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erstwhile math teacher, current law student
Tomorrow, this time, I will be on my way to Memphis. I will be completely done with my first year of law school and completely free for five beautiful summer days in a city that still, inexplicably yet somehow predictably, has my heart. I think it might have something to do with the idea behind this line I read today: If you can’t be yourself in Memphis, you can’t be yourself. In Memphis, I really was true to myself – and the best version of myself. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that back.
I envy all the new corps members who will soon arrive for Memphistitute and discover the wonder of the Bluff City. I hope they fall for Memphis as quickly as I did and make the most of their time there, whether it’s two years or a lifetime. I envy those I taught with who…
After I was no longer their teacher, I became friends with many of my students on facebook. Sometimes I’m dismayed by the things they post (and hope they have privacy settings or something), though I’m pretty quiet unless there’s a status or a photo that I particularly like. I wish them happy birthday, send them…
read more »After over half a year in Philadelphia, I returned to Memphis over my spring break last week, and it was such a thrill. It was the first time – since moving away – that I could call myself a visitor to Memphis. I was only in the city for one full day, and much of…
read more »My former life and current life overlapped a few weekends ago at the LEARN Conference. The first breakout panel I attended, on teacher evaluation systems, resonated with me, especially having been affected by the new Teacher Effectiveness Initiative in my time in Memphis. A panelist brought up the need to study the evaluation systems and…
read more »Three years ago yesterday, I was accepted to Teach For America in Memphis. I’ll never forget the euphoric relief I felt when I finally checked my e-mail that evening. I’d had the back-up plan of law school, but let’s be honest, who wants to use a back-up plan? I remember where I was (the empty…
read more »This is a very long shot, but I’m looking for a spoken word video about teaching by a Delta corps member. I think he was an English teacher. I saw it on facebook and loved it, and I may have even linked to it or “liked” it, but I can’t find it anymore. I want…
read more »My brother’s been going to an art class for the past couple of days, and he came home today eager to quiz me on famous artists. It made me think back to the second-grade gifted teacher I had who first opened my eyes to the beauty of the art world. I am by no means…
read more »Teach For America 2025?
read more »In the wake of finishing two years in the classroom, I have found myself reflecting a lot lately about those years, what they have meant to me, and what I am taking with me from the experience. I am disappointed, yet satisfied; angry, yet joyful. I am hopeful for what’s to come in my life,…
read more »“Ms. H., that test was easy.” Music to my ears, this was what several of my best students told after the state algebra 1 test yesterday. I hope that this confidence is not misplaced. Scores should be back to us in the next two weeks, and I am eager to see how my students performed. I’ve…
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