As a child, I checked a lot of the boxes in which today we would be categorized as a “student in need.” I am a black woman, who was raised by my grandmother with HIV, in poverty, parents on drugs, father in jail, homeless in highschool. Noone in my family had ever been to college and very few finished high school. Before college, I made very little connections with teachers and left 12th grade thinking college was not meant for kids like me. It took me 12 years of trying and failing before I graduated college with a BA in mathematics. After my first year of teaching I went back and got my masters in 10 months and a year later my 6th year. I am dedicated to making sure EVERY student knows they are worthy of being educated, especially my black students who are often left behind. Anyone who looks at the public school data in America can see that black students are continuously below grade level. My passion is to make every student know educational success is meant for them.
I started college thinking I was going to study social work. One of my math professors pulled me aside to guide me to math. I learned I had a gift. I started with tutoring in college. When I did my first student teaching hours it was almost magic. One of my “lower level” class averages went from 72 to 87. I still have no idea what I did, other than care. I walk in every class with a passion for the success of children. My tagline is “if you don't learn math, at least learn how to be a student.” I want to show up every day in my authentic, black woman with my afro and a family from poverty, self and show students there is hope.
I need to tell you about these two students from that first year in teaching that inspired me, Ja and Ki. Ja was a young black woman. Her mom passed away at the beginning of 9th grade. They would not put her in the high honors math class because they said it “might be too much for her.” This would have prevented her from taking Calculus in high school. I worked with her to double up on her classes and she graduated with high honor, in advanced placement Calculus and went on to study math in college and is now a math analyst. Then there was Kai, he was a young black man. They moved him into my lower level class out of the honors freshmen year. His teacher said he was not motivated enough to be in honors. By sophomore year he was back in honors and again graduated with high honors.
They both called me mom by the end of 12 grade. There have been countless students that came into my room feeling like they were not good enough. There have been even more who left calling me mom and following a new path. This is not to say in any way I was close to their mom but they knew when they showed up to my class I would show up for them. This is why I show up every day. Students need someone to believe in them even when they have quit themselves. I share my story often to let students know it doesn't matter where you start, or how many times you fail, there is hope on the other side.
Comments