Hello there.
It’s been a while. I’ve been busy and when I have had time to sit down and write, somehow I find my mind drifting to other things with nothing left to trickle from my fingertips. But Thursday was the first really gorgeous day of the year, and it was a day that made me feel like just about anything was possible, so here I am. → continue reading
People have been asking me what is going on with the charter school. Things are moving along. We will be awarded our charter at the DESE board meeting today, which means we are the real deal, legit, and authentic. This also means we are going to start enrolling. Spread the word if you know of a family with current fourth and fifth graders in St Louis City who want a rigorous, college-prep education for their child. South City Prep wants ‘em. We are in lease negotiations on a temporary home (two years) in a great location, so I’m excited to announce that when we can. You can read our first bit of press in the St Louis Business Journal. We’ve also hired our Head of School and hope to continuing hiring in the next 2-3 months. If you are one of those people who graciously offered to volunteer for the school back when I didn’t have anything for you to do, here’s a heads up: hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife. I’mma coming for you soon.
Last week, a team from SCP, including myself, visited three high-performing charter schools in the New Orleans area. Because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has a huge charter school populations. More than half of their public schools are charters. We saw some downright awe-inspiring schools getting incredible results, and I left feeling really inspired and motivated about what’s to do to get ready to educate kids.
I have learned so much through this process, particularly during our visits to high-performing schools. I’ve seen, over and over in our visits, programming implemented the right way, with all stakeholders intensely-committed to educating kids. I’d seen bits and pieces tried elsewhere, never with the dramatic results these schools are getting. I’m completely rethinking how I think we educate teachers. Before, I knew that we were doing it wrong, but I didn’t know exactly how I would train teachers differently. This is something I could expound on at length but I’ll still stand by what I’ve said before, which is that it should absolutely be harder to become a teacher. I’ll also say these schools weren’t perfect, but there’s a lot we can learn and play with when designing programming for our school.
While in New Orleans, also got to scout some eatin’, and I would highly recommend Cochon if you are in New Orleans. We had an outstanding meal that surpassed my expectations, and I would undoubtedly visit again when I return to the city. You should go there if you get the chance. It’s a great place for people really into food to take their less-adventurous friends and have a meal that satisfies everyone. Totally approachable food that was still exciting.
Unrelated to anything serious, I’m a finalist for the RFT’s Web Awards in the category of Best Personal Blog. I’m going to lose to up against my friend and fellow Church of Burger Priestess Stef Pollack of fantastic The Cupcake Project. So many of my friends are up for awards, which makes me a member of the cool nerds, I guess.
Thank you so much to whomever nominated me, unless this is some weird elaborate prank to humiliate me, like on Carrie. Because if it is, me and my dirty pillows will have no problem sourcing heritage-breed pig blood that I can and will telepathically hurl at my would-be humiliators. I also still have a pig head. So, basically, JUST TRY ME.
Check back next week to see if I “win” or not. I hope, like all situations I find myself in, it involves a giant check.
While Chris watched the weatherman warn us of New Year’s Eve tornadoes, I created a calendar for the month of January. Then I wept. Actually, I wept before all that happened. Now I’m just trying to calm the impending panic attack.
I’m taking a J-Term class, the second-to-last elective I have in my program. It’s on Paulo Freire, possibly the most important critical pedagogue who ever lived. My professor is an expert on him, and he’s incredibly intelligent. This means his classes are quite heavy on reading and theory–well over 800 pages for the month-long course. This also means I’ll be traveling north for two weekends this month.
We also have a grant application due at the end of the month for desperately-needed pre-operation money for the charter school, which we’ll need to have done well before that in order to revise after receiving appropriate feedback. We’re going to New Orleans for three days to visit high-performing charter schools.
I’m also writing five paid blogs posts per week and working at Kitchen Conservatory.
In short: I’m stressed.
I write this because this is my way of telling everyone I know “no”. I won’t be going out except for a very few pre-scheduled activities. I can’t do lunch. I can’t do coffee. I can’t grab a drink. If it’s not on my calendar as of right this second, it’s not happening. I’m not saying this to act self-important or snobby. I’m doing this because I have to put my head down and get shit done, and I can’t apologize for it. I just have to do it.
So I’ll probably be even more scarce around here than usual. I’ll be scarce everywhere except my couch, the library, and whatever coffee shop in which I’m working. But I still love you. I still love this space. But IS BIDNESS TIMEZ NAO. And I literally don’t have time to have a Jessie Spano-esque breakdown.
Send coffee. And cheese. See you in February.
I’ve struggled to write about anything political in this space for a long time, mostly because I’m disillusioned. As much as I want to satisfy all my Tea Party stalkers by regretting my support of Obama, I don’t. I actually think he’s doing a damn fine job considering the craptastic hand that was dealt to him by the Bush Administration and a Congress full of people who ironically don’t believe in government’s ability to function so they completely hinder government’s ability to function as a kind of “I told you so”. That’s what’s disillusioning. I don’t 100% support everything our president has done thus far, and I’m certainly frustrated with what he hasn’t done. But my anger is directed elsewhere. → continue reading
New readers may not know that I play kickball for Team Awesome, a motley crew of Busch-swilling hardcore fans and the various people associated with them, including most of my St Louis girlfriends at one point or another. We used to be pretty good, but we’re old now. We even have team members who have kids and bring strollers and such to games. We’re losing our edge, I tell you, although there’s still plenty of mid-game smoking, boss tunes as at-bat anthems, and jorts-wearing. One dude wears manpris. We won’t discuss it. In any event, I know it’s a lame hipster whatever, but we have a good time and I fool myself into thinking it’s exercise. Except it becomes exercise sometimes. → continue reading
Sunday I turned 30. Truth be told, I have relatively little anxiety about it. I was too damn stressed last Thursday and Friday, what with the complete failure of my hard drive on Thursday and (delayed) travel to school on Friday. I have a lot of friends who are older than me, which must be because I’m so mature I pronounce it matoor, so it just wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m lucky to have the life that I have; it’s a damn good one. And, I lost 15 pounds in the last three months. → continue reading
So I’m a procrastinator anyway, and I had allotted all day yesterday to crank out a paper that is due today. That’s how I do it. I got a system. Long story short, about 45 minutes after sitting down at a local coffee establishment to get cracking, my two-year-old MacBook freezes, and when I restart, I get the blinking file icon of death. I know what this means. I know that I’m fucked. I also know that I haven’t backed up in a while. SO GO BACK UP, KIDS.
The charter school is coming along exactly as planned (insert evil mustache-twirling maniacal laughs). A few weeks ago, we had our review for the first of two planning grants. This involved submitting the first incantation of our business plan, as well as an in-person interview where our four founding members defended said proposal in front of a group of people. It also involved me squeezing into “business attire” that I didn’t exactly try on before I bought it and consequently ended up feeling like Joan Holloway.
The Bad News (because I’d rather get it out of the way first):
When I left my job helping unqualified people become underwhelming teachers (I KID, at least five of them were competent. Ashley, you’re one of them), I went to work with a friend, helping her with the small business she owned. When I started working with her, we set a three-month trial period, at the end of which either of us could withdraw from the arrangement, no hard feelings. Unfortunately, due to a really crappy economy, she really couldn’t afford to keep me after three and a half months, which I expected. Therefore, as of Friday, I have no substantive incoming coming in regularly.
Which kind of sucks. → continue reading
Howard Zinn died. He was an author, historian, teacher, and tireless activist for peace and civil rights.
I first read his most famous book, A People’s History of the United States, in college. This book was pivotal to my own radicalization; it was the first major work I read that questioned history as it was presented to me in school. I learned from Zinn that there are multiple sides to every story, and the story is told most often is probably the story of the oppressors. I learned from Zinn to question institutions and authority. He will continue to be one of my intellectual heroes.
We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts appeared before us, startled us, and then caused us to question beliefs that were strongly fixed in our consciousness – embedded there by years of family prejudices, orthodox schooling, imbibing of newspapers, radio, and television.
– Howard Zinn, “Changing Minds, One at a Time”, in: The Progressive magazine, March 2005
|
"/>
