I can't believe it's almost over. This has been such an amazing year where I have learned so much from you, and I have been trying to meditate and master balance. 3 day weekends have a habit of bringing you the balance and time to reflect that you need. In fact, if we went to a 4 day work/school week each week, I bet we'd all actually be a lot more productive. Families would be healthier, stronger, together more often.
But I digress. Our year together is coming to an end, and I will honestly miss the time, space and communities we have built together. my 2nd period class is always lit with videos like this: "Stromae - "Papaoutai"", 3rd period I will always remember for our arguments and discussions, like the one about Kendrick's "hiiiPower", 4th used to be a huge class with Ms. Cotton, one of my favorite days was discussing Biggie's "Juicy", but we've also had so many memories as a small but spirited crew! Oh, and 7th period, I especially enjoyed the silence with you. We made it through narrative essays, poetry, Beloved, my maternity leave, a (still unfinished) zine/newspaper and A Raisin in the Sun. Through it all, I tried to weave in current events around police brutality, race and class in the U.S. and link it to our history through the texts we were reading.
One of the most difficult, high-level texts we read was from Michelle Alexander's book "The New Jim Crow", and we learned about the Reconstruction Era - after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and the laws began to change to convict freed slaves of any number of inane laws in order to maintain dominance. She makes the direct connection between the Black Codes and laws of this time period in beginning the modern prison system, and the prison industrial complex (in which prison is for-profit and someone is making money off of every jail cell that stays filled). I hope that I have begun to get you to question what you see in the media, and consider that violence against black people has always been a custom in the United States, and that while police brutality is still a huge problem, this has been going on for a long time.
I don't think you'll necessarily think back on this year and say lovingly, "oh, annotation! so glad I met you!", but I do hope that you fondly remember some of the conversations we had, about books, about life, about trying to change and shape our world into a place that is rooted in equality and justice. About dreams and making ours into realities. Because your dream has been deferred, but you do not have to sit back and let it happen. Take your future back. I dare you!
(please leave as comments your reflections on my class. this will be an ongoing and open assignment until the end of the year, as I want to hear about moments you'll always remember, things you enjoy about my class, what I need to change next year so you'll stay awake, which books/songs/topics you liked most, your ideas for improvement. my class is only good because of you, so help me make it better for next year's you.)
I don't say goodbye, I say, "you won't get rid of me that easily". Until we meet again (in the hall next year, while I'm pushing my mobile classroom around!)
xoxo
Ms Lauren
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Requiem for a Spine (BAL Blog Post #10)
in honor of national poem in a pocket day tomorrow. we will respond to this next week, but if you feel so inclined, after you're done reading post #9 and responding, you can also write your own poem here in the comments!
-Ms. Lauren
requiem for a spine
they say that they didn't strap him into the van,
and that is how his spine was severed.
they say that he had a hammer in his hand,
and that is why they squeezed 10 rounds off.
they say that she was carrying a knife,
in her own home,
and that is why they opened fire.
they say that he assaulted the officer,
that he stole something,
that he was selling cigarettes,
that he had a gun and not a wallet,
that she was an intruder on the porch at 2am.
when his spine snapped,
our breathing went shallow.
when his eyes dropped,
we coughed up a lead-filled lung.
when her knees hit the floor,
we sputtered.
when he backed away, hands up,
blood dribbled from our noses.
when his breath stopped,
our eyes bulged in terror,
our mouths went dry
our wallets spilled out receipts
our car batteries stalled in middle of the road.
your hands around my throat.
your eyes doused in hatred,
as you bring dreams to abrupt ends,
that had already been
shoved under the rug
and forgotten.
we dare to dream anyway,
defiantly, because we will bring
to fruition what you have stolen,
what they have wrenched away
from so many others,
and what we all deserve.
-Ms. Lauren
requiem for a spine
they say that they didn't strap him into the van,
and that is how his spine was severed.
they say that he had a hammer in his hand,
and that is why they squeezed 10 rounds off.
they say that she was carrying a knife,
in her own home,
and that is why they opened fire.
they say that he assaulted the officer,
that he stole something,
that he was selling cigarettes,
that he had a gun and not a wallet,
that she was an intruder on the porch at 2am.
when his spine snapped,
our breathing went shallow.
when his eyes dropped,
we coughed up a lead-filled lung.
when her knees hit the floor,
we sputtered.
when he backed away, hands up,
blood dribbled from our noses.
when his breath stopped,
our eyes bulged in terror,
our mouths went dry
our wallets spilled out receipts
our car batteries stalled in middle of the road.
your hands around my throat.
your eyes doused in hatred,
as you bring dreams to abrupt ends,
that had already been
shoved under the rug
and forgotten.
we dare to dream anyway,
defiantly, because we will bring
to fruition what you have stolen,
what they have wrenched away
from so many others,
and what we all deserve.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Pop Quiz!
Hey guys,
Happy return from break!! It's time to get focused. Please write a comment below with a 2 paragraph response to your reading of Act 1, Scene 2 in A Raisin in the Sun. You may get out your Annotation Guides and any notes you took while reading to use in your response, but may not open your book. Just checking to see who read, and what you're thinking of the Younger family so far!
Love,
Ms. Lauren
Happy return from break!! It's time to get focused. Please write a comment below with a 2 paragraph response to your reading of Act 1, Scene 2 in A Raisin in the Sun. You may get out your Annotation Guides and any notes you took while reading to use in your response, but may not open your book. Just checking to see who read, and what you're thinking of the Younger family so far!
Love,
Ms. Lauren
Saturday, April 11, 2015
writing that dream down (BAL Blog Post #9)
I have been a bad teacher this spring break, in that I haven't done that much work. One of the most difficult things about my job sometimes is that the work continues to pile up, but this stretch off I need to attend to the other facets of my personality: myself as a human, myself as a mother, myself as a wife. Do you ever find it difficult to juggle the responsibilities you have? This is one thing I think about as I get older -- how many selves am I? How do people learn to balance all of the different demands that life has for them? I hope that I figure out the answers to these questions someday.
I have never pretended to be perfect: I am as imperfect as they come. But even though I feel that I mess up on a daily basis, I am still deserving of happiness. What "the dream" is has shifted over the course of my life. I wanted to be successful, as in have my writing published and my expenses covered by a benefactor when I was younger. Then my focus shifted to activism, to feminist and womanist thought, to queer politics and riot grrrl, zines and emo rock, then back to hip-hop and consumerism. I was challenged by a college friend to finally realize my dream of becoming a teacher in 2007. That's a fun story, ask me sometime.
I never wanted to get married or have kids. I thought that teaching would be enough fulfillment, that I would have my students, colleagues, family and chosen family to guide me through the ups and downs of life. I was upset that others looked upon my life as "incomplete" if I chose not to marry or bear children. However, life had secrets in store and I am often a passenger in fate's vehicle.
I never wanted to be an adult - do adult things like buy cars or houses. I wanted to travel the world (and still do) with few possessions, learn language and art forms, drums and dances of cultures on peaks and in valleys of remote world-corners. Suddenly, I am thinking of interest rates and retirement funds, saving for a down payment, things I never thought I'd see myself go for. Have I fundamentally changed over time, or have my dreams changed?
Just yesterday I was talking about buying property with a barn, so that we can have livestock and host parties, so that my DJ retirement plan can come to fruition as my husband caters his astounding food in a farm-to-table venue. Where did this dream come from? This is far from my original desire to live in a brownstone in Brooklyn and publish words about the Q train for volumes of best-selling chapbooks.
What happens when the dream shifts? When you're not who you thought you were, or you want something different from what you swore on before? Do your dreams stay the same when you change? Tell me your dreams. Tell me your diamonds.
I have never pretended to be perfect: I am as imperfect as they come. But even though I feel that I mess up on a daily basis, I am still deserving of happiness. What "the dream" is has shifted over the course of my life. I wanted to be successful, as in have my writing published and my expenses covered by a benefactor when I was younger. Then my focus shifted to activism, to feminist and womanist thought, to queer politics and riot grrrl, zines and emo rock, then back to hip-hop and consumerism. I was challenged by a college friend to finally realize my dream of becoming a teacher in 2007. That's a fun story, ask me sometime.
I never wanted to get married or have kids. I thought that teaching would be enough fulfillment, that I would have my students, colleagues, family and chosen family to guide me through the ups and downs of life. I was upset that others looked upon my life as "incomplete" if I chose not to marry or bear children. However, life had secrets in store and I am often a passenger in fate's vehicle.
I never wanted to be an adult - do adult things like buy cars or houses. I wanted to travel the world (and still do) with few possessions, learn language and art forms, drums and dances of cultures on peaks and in valleys of remote world-corners. Suddenly, I am thinking of interest rates and retirement funds, saving for a down payment, things I never thought I'd see myself go for. Have I fundamentally changed over time, or have my dreams changed?
Just yesterday I was talking about buying property with a barn, so that we can have livestock and host parties, so that my DJ retirement plan can come to fruition as my husband caters his astounding food in a farm-to-table venue. Where did this dream come from? This is far from my original desire to live in a brownstone in Brooklyn and publish words about the Q train for volumes of best-selling chapbooks.
What happens when the dream shifts? When you're not who you thought you were, or you want something different from what you swore on before? Do your dreams stay the same when you change? Tell me your dreams. Tell me your diamonds.
Monday, March 30, 2015
when dreams fade... (BAL Blog Post #8)
Hi everyone,
My babies are really sick, so I'm at home taking care of them today - but there's lots of work to do, let's stay focused on the prize! Email me if you have questions or concerns, I'll be back tomorrow, inchallah. :) -Ms. Lauren
---
Where do we go when our dreams drop? When being sidetracked on the way to your future becomes your future? What happens to the dreams we let die? What happens to the air around us when we let a dream go? Does an old dream stay glimmering in the air, or does it fade to black? Tell me about your dreams, what they are, where they will take you, what landscapes you will discover in your life in the form of a poem. Talk about dreams being realized, or being deferred. Here's my poem to get you thinking: http://ipg.icsmich.org/poems/1724 Happy National Poetry Month, friends! Write to your heart's content on the IPG poetry website! http://ipg.icsmich.org
I've been thinking in languages that I don't speak, and trying to expand my vocabulary in new ways this spring. But, I also always think back to what has come before, to how history has connected to the present and shaped the present like a sculptor and her clay. While the idea of redlining, or segregating people to certain neighborhoods through mortgage restrictions or denials, is no longer a practice in the United States -- I also know that when I travel uptown and pass 86th street, the white people all get off the train. There are certain areas of the city where the impacts of redlining are very clear and evident -- where you can SEE the boundaries of neighborhoods based on who gets on or gets off the train. What has your train experience been with regard to redlining? In which neighborhoods is this most obvious or evident to you? In which neighborhoods is it more subtle?
As we begin reading this text, I want you to think about your ideas of family -- what defines family to you? Is blood thicker than water? Why or why not? Must we always prioritize our family over ourselves? I'm excited for you guys to get to know the Younger family, and learn about their story. Also, if you're looking for some new/old music to brighten up your spring, here you are. You can respond to these songs/videos for extra credit to boost your grade (on paper, emailing me your responses or as a comment on the blog) You're welcome, in advance.
What are your favorite songs about
dreams, that induce a dream-like state, or are generally dreamy?
Let the warm air and the rain wash over us as we head into spring. Good riddance, winter - it's been real, but we need the sun.
Cheers,
Ms. Lauren
My babies are really sick, so I'm at home taking care of them today - but there's lots of work to do, let's stay focused on the prize! Email me if you have questions or concerns, I'll be back tomorrow, inchallah. :) -Ms. Lauren
---
Where do we go when our dreams drop? When being sidetracked on the way to your future becomes your future? What happens to the dreams we let die? What happens to the air around us when we let a dream go? Does an old dream stay glimmering in the air, or does it fade to black? Tell me about your dreams, what they are, where they will take you, what landscapes you will discover in your life in the form of a poem. Talk about dreams being realized, or being deferred. Here's my poem to get you thinking: http://ipg.icsmich.org/poems/1724 Happy National Poetry Month, friends! Write to your heart's content on the IPG poetry website! http://ipg.icsmich.org
I've been thinking in languages that I don't speak, and trying to expand my vocabulary in new ways this spring. But, I also always think back to what has come before, to how history has connected to the present and shaped the present like a sculptor and her clay. While the idea of redlining, or segregating people to certain neighborhoods through mortgage restrictions or denials, is no longer a practice in the United States -- I also know that when I travel uptown and pass 86th street, the white people all get off the train. There are certain areas of the city where the impacts of redlining are very clear and evident -- where you can SEE the boundaries of neighborhoods based on who gets on or gets off the train. What has your train experience been with regard to redlining? In which neighborhoods is this most obvious or evident to you? In which neighborhoods is it more subtle?
As we begin reading this text, I want you to think about your ideas of family -- what defines family to you? Is blood thicker than water? Why or why not? Must we always prioritize our family over ourselves? I'm excited for you guys to get to know the Younger family, and learn about their story. Also, if you're looking for some new/old music to brighten up your spring, here you are. You can respond to these songs/videos for extra credit to boost your grade (on paper, emailing me your responses or as a comment on the blog) You're welcome, in advance.
Dreamy Spring Playlist 2015
You can respond to these songs in addition to
free-writes, for extra credit or to make up for missing work. Lyrics for most of
these songs are available on www.genius.com A ½ page
response will earn you 5 points.
Kendrick
Lamar – “Blacker the Berry” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6e_fenSrFM
2pac
– “Keep Ya Head Up” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M84wmglfso
Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfybXcVBQSI
(Subtitulado
Español)
Drake
– “Successful” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfyIZxzfTpo
Common
Sense – “I Used to Love H.E.R.” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C99iG4HoO1c
Stromae
– “Papaoutai” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiKj0Z_Xnjc (French, Eng sub)
Jaded
Incorporated – “I Ran” - https://soundcloud.com/jadedinc
Flock
of Seagulls – “I Ran” (Original) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpfWORQWhU
The
Cure – “Love Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs
Depeche
Mode – “Enjoy the Silence” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0AKJMGxwpE
REM
– “Losing My Religion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg
Nirvana
– “Smells like Teen Spirit” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsynkL_sU4
(espanol)
Squarepusher
– “Port Rhombus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSnhXGVTdbk
Coldcut
– “Timber “- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-wl7Xk5FoY
The
Beatles – “Yesterday” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S09F5MejfBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3RdqTCv_iw
(subtitulado Espanol)
Eugene
the Dream – Spongebob Trap Mix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzMJk8nGpoc
Proof/J
Dilla -
“Life”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4MfApWb69g
Frank
Ocean – “Swim Good” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmN9rZW0HGo
Let the warm air and the rain wash over us as we head into spring. Good riddance, winter - it's been real, but we need the sun.
Cheers,
Ms. Lauren
Saturday, March 21, 2015
The Beatles and Dreaming (BAL Blog Post #7)
What do you know about old music? Before the time when you were born. Tell me what you know about music from the 60's, what you know about jazz, what you know about early 90's hip-hop. This weekend, I am going all the way back to music that blew life into me when I was just a kid - that still means something to me today. I go through phases with music. These days, I have kids, so it's less Mobb Deep and more Bob Marley, less Outkast and more Beatles. I challenge you to listen to something that is not on the radio, find out who Kanye sampled and go listen to the original Motown song.
March is ending and with it comes the promise of spring, though the irony of snow on the first supposed day of blooming isn't lost on me. It's been a heavy year, and a long winter. I find myself lost between the covers sometimes, dreaming of things that I can't change. Or can I? I am always incredibly self-critical, so I was sending doubts into the universe, and received this response today:
We're beginning a new book this week (really, next week because of the overnight trip and disrupted schedule this week) and it's one I've taught before and love so much. It is a play by Lorraine Hansberry titled "A Raisin in the Sun", and the first thing that we will talk about is a poem (you'll see it below). What do you think about the poem? How does it connect to what we've already learned and studied? What do you think this play might be about, which is titled after a line in this poem? It's about to be April, aka National Poetry Month... so even though we're reading a play, we will be poeming all throughout this month. Get ready for good reads and words galore - and please don't forget to post any poems you write on the IPG Site! http://ipg.icsmich.org
Harlem
March is ending and with it comes the promise of spring, though the irony of snow on the first supposed day of blooming isn't lost on me. It's been a heavy year, and a long winter. I find myself lost between the covers sometimes, dreaming of things that I can't change. Or can I? I am always incredibly self-critical, so I was sending doubts into the universe, and received this response today:
The first thing I wanted to tell Joshua was that his place in society as a man of color is at the top - and anyone who tells him differently isn't worth his time. I cried, because it is the small moments like this that make life worth it. I will never be paid what I'm worth, but I chose this profession because I was hoping to have an impact on just one person. Affirmation that I have done this is beautiful. But, I am far from done growing, and I have much work to do to become a better educator. Joshua himself is an amazing thinker and I didn't make him that way, he was born with ideas. I do not see my role as an educator to give you thoughts - it's to extract your thinking from your brain. I'm curious, at this point in the year, what's one lasting impression that you will take from this class?
We're beginning a new book this week (really, next week because of the overnight trip and disrupted schedule this week) and it's one I've taught before and love so much. It is a play by Lorraine Hansberry titled "A Raisin in the Sun", and the first thing that we will talk about is a poem (you'll see it below). What do you think about the poem? How does it connect to what we've already learned and studied? What do you think this play might be about, which is titled after a line in this poem? It's about to be April, aka National Poetry Month... so even though we're reading a play, we will be poeming all throughout this month. Get ready for good reads and words galore - and please don't forget to post any poems you write on the IPG Site! http://ipg.icsmich.org
Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the
sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like
rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar
over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or
does it explode?
Sunday, March 1, 2015
redefining Envy and rethinking speeches (BAL Blog Post #6)
I'm in my feelings today, as it snows again and I'm wishing that I could magically transport myself to a cemetery in the north Bronx, where he is buried. I've been looking back through photos and writing from 2012, which was an epic year for me - I got married, had a child, moved back to Detroit with my new family and lost both a student and my uncle within a few months. On Friday, I brought copies of the zine you'll read in class on Monday to his aunt and reconnected with many of my former students over the weekend - our school family is alive, even if the Banana Kelly that we know and love no longer exists.
I still fully believe, as I say in the introduction, that you can keep people's memories alive by telling them. Storytelling is extremely important to our lives, and to our histories: we each have our story and we need to tell it. So when people's lives get cut short, I feel a responsibility to tell their story in addition to my own. Their story becomes a part of mine. Envy, your story will keep being told.
Have you ever lost or been separated from someone? How did you cope with the task of missing them?
Also, we're beginning our campaign and election process this week and I'm incredibly excited about the writing and action that will come out of this. I want you to survey one another and figure out some suggestions for improving our class - there is much room for improvement. How can we do the notebook grading procedure better? How should progress reports function? How can we be updating Engrade weekly so that you have much more consistent access to your grades? Figure out some key issues that you want to tackle as you run (or help your candidate run), and we'll brainstorm about how to solve some of the issues in this class, so that we can improve its function for you.
So, a speech is one way to show your fellow classmates who you are and why you're running for this position, but the best speeches are NOT just informational, but also lyrical. You remember the poetry of speeches more than the information, so as you're writing, make sure the facts are there (who you are, what position you're running for, why you'd be good at this role, issues that are important to you), but your constituents will remember HOW you read the speech and how you can CONNECT with them. I invite you to re-think your speech and really work on your informational AND persuasive techniques simultaneously. We'll look at a few models of speeches that have been informational in nature, but creative in approach. What do you think makes a good speech?
Let's have a great week, and may the best folks win (but may we all write like the wind)!
xo,
Ms Lauren
(here's the link to the powerful speeches for Wednesday's homework: http://www.englishtrackers.com/english-blog/10-famous-speeches-in-english-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them/)
I still fully believe, as I say in the introduction, that you can keep people's memories alive by telling them. Storytelling is extremely important to our lives, and to our histories: we each have our story and we need to tell it. So when people's lives get cut short, I feel a responsibility to tell their story in addition to my own. Their story becomes a part of mine. Envy, your story will keep being told.
Have you ever lost or been separated from someone? How did you cope with the task of missing them?
Also, we're beginning our campaign and election process this week and I'm incredibly excited about the writing and action that will come out of this. I want you to survey one another and figure out some suggestions for improving our class - there is much room for improvement. How can we do the notebook grading procedure better? How should progress reports function? How can we be updating Engrade weekly so that you have much more consistent access to your grades? Figure out some key issues that you want to tackle as you run (or help your candidate run), and we'll brainstorm about how to solve some of the issues in this class, so that we can improve its function for you.
So, a speech is one way to show your fellow classmates who you are and why you're running for this position, but the best speeches are NOT just informational, but also lyrical. You remember the poetry of speeches more than the information, so as you're writing, make sure the facts are there (who you are, what position you're running for, why you'd be good at this role, issues that are important to you), but your constituents will remember HOW you read the speech and how you can CONNECT with them. I invite you to re-think your speech and really work on your informational AND persuasive techniques simultaneously. We'll look at a few models of speeches that have been informational in nature, but creative in approach. What do you think makes a good speech?
Let's have a great week, and may the best folks win (but may we all write like the wind)!
xo,
Ms Lauren
(here's the link to the powerful speeches for Wednesday's homework: http://www.englishtrackers.com/english-blog/10-famous-speeches-in-english-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them/)
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