after thinking about my earlier post today i felt somewhat ungrateful and a bit too negative. i didn’t want to convey the impression that i was less than happy with my decision to leave john muir and travel with my former students up to high school. nothing could be further from the truth. in the first 7 days of teaching a 9th grade course on community action research i have had nothing but purely positive experiences with my students and the colleagues that i knew i would be working with directly… that being said, in working with students whom i have had the honor of teaching more than once has been a great joy. and being able to see other amazing teachers help inspire some of my former students has truly been enlightening… to see the growth… to feel the pride that you had a hand in helping to sow seeds and watch them grow…
in our class so far we have explored the concept of IDENTITY, what helps to construct it, how it is influenced, why it matters… with her permission Maria has allowed me to post what i consider to be a wonderful reminder as to why we do what we do.
Where I’m From
i am from sacrifices and love, from my mom’s hard work to feed 8 mouths
i am from “hechale ganas y portate bién”
i am from little money and lots of gambling even though that means no christmas presents
i am from tacos and soccer partidos, from “goooooaaaalsss” and “let’s go mexico!!!”
i am from rancheras to oldies, from Chalino Sanchez to Brenton Wood
i am from misa every sunday and candles for those who aren’t here
i am from a family of friends that are always there to pick me up
i am from ILy Chunty to ILy Rose, from let’s die laughing to i’ll always love you <3
i am from drive bys around the corner, from “where you from?!” to “what you write?!!”
i am from lots of courage and lots of perseverance cuz i never give up
i am from low vocabulary but high achievements
i am from stereotypes and mouthdrops!! :0
i am from pasisas and cholitos, from botas de avestrus to nike corteses
i am form hot cheetos and lots of chocolate but also lots of trips to the dentist
i am from fiestas on saturday to chores all week!!
i am from screams and violence to wishing i would die
i am from blades and scars to finally seeing the light and feeling a hand over my shoulder
i am from faces that hide the sadness with a big smile
i am from voices that cry and voices that laugh what i really wonder is if its really worth it??!!
it is our students’ identities that should be at the center of our practice. honoring them and helping them to grow…
yea. that’s real. thank maria for sharing.
Wow! Touching. Inspiring. May I read this to my students? Do I know Maria?
You had her last year. And since she gave me permission to put it on my blog i don’t see why not…
Beautiful poem! I can totally relate, Mar. What an amazing blessing it is to teach students for more than one year and to experience the pride of having in some way (hopefully) shaping their development. I’m so proud of you, Maria! I was especially recommended to check out Mr. Gomez’s site to read your poem–so glad I did!
Oops! Typo:
Beautiful poem! I can totally relate, Mark. What an amazing blessing it is to teach students for more than one year and to experience the pride of having in some way (hopefully) shaping their development. I’m so proud of you, Maria! I was especially recommended to check out Mr. Gomez’s site to read your poem–so glad I did!