View from the Inside: Why I am Doing This

Ask most teachers and they will tell you the same thing: they are sick of people from non-education professional backgrounds making huge decisions about the future of education.

I am sick of these people too- and now I am doing something about it. I will use this blog to respond to mainstream views about education, about teachers, and about our future. Of course, there is an intersectionality between education and a multitude of issues, so my blog will touch on politics, gender, race, class, economics, current events, and a variety of academic disciplines.

To give a broad overview of my educational views, in general, I am in favor of strong and robust public schools, I want to give all students the opportunity to succeed in education regardless of their parents or zip code, and I am in favor of elevating the teaching profession. Things I am skeptical about are charter schools, school of choice, high-stakes test scores, college-for-all, factory-style k-12 education, vouchers, blended learning, replacing teachers with technology, and politicians making callous decisions for schools and children that should be made with the help of stakeholders such as teachers and students.

I am doing this to shed light from within; I have experience teaching several subjects in various urban and suburban schools; simply put, I have taught at some of the worst schools in America and some of the best. I have given much of myself to be a teacher: physically, mentally, and spiritually. Early mornings, late nights, breaking up fights, being there for broken youths, helping future doctors and lawyers, you name it. I am whatever my students need me to be.

Why do I do it?

Simple. To change the world, to inspire others, and to help create a world worth living in.

But I don’t want to be a teacher forever- I am young and I am already feeling some of the burnout symptoms. Being an intellectual teacher, I eventually hope to tackle education from a more systemic level, and this blog will serve as a springboard for my intellectual pursuits.