Excuse me while I get on my soap box.

Every once in a while, I like to write about the things that really get my fired up; the things that I'm really passionate about (see here and here).  Last night, I spent an entire grad class talking and learning about critical literacy, or the practice of incorporating books that have some weight into your curriculum.  Books about homelessness, socioeconomic class differences, racial tension, even Japanese American internment camps during WWII.  The practice is meant to start young students on the path of becoming socially conscious people with a heart and mind for things like social justice.  When my prof asked for us to line ourselves up on a continuum from 1 to 10 with 1 being "I love this, I NEED to incorporate it into my classroom" and 10 being "It's not for me.", let's just say I was as far on the side of 1 as I could go.  

My time at Gordon shaped me into a lot of things, one of which was someone with a heart for social justice issues.  There are a few that I'm exceptionally passionate about (namely urban ed and getting clean water sources into places that have none), but pretty much any issue can and will tug at my heart strings (and yes, I have two pairs of TOMS).

Right now, I'm working on my M.Ed in Multicultural Education.  Eventually, I want to become a teacher in an urban center and maybe someday get my doctorate or law degree and go into policy writing or work for a NGO that champions education reform.  

But right now, in this season, I'm learning.  I'm learning what it means to be a compassionate and  effective teacher.  I'm learning how to get a first grader to understand that there is injustice in the world and that they can play a role in changing it.  And I'm going to classes that (finally) are reminding my why I'm staying up til 1 am writing papers and rearranging my schedule to do observations and jumping through hoops to find someone to interview for this or that.  

For the first time in a while, I'm remembering what God has called me to, and that answering that call, and answering it well, is what it's all about.

via

those who can, teach

at the moment, going to grad school for my M.Ed. full time means that

my bookshelves look like this & my desktop is laden with these

It requires: 

extreme organizational skills

late nights of writing lesson plans while watching Bravo reruns

a touch of creativity

and a lot of coffee

Something tells me that with a career in education,

these things won't stop when I get my degree.

And I love it that way. 

Urban Education

The past few weeks have held a lot of things:  classes, homework, a house managing position for Gordon's production of Into the Woods, and of course, work.  But it has also held a lot of learning and pursuit of jobs and programs in the field of urban education, which is likely the most pressing social justice issue in the country today.

Did you know that by the time they're in fourth grade, kids growing up in urban schools are already on average three grade levels behind their suburban peers?  Or that those who never graduate from high school will only earn an average of $17,000/year, and those who do graduate but never go to college will only earn, on average, $20,000, therefore never breaking the poverty cycle?  How about that African American students in urban schools are typically four years behind more affluent peers by grade twelve, so they finish high school with a middle school education?  Yeah, not okay.  

And the problem lies not in the work ethic of the kids, or the potential that they have to do well, but in the quality of education that is provided in urban contexts in our nation.  Its so rare that I think of social justice issues in the context of this country.  When the word is mentioned, I typically think of the need for clean water, human trafficking, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, or fair trade issues.  How could I be so ignorant to something in my own backyard?

But here's the cool thing:  there are programs and organizations out there that are committed to reversing these statistics.  These groups see the need for social change; they understand that we need to put well-prepared and committed teachers in our schools.  Teacher Residency programs are just one breed of these organizations that are making awesome change happen, and one in particular, the Memphis Teacher Residency, is doing it in a Christian context (how cool!).  Just check out their mission statement:  "The mission of the MTR is to positively impact student achievement in Memphis' urban schools by recruiting, training, and supporting outstanding teachers, all within a Christian context."  Now if that doesn't make you fall over, I'm not sure what will.  

"Our children in this country have one chance at education...We can’t wait seven or eight years.  We’ll lose a generation of kids. We have to get better now."  
-Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Ed


check out this video overview of MTR:

also, check out the MTR blog.