Effortlessly 
I went to college because, in my mind, it was the only alternative I had to ensure that I wouldn't relive the welfare checks and evictions of my childhood. I was f*cking around during my second year of undergrad, taking a few English classes because I wanted to be a writer when I was recruited by the head of the Education Department (shout-out to Dr. Drew) to be an English Education major. Being a teacher was something I stumbled upon but soon realized that when it comes to teaching, either it comes naturally to you and you adapt to any situation, or it doesn't. It's that simple. Training is oh so very important but no amount of training prepares you what you will have to face...both positive and negative.
POLITICS, POWER, AND THE PEOPLE MAKING THE DECISIONS Turn on any "news" show, read the paper. Education is the new hot topic. It is on the lips of politicians, businessman, and soccer moms. It seems as if spewing out an opinion on education is the new "in" thing to do. What we all fail to realize is that the people making all of the decisions from politicians on down, have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Most politicians, afterall, are businessmen or are affiliated and advised by businessmen who have never taken an education class, let alone taught in one. People with no background in the profession or aim of education coming up with the newest bright idea in education is about as imformed and effective as me coming up with the newest bright idea on Wall Street, it just doesn't fit. The shift in our country's approach to education has reflected the shift in politics: the privatization and deregulation of everything that you can think of. How on earth can anyone with a social conscience try to privatize or profit off of a moral, social and ethical responsibility. How can anyone who worships a God and/or believes in the affirmation that the individual is responsible for the community, push for school vouchers, "CEOs" with no interest in the community it claims to serve, or agree to spend more money or prisons than on education? The breakdown of public education and the tendency of society to just throw our hands up will only further the deliberate anihilation of the middle class and widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
TEACHING IS A PROFESSION Being a teacher, especially in the inner-city, is like being a tutor, therapist, disciplinarian, parent, and life coach all in one. Like my mentor told me, during my first year of teaching, you have to teach "the whole child, not just the content of your subject". I have experienced everything from seeing the lightbulb go off in a teenager's head once they realize that they can actually have a future to being called a bitch by my own student. I have helped students write resumes and also held them in my arms as they cried. Everyday that I go to work, there is a new lesson that can be applied to how I carry myself as a woman, mother, artist, friend, and so on. I am mindful of how I dress, covering up tattoos and trying to be an example of how to conduct myself like the queen that I tell my young women that they are. My students are now incorporated into the people that I consider when making personal decisions. Sure there are teachers who are just collecting a paycheck, sitting behind their desks giving out worksheets and bad-mouthing their students publically and privately, but what about the educators who chose their line of work because they really believe in their students and making a difference? These same teachers make personal and professional sacrifices to make almost half or a third of the money that they could be making in another industry that is obviously deemed more valuable by society and this is demonstrated by their pay.
The bottom line is...if you want better teachers, provide better pay and more incentives to attract and maintain the great minds that are necessary to overhaul the flawed but sturdy structure of public education. Respect and regard the field of education as a profession, build its ranks, and change the minds of the millions of parents who want to have a greater stake in their children's futures. As so many people have pointed out before me, how do we have money for prisons, wars, and Big Bank CEOs to fly their private jets to play golf for lunch but don't have enough money for desks? The problem isn't the system, the problem is the priorities of our society and the indifference we have developed toward the community at large.
Life is funny that way. It's all about picking and choosing your battles. We complicate matters when it's really so simple: know when to dance and know when to just walk the f*ck off. Too many people have gotten into trouble or brought unnecessary drama into their lives, self included, by not being able to tell the precise moment when they should do one or the other. For now...I dance. :)
