I’m Welcoming the End of Summer

Today was technically the first day of my 13th year as a middle school teacher. I use the word technically because no students were at school today but our hallways and classrooms were filled with colleagues buzzing about getting ready for the arrival of our scholar activists. It felt really good to be back.

Usually I end the summer reluctantly. Of course, I’m happy to return to school but who doesn’t want just one more week of summer? Strangely, this year feels different. I was ready to come back. Looking forward to it actually. I can’t pinpoint exactly why. Regardless, it feels good to want to return to school, to want to see my colleagues, to want to meet my kiddos.

Maybe it’s because I really love my school. It’s a place that’s not perfect by any means but a professional environment where I feel safe, respected, and welcome. Maybe it’s because I have such wonderful colleagues. Some have been in the classroom for over 20 years and others are starting their first. Maybe it’s because this year we are returning to a Reader's and Writer's Workshop in our English Language Arts classes. (Can I get a what what?!?!) I am jazzed that we are returning to structured time for students to simply read, write, listen, speak, and think critically. I’ve missed it so! Maybe it’s because I adore the south Bronx. I love my communities of Hunts Point and Longwood where there is passion, culture, fire, family, success, struggle and endless potential. Maybe it’s because I am getting married in less than five weeks and something inside me makes me think that this year (the lucky number 13!) may just be the year that I find a work/life balance. (I’m hopeful that Teaching Channel laureate Crystal Morey and her #TchWellness work can help me with that too!) Maybe it’s because I am a member of the most influential, intellectually challenging, rewarding and joyous profession.

Maybe that’s it. I’m looking forward to returning to school because at my core, I am a teacher. I want to learn. I want to grow. I want to get better and I want my kids to join me for this lifelong journey.

I am hopeful that with this year the "burden" of teaching will be lifted off of my shoulders and I can return to the joy, the process, the discovery, and the rewarding growth that come with spending my days teaching and learning from some of the most beautiful, creative, curious, passionate, loving and lovable people on the planet – my middle school students.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey. I am committed to posting a blog at least once a month on whatever is happening in our world and maybe even starting an #AskMsDeBose monthly video series inspired by Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr.’s  #AskOdomJr series.

I’m looking forward to a year full of beauty, deep breaths, and breakthroughs. I meet my kids on Thursday. Send us love.

What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning

I graduated from high school in 1994 and that same year the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) was founded. Two years ago I became a NCTAF commissioner and joined former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, Linda Darling-Hammond, Jeff Duncan-Andrade and other education leaders in an effort “to engage policy makers and practitioners to address the entrenched national challenge of recruiting, developing, and retaining great teachers in order to ensure that all students have access to quality teaching in schools organized for success.”

In 1996 NCTAF released the report “What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future,” where they provided a “blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent teachers all across America in an effort to ensure that all children can learn.” Tomorrow – 20 years later and 17 years into my teaching career - we release “What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning” that looks at our country and schools today and provides a series of recommendations for how we can support all teacher to support all students.

If you’re not in Washington, D.C. tomorrow you can definitely be part of the event through a live stream. I’ll be giving the keynote entitled "Leading from the Classroom" and we’ll have a panel of teachers and other stakeholders share their perspectives on what needs to happen in schools today to ensure that all of our students are able to learn and thrive.

Check out the live stream here on Wednesday, August 10th from 10-12 noon ET and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

Seventh Grade Reflections on Stereotypes and Assumptions

People assume that I’m going to steal something because of my race.

People assume that I am Mexican when I am Ecuadorean.

People assume that I speak Spanish because I am Puerto Rican.

People assume that I’m older than I am because of the way that I look.

People assume that I don’t exercise or work out because I’m bigger.

People assume that because I look like a girl and have a high-pitched voice, I am a girl.

People assume that I am heterosexual when in fact I am gay. 

People assume that because I have pit bulls I am a vicious person. 

People assume that I am Latina because of my skin tone. 

People assume that I am Puerto Rican, when in fact I am Dominican.

Today I experienced the most insightful dialogue I’ve had with my advisory students all year. We are starting a multi-week series on identity and what makes us who we are. Our opening activity asked students to reflect on and answer the question: What is something that people assume about you but isn’t necessarily true?

One student asked, “How can I know what people assume about me?” Great question. I responded with a personal example. In New York City where there is a large Afro-Latino/a community because of my appearance many people often assume that I am Latina and speak Spanish. I know this because they come up to me on the street and ask me questions in Spanish. I do actually speak Spanish but my ethnic roots are African American and Irish American.

I wasn’t sure how my advisees would respond to the prompt but we took 20 seconds of silence to think about our experiences and when that time was up one student raised his hand to share that because he looks like a girl and has a high-pitched voice, people assume that he’s a girl, when he’s not. That started the dialogue and each student who chose to share had something insightful to say.

When K said that most people assume he’s Mexican when in fact his parents emigrated from Ecuador, another student asked what it means to be Ecuadorian. He had never heard of Ecuador and was curious to learn more. When a paraprofessional shared that he is gay but many people assume he is heterosexual because of the way he speaks and because he doesn’t “act gay” a student asked, “How can someone even act gay?” That opened a conversation about stereotypes that we hold about each other.

Before sharing, one of my advisees prefaced his comment with, “Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh.” He then proceeded to share that people assume he’s going to steal because of his race. He is African American. This sparked a dialogue about skin tone and how we have different expectations for people based on their skin tone.

I was blown away by what my students shared and their respectful and genuine curiosity to learn more about each other. I was also reminded of how important it is for us as educators to not only know our students but also create regular spaces and structures for them to know each other – and themselves.

As testing season approaches the pressure my colleagues, students, and I experience every day is real. In this hyper raise-your-test-scores-or-your-school-may-be-closed culture it’s easy to forget our roots and why we come to school every day. Today’s advisory conversation was a needed reminder for me. I’m grateful for these gems that remind me how important, critical, and precious our work is.  

Video as a Tool for Reflection

It’s been quite a start to the school year. Yes, I know it’s almost December and that we started close to three months ago but that’s how busy the year has been. This is my first “Back to the Point” blog post of the 2015-2016 school year!

I’ve been moved to write often but haven’t found the time to sit down and actually make it happen. Today I received an email from a friend and former colleague who was with me last year when I gave a Moth Radio-inspired talk at a gathering of National Board Certified Teachers in Albany through the National Board Council of New York.  It was an 11-minute talk about how hard my first year back in the classroom was after being out for three years. I watched it afterschool today and it almost brought me to tears. That year was a tough one, no doubt.

It also made me reflect on the power of video to record moments in our practice, moments of celebration, moments of reflection. Two weeks ago my co-teacher and I spent a day with a 4-person film crew from the Teaching Channel. I am a Teaching Channel Laureate this year and they came in to film a lesson where we were trying something new. I am focusing on getting better at meeting the needs of diverse learners in my classroom so we were using stations facilitated by the two teachers and two paraprofessionals in our room to teach and learn in targeted small groups. It was a hectic day but once the school bell rang my co-teacher and I had a chance to sit down in front of the cameras and reflect on what had happened in our lesson with our students. I left school close to 8pm that night but I was grateful for the opportunity to have a structured time to sit and reflect on my practice. To have someone ask me targeted questions about the decisions I’d made in a non-evaluative space. To be in an environment where new ideas and strategies could bubble up and grow. It felt like an opportunity that should be more frequent and regular for us as practitioners. I’d like to use video more this year as a way to get better at teaching, as a way to reflect, and as a way to grow.

Do you use video in your practice at all? To record your practice? To reflect on it? If so, please share some of your experiences or better yet, some of your videos!

We Lost a Good One

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the celebration of life for my former boss and friend Ron Thorpe. It was an emotional event, full of tears, stories, and reminders of the work Ron wants all of us to continue while we’re on this earth in the physical.

I know Ron was a great man. I experienced his kindness, his passion, his steadfastness, and his determination almost every day for two years. He really believed in me and for some reason, really loved me. His persistence convinced me to join the National Board staff after I had declined his offer multiple times. He gave me huge projects to lead and shape and even when I doubted myself, he had faith that I could complete them. Because I worked remotely from New York, whenever I was in the Washington D.C.-area office, he always made sure to regularly check in with me about work and about me. He wanted to know how I was doing and make sure I was OK. He was a good man.

At his celebration of life we heard stories from his family, friends, and colleagues about the lessons Ron had taught them. It was wonderful to hear from people who had known him since his youth and those who had worked with him professionally all share similar sentiments. Below I’ve shared a few of Ron's teachings that really spoke to me.

• Just do. Don’t second guess yourself.
•  Work matters. Do good work.
• Take things one step at a time. One day at a time. It’s the only thing you or anyone else can do.
• Teachers should be treated like thought-partners and rock stars.
• Give with no expectation of getting something back.

Ron truly lived each of these. He carried himself with a confidence that was remarkable. He worked incredibly hard – all the time. We had some late nights in the National Board office and some nights when I left well after the sun had set I’d pop into Ron’s office and he was still there, at his computer with his glasses on, plugging away at transforming the teaching profession. He truly believed that, besides our students, teachers are the most important people in the world of education and that we should be treated as such. He would scoff at the mistreatment and de-professionalization of educators and truly walked the walk when he said teachers should lead their profession. He greatly increased the number of National Board Certified teachers on the National Board staff and put us all in leadership positions so that we could use our expertise to influence and shape our collective work.

And Ron gave. He gave and gave and gave. He was so generous with his time, his words, and his actions. He was a wonderful model in so many ways.

Ron, wherever your spirit is these days, please know that you influenced and shaped so many of us. We are so grateful to have shared time with you on this earth and the lessons you taught us will be multiplied, passed on and lived day after day after day. Personally, I will work on not second-guessing myself too much. I will continue to do good work that impacts my kids and community in positive ways. I will step up my push to ensure that teachers are respected and revered as the professionals we are. I will use you as my model for generosity. It’s easier said than done but I will give and work very hard to expect nothing in return. Most importantly, I’ll model and live this for my students. Thank you for being such a wonderful model for me.