drink wine, eat cookies made from scratch, hear some good music and writing---all the money goes to the Obama campaign. The best Sarah Palin won a basket of goodies (hair products, gift certificates from local venues, and a free haircut!), and I WON!

Now, let me be the first to admit that I was not the best Palin look alike. Yvonne, my runner up, had her cheekbones and jaw line and physically looked more like Palin. So much that some teens who obviously didn't understand irony came in, handed her a plastic moose,and thought she was the REAL Sarah Palin. But ladies and gents, this is story about props.

My costume = business attire, Republican pearls, a baby bjorn with Trig (baby doll) in it, a recorder (flute unavailable), my Bible (with passages conveniently marked about women being silent and the apocalypse from my undergrad papers), God stickers for my fans, binoculars and a map of Russia. It was a lot of work carrying all this crap around--especially while drinking vino. But in the end, it came down to a rough and tough game of paper:scissors:rock which sealed my victory.

Overall, what a hilarious night. Almost $2000 raised for the campaign. Woot!

The Crucible Essay Concluding Paragraph

This just gave me a giggle:

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the story of the Salem Witch Trials was told. The author uses setting and tone, theme, and conflict to tell this complicated tale. Abigail was a real hoe, and she caused many people to die, including the one she loved dearly.

Fear of a Barack Planet

Since school reopened, my students and I have had many conversations about Obama. These conversations range greatly, but one thing the majority of my students agree upon is that if Obama were to become our next president, that he will be assassinated.

At the beginning of the school year when they spat out this idea, I poo-poo-ed it. What, are you crazy? Nobody is going to assassinate Obama! I wrote it off as a fear that was partially substantiated from being part of one or many disinfranchised groups in America (all my students are Black, Hispanic, or Arab and 80% of our student body lives below the poverty level). Their skepticism and fear seemed fueled by their complete distrust in government, period, and I didn't take their statements seriously. (Nor, did I take their "We're going to die by 2012" kick seriously, either.)

But now, six weeks later, with Palin urging folks to believe that Obama is a terrorist and McCain rallies chanting, "Kill him! Kill him!" I am beginning to feel my students' fear. What is happening? WHEN has this EVER happened before in an election--when has one party's people rallied the crowd to chant for the MURDER of the opposing party's candidate? Why aren't more people outraged by this? As much as McCain seems to be trying to set the record straight by claiming Obama is a "decent man" and "not an Arab," isn't the damage already done? There are groups of individuals out there who actually believe a presidential candidate is DANGEROUS and a TERRORIST, and while some of these people may have believed this before the Mrs. McCain and Sarah Palin smear campaign went into motion, I feel a great number of these haters (or their intensity of hate) are recent recruits.

How can everyone not see that this is totally absurd?!?!

And, again, I can't help but pull the race card again here. If Barack Obama were some White dude, would he be receiving this fear and hatred? Would people be so quick to believe that a Senator could be a terrorist? That a presidential candidate could be dangerous? Or does this just go back to White America's fear of Black men?

Where are people's critical thinking skills?!

Dreaming of the Dead

Last night I had my first dream about Eric in our new--their old--apartment. For those of you who don't know the entire story, about a month ago we moved into the garden apartment of our brownstone which was inhabited by our dear friend Kat, who moved out to Long Island to be across the street from her sister. Kat and Eric used to live downstairs from us; they were our close friends and closer neighbors. At the end of May, 2007, Eric died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Kat had a baby 9 months later. It's a story that makes me shiver each time I retell it, and I'm still in shock that it even happened.

I have sensed Eric's presence in this apartment, but Kat assures me that he came to Long Island with them. I know he did, but I think he still comes back to visit. Regardless, last night I dreamed that I found him in a secret room in the basement of our apartment. It surprisingly wasn't creepy or scary at all. I dreamed that I found this room, and it was full of all of Eric's toys from his childhood that Kat had forgotten to move. I was looking at the toys, and when I turned around and Eric was standing there. Afraid that he'd disappear before I could do anything, I ran over and hugged him with as much force and love and emotion as possible. Then he disappeared.

I repeatedly have a similar dream about a childhood friend, Heidi, who died in a car accident my junior year in high school. This dream, in various forms, comes about 2-3 times per year and always leaves me unsettled. In the dream Heidi shows up somewhere, and I ask, "Wait, I thought you were dead...where have you been?!" And it turns out she didn't die, but we just hadn't seen her since 11th grade. I always hug her continuously, cry, and try to catch her up on our lives since November 1990, but when I awake a sadness always lingers.

I guess that's just what some of us want when we lose someone so quickly--one last connection to make sure they know how much we loved them during their lives.