A sign of the future? I'm still for O'Biden...

Obama's platform for change resonates with many young activists and has generated a lot of excitement. Former Real World cast member and "hip-hop historian" Kevin Powell caught the political bug during this momentous time.

Powell sought to paint the congressman as an outdated, out-of-touch representative whom voters should retire after 13 terms. He also sought to position himself as part of a new generation of political activists, seizing on the excitement generated by Barack Obama's historic presidential bid.

I hope Powell continues to push ahead in politics, brining his momentum to local or state political arenas where NYC could use his fresh ideas and community roots. And so I pray...

*Jas*

Attachments

"EH isn't coming back this year!" roommate #2 exclaimed.

I sighed in relief and continued to my other task of keeping 21 fourth grade males engaged in their math activity. After passing EH's name tag at an empty seat several times that morning, the relief quickly turned to sadness. I was looking forward to EH's moodiness and charm. This student grew to be one of my favorites throughout my first year teaching and now I wondered if I would ever see him again.

Another favorite of mine from last year still comes up to the school to visit and I feel like I am seeing an old friend. Her smile still makes my day! I hope she and he stay sweet, where ever they go. And so I pray!

*Jas*

Let Me Introduce Roommates 1, 2, and 3.

Roommate 1: This is the roommate that I share my spacious 2.5 bedroom apartment with. She's a 23 year old female who is also from the mid-west. We went to college together. She'll be called... CN.

Roommate 2: This is the educator that I share my beautiful 4th grade classroom with. He's an older 20-something year old male who has been an assistant teacher for way too long (I'll get to that in a later post) and has been with this class since first grade, excluding second grade when they were with me. I teach with him in the morning and afternoon when I have my homeroom group. He'll be called... RC.

Roommate 3: This is the other educator that I share my classroom with. She is a recent college graduate who is entering her first year teaching. I teach with her for a few hours in the morning. She'll be called...BR.

These are my "living"arrangements for the next few months. I say few months because I'm not exactly sure where my heart is for this school year and if I'll make it. Come with me as I live and learn with these three others in my life. And so I pray...

*Jas*

New beginnings...

This year I'm teaching 4th grade! Yaaay!!! Or not...

If teaching at a charter school wasn't hard enough, NOW I get the opportunity to teach in a testing grade. And not just any testing grade, but the one that gets students into the city's best (or worst) middle schools. It's kind of cool that these are the same students that I had my first year teaching when they were in second grade. There's older, hopefully more mature, and so am I! I mean, isn't that why my school's leadership team put me in this position, because they knew I'd succeed? Or did they put me there to burn me out of teaching for good and serve me up on a silver platter? From the looks of today, I'd say the latter.

My first day was not only filled with endless technology mishaps, but I had the pleasure of meeting with the a group of people that disregarded my previous experience with this group of students and the fact that most behaviors were magnified from it being the first day of school!

I'm not liking it... not one bit! However, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and there is usually a lesson in such unfortunate circumstances. And so I pray...

*Jas*

Just Party & Bull Ish...

Tonight was one of my most interesting nights in NYC...

It all began with a nice day at the beach. Actually, it was really windy and the waves were crazy high!

Then, there was the good ol' Georgia St. block party. Big ups Long Beach :-) They really know how to do it. Thanks to RG and her friend's "panty dropping" jungle juice, good times were had! I even played a nice lil'' prank on a good sport!

My roommate and I took a drive back into Brooklyn for a loft party in East Williamsburg. __ words: loft party, live band, a cooler full of beer, and a basement techno party...WHAAAAAT?!?!? Can you imagine a club like room in your house? Yeah, it was hot!

We finally made it home to put our new splitter on our cable/internet to find...The Color Purple on We! Now, that movie is deep in its time, but even deeper after you have some experiences to relate to the characters.

"I'm Black, poor, and I might be ugly, but I'm here!!!"

Good night !

Get yo' walk on!

Walking is the new workout plan! There are great health and weight-loss benefits to walking at a moderate pace for 30 minutes a day. To maximize your walking regime, use Google Maps Pedometer to map and calculate distance and calories burned.

Now, go! Get yo' walk on :-)

Does your job drive you to drink?

At Local West (1 Penn Plaza, 33rd St. & 8th Ave.) you get a ludicrous happy hours, sassy staff, plus a heated rooftop and patio, 11 flatscreens, and a full menu of outstanding grub, all a stone's throw from Penn Station. (If your job drives you to stay sober, you're probably a bartender?) Sundays are karaoke nights, with free Liquid Courage shots for solo acts.