On the Cusp of Completion...with so Much Left to Go

What a Difference a Year Makes!

A Year in the Life of a Young Teacher:

Reflections after a Long and Ongoing Journey





School Year Concluding:
In roughly 14 hours, the final day of Church Rock Academy Elementary School's academic year will begin. Approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes after that (we do half-day Fridays), it will end, and take with it the most formative nine month experience I've yet encountered.

My first year as a teacher has been filled with ups and downs, no faces, emotions, and triumphs, but, at the end of the day, one thing has remained consistent, that is, my core belief, as well as that of Teach For America, that every single child has an inherent and tremendous ability to achieve outstanding things academically. As I spoke at today'd 5th grade graduation ceremony and peered behind me at the 35 students who will, next year, move on to a new and bigger school, I couldn't help but wonder if my teachings, antics, and constant overtures encouraging them to live with passion, patience, and commitment would endure as they headed off on their final bus ride from CRA. I believe they did.

It will not be easy to say goodbye to the current crop of fifth-graders, though I find extreme comfort in the fact that, next year, I will welcome into my classroom roughly 20 of the 4th graders with whom I forged close ties this year. You see, our school, wonderfully, has received a funding allocation that will allow us to bring in one more 4th grade instructor, which prompted my principal, Principal Schuster, to make the decision to go from a rotating schedule, to self-contained classrooms. In plain English, this means that, unlike this year, fourth and fifth graders will only have one teacher for their core subjects next year, as opposed to the current schedule of taking social studies and writing with me and working with Ms. Young and Mr. Mendrop for their reading and mathematics, respectively.


An 'All-subjects' Teacher:
I'm extremely excited about the change! Not only will I have an opportunity to continue on with students with whom I've already established a solid framework of trust (and, let me tell you, one of the most important lessons I've learned as a teacher this year, is that moving forward academically with one's students happens MUCH more when there exists a level of mutual trust), but I will also have a chance to delve deeper into my students lives, get to better know their story, goals, worries, fears, and enjoyments. Moreover, I am itching to become an 'all-subjects' teacher, finding the prospect of teaching reading and math particularly intriguing, as they dictact so much in terms of how well our students do in their overall academic maturation.

Indeed, next year will be a great challenge in terms of planning, which I hope to do much more efficiently and effectively in 2008-09, and I've already set to work, breaking down my standards and writing a daily math world problem booklet (which all CRA teachers will utilize next year, per a strategy recently created by our school's 'Math Goals' team, chaired by my dear and outgoing colleague, Andrew Mendrop, who'll depart from CRA in pursuit of a middle school teaching job in Medellin, Colombia- buena suerte, amigo!). Next year will push me in new ways as a teacher, but I'm extremely excited and motivated by the challenge.

This Summer:
In other and, I think, extremely exciting news, I received official word on Monday that I've been accepted into the 'Obama Organizing Fellows' program. What this is is a country-wide initiative launched by the Obama Campaign to train a new cadre of field-level political organizers to promote the campaign in their areas during the weeks and months leading up to Election Day. The application process, I learned, was competitive, and I am thrilled to have received an opportunity to join the campaign in this important way.

The program lasts six weeks and kicks off with a 3-day training in Albuquerque on 14 June (there are several other trainings taking part across the country around this time, as well). From there, Obama's New Mexico Fellows will deploy to their parts of the state to set to work. I will be in Las Cruces and work alongside Obama staff to learn how to do effective political field organization Obama style. We will organize volunteer canvassers, events, press releases, and more. I plan to receive a call in the coming days from a program representative to brief me more on specific logistical issues and am extremely excited to begin. Si, se puede!

Musical Ensemble Trip Well on the Way:
One week from today, I and eleven young and talented musicians, will depart for Washington, D.C., in a culmination of five months of wild preparation. Many thanks go out to all of you who've supported the efforts of the Church Rock Academy World Musical Ensemble to make good on an invitation from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian to come to D.C. to perform. We will saddle up just after 8:30 a.m. on a two-day journey to the capital, with a stop in Chicago to change trains.

Upon arrival will head to our hotel and gear up for Sunday big performance, which will take place at 2:00 at the NMAI (all those in the D.C. area are heartily and enthusiastically encouraged to attend this wonderful performance)! We'll rock the house, dine on what I'm told is delicious cuisine inside of the museum and then retreat to the hotel for a celebratory evening of swimming, discussion, and, I'm sure, no shortage of unforeseen activity. On Monday, we'll tour the Capitol, courtesy of Senator Bingaman's Office (I should say that this trip was born with the thought of our youngsters walking wide-eyed into the hallowed Capitol Rotunda- we'll depart from Senator Bingaman's office on the 7th floor of the Hart office building, a floor that, ironically, is shared by Senator Obama- will we see him? Well, we're hoping por un milagro!), and then head of to the Smithsonian's Air and Space and Natural History Museums, before saddling up once more and making the long trip home. We plan to arrive back in Gallup on the evening of Wednesday, 11 June. All told, our journey will run for six days and take us clear across the country and back. I can't wait!


A Year to Remember- More Importantly,
A Year to Use:

Progress means taking the experience you and others have had and turning them into something good. I've learned and experienced a lot this year and can honestly say that I'm wiser, tougher, and more engaged as an educator, young person, and, more generally, human being. Two critical lessons I learned during college seem particularly relevant at this writing: first, be flexible.; secondly, know well the most core of your values. We need to stay flexible in the pursuit of our future plans, while at all times staying true to those core values we hold most dear. For me, this means doing whatever I can to ensure that every person (seriously, everyone) has a real and equal opportunity to fulfill their inherent potential. Some days, I know exactly the way in which I will fulfill this noble calling; on others, the path seems less clear. Still, the most important element remains knowing what is right and, though you'll inevitably slip up, err, and become discouraged, never letting anyone convince you that your vision is wrong, impossible, or silly.

It seems that we hear a lot of 'cants' this day in age. A black man can't become president. Low-income students can't achieve educationally. Balke can't teach. While the third still has an uncomfortable element of truth to it, despite my persistent efforts every single day to make it less so, I now find comfort in my ability to laugh at the nay-sayers, to cast aside pessimism as unfounded, and to dismiss claims that some battles just can't be won. Iin my students' actions and achievements, I find unquestionable evidence in support of the supposition that anything and everything is possible. Come to my classroom. Meet my students. See progress in action through THEIR great talents. It's been a wild ride. I've been privileged to attend.

Cheerio, and please take some time to review the pictures below, which illustrate some of the fun, challenge, and utter formativeness that has been my life over the last twelve months.

Enjoy!

Reflections: In three weeks' time...

In three weeks' time, I will complete my first year of service as a Teach For America Corps Member. Looking back on all that has happened during the last year, from graduating from college on 21 May 2007 to entering the classroom for my first day on 14 August to watching Barack Obama give a life-changing victory speech in Des Moines, Iowa on 03 January to watching ten of my students rock the house this very afternoon in a performance in preparation for their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. to play at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, I can say undoubtedly that the person who sat down to write entry one to this blog in Moody Towers at the University of Houston upon my entry into the TFA program is both the same and different from the one who currently writes posting 57.

Reflecting on all the amazing experience, people, and thoughts that have entered my mind and life over the past twelve months, I become almost overwhelmed by emotion. I've learned so much, and, with each new lesson, realized how much more I still have to learn.

The most important lesson I've learned this year is that there exists a fine line between talking and doing, action and rhetoric, and at many points during the year, I've not known on which side I stood. However, a lesson of equal importance I've become more aware of over the last three hundred and some days is that, in my life, my number one goal is to stay true to, and act on, my ideals. One's ability to do this reflects on their true level of integrity, honesty, passion, and commitment. If I can meet this goal, I will have had a successful life. Did I discover the meaning of life this year- in a way, I know I have.

Perhaps there's too much to recount in writing, but I'd like to go over the highlights of what has perhaps been the most significant year of my life to date.

The Classroom:
To a teacher, students are everything, and for me it's just the same. You think about them, talk about them, and a perhaps distrurbingly regular basis, dream about them. Teaching is not an endeavor of instant gratification- one often do not see the fruits of one's labor until quite a while after it's been done, if ever. In this sense, teachers operate on an unabiding faith that what they do is both important and worthwhile. Good teachers know that any child, regardless of background has an inherent potential to achieve great things as a student and person. I wrote this on day one, I'm writing it today, and I'll write it on day 1 million. If anyone objects, I invite them to visit Northwestern New Mexico, where over 80 TFA Corps Members help their students perform miracles in their classrooms everyday. The right to learn is universal- no one deserves any more or less than another to have every opportunity to optimize and make good on their personal talents. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated that, 'I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality.' He was right. We each have a role to play, a calling to support one another that cannot, will not, and should not end. Those who resist do so at their own peril. Those who assent rule the universe- they truly do.

Still, I've much to learn about good teaching. I need to plan better and more, get better control of my classroom management, establish better systems, create and provide better assessments, track in a more effective way, and a laundry list of other items that will enable my students to make greater gains in year two than they did in year one. Still, having spent one year in the classroom, my desire to develop as a teacher is more intense than ever. I know what I need to do, and I have better tools now to do it.

Coaching:
Coaching high school tennis has been a wonderful and enriching experience for me this year. After spending a school-day in a classroom with 4th/5th graders whose behavior is often less than stellar, it is always a treat and beautiful contrast to come to a setting in which I feel extremely at ease- the tennis court.

I came into my first of coaching at Gallup High School with extremely high expectations for a program that has not traditionally had them. After years of playing tennis in an extremely competitive setting, demanding serious effort and progress is simply programmed into my mind whenever I approach the game (coach, player, or fan). In the beginning, I struggled to understand how my players' mindsets could be so different from mind, especially when I saw such greatness in them in terms of potential. They had contented themselves, in past years, to practicing, having fun, and getting trounced in matches. That was unacceptable for me. I believe that, in anything one does, one should and must have fun. However, I also think we cheat ourselves (and waste time, quite frankly) whenever we demand less of ourselves than our best. Instilling in my players a mindset of victory and desire to make strides on the court was a long but, it seems, successful progress. We employed a concept I called the 'killer instinct'. This came from my mom, actually. When I used to play, sometimes I would play very well, get myself in a position to win, and let that be enough. I would go that extra mile and allow myself to taste the glory of victory (which means fully capitalizing on your capability). Finally, as I ended high school and entered college, I got over this and started, in big, close situations, to demand that I step up and clear the peak. Victories resulted, and I became a much more satisfied tennis player because I knew I'd given matches everything I had and not cheated myself. This lesson extends into my teaching and demands of my students. It's not enough to learn and do something haphazardly- you owe it to yourself to take your skills all the way.

Anyhow, my players have slowly gotten this message and earned some pretty impressive victories. This Friday, two of my players on the girls team will compete in the state doubles tournament, and my top girls singles player received a scholarship to player tennis for Western New Mexico University. One of my guy players is now thinking of college because of the focus his tennis progress has instilled in him. To think that I've made a positive impact on these and other players on my team means the world to me.

Church Rock World Musical Ensemble:
Some of you know of, and have kindly given money to, the Church Rock Academy World Musical Ensemble. This is a group of special, talented young 4th/5th graders, whom, over the last year have developed incredible musical skills, taken their act on the road to many prestigious locations across our state, and now will travel to Washington, D.C., to perform at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. Randy Markham, our musical director, began working with these youngsters in September, starting nearly from scratch. Not only did the students take immediately to the music, but, before long, they were dazzling audiences from locations far and wide.

In November, I reached out to the Smithsonian to see if they'd be interested in having our ensemble come perform in the capital. As an intern for Senator Bingaman during college, I lead tours of the Capitol for groups of young Native American performers, who'd come to the capital to perform at the National Museum of the American Indian. I remembered fondly the look of absolutely wonderment in their eyes as I lead them into the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol and thought, 'My kids deserve this.' From that thought, that vision came five months on insanity- fundraising is not easy! However, I am proud to say that, somehow, we've raised just enough funds to make this trip, and on 05 June we will saddle up on an Amtrak for a cross-country adventure to Washington. What better way is there for my students to see the country and see the incredible thing that hard work, discipline, and outright passion for an endeavor can earn someone. Hopefully, their horizons will be broadened, their minds inspired, and their sense of possibility expanded. More importantly, hopefully they will know, when they perform in this prestigious setting, that their culture as young Navajos is something in which they should find an extreme sense of pride and excitement.

(Friends- we're still taking donations- Church Rock Musical Ensemble; P.O. Box 40; Church Rock, NM 87311- shameless, I know!)

Gallup For Obama:
Senator Barack Obama has the potential to change the world and history- of this, I am convinced. For this reason, I brought together 40-plus Obama supporters from across McKinley County to support the leader's campaign in New Mexico's Democratic Presidential Caucus on Super Tuesday. Working with a phenomenal staffer from the Obama Campaign, we knocked on doors, made phone calls, registered voters, and, ultimately, pulled Senator Obama to a near victory in our county, one in which Clinton was supposed to storm. This, no doubt, played an important role in making the Land of Enchantment Super Tuesday's closest state. Now, our governor, soon-to-be senior Senator, Democratic Party Chairman, and elected superdelegate have pledged their support for Obama. I believe that the work we did here in McKinley County through Gallup For Obama made a significant impact on this process and am proud to have been a part of it. I look forward to playing my role to ensure that NM goes blue for Obama in November!

Iowa in January-brrrr....
Speaking of Obama, I was able to work for his campaign in Des Moines in the two days leading up to Iowa's Democratic Caucus, as well as on Caucus Day itself. In one of the most frantic 72 periods of my life, I knocked on doors in the frigid Iowan winter, made hundreds of calls, delivered campaign gear to Caucus rooms, drove four older ladies, three of whom who'd never Caucused, to show their support for Senator Obama, and, basically froze my ass off. Still, what I won't remember about this incredible trip were the many brushes with frost-bite, but the amazing sense of empowerment I felt marching downtown with the other young progressives who ran Senator Obama's operation in Des Moines, watching other supporters, many of whom were of African American descent, drive by, honking their horns and feeling the same exact sense of freedom we did. History could be, indeed had been, changed by the passion, intellect, and downright grit of committed people dedicated to a better future. Our emotions hit their peak as we entered Senator Obama's victory party in a large stadium downtown. Listening to a high-school drumline proudly beat their instruments, we knew we were, quite literally, standing in the midst of history being made. A better day for this country was on the way. Those who said things like this, ultimately, couldn't be done had been proven wrong. More than five months later, Senator Obama, after following a road that has been anything but smooth, is on his way to the Democratic nomination for President and, I believe, the presidency itself. Yes, we can, folks- yes, we can!

Israel and the West Bank:
Injustice, beauty, and revelation. I felt many things during and after my excursion to the Middle East over spring break. The chief of which was a reaffirmation in my mind of my desire to be on the front lines on shaping U.S. foreign policy. I'll not say too much more on this because people who hope to be in a policymaking position in this country cannot speak all too openly on U.S. policy vis-a-vis Israel and Palestinians.

Still, my tips was incredible. I saw the historic wonders of Old City in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron; the beauty of the Mediterranean in Yafo, south of Tel Aviv, the vibrancy of Palestinian families in small villages and large cities across the West Bank; danced in a Muslim wedding ceremony (not too well- but it was rockin'!); lost in a fiercely contested ping-pong match before a crowd of twenty-five energetic, engaged onlookers after that very wedding (what a night!); saw the Security Wall weave its way in and out of Palestinian communities; saw Yasser Arafat's tomb; had guns pointed at my head at checkpoints; spent countless time with a Palestinian development banker and microlender whose family hosted us in our journeys in and around Ramallah (wonderful people- another family to me- dear, sweet people whom I miss deeply); and so, so much more. I shalln't soon forget this experience, nor will its impact on my future plans be blunted.

I want progress. I want people from everywhere to experience the liberation that some, albeit a minority, of Earthly citizens feel when they know that they can achieve anything they so desire. One year one, I'm deeply rooted. One year in, I'm more passionate than ever about inciting the type of change necessary to create a world in which everyone can realize their fullpotential. And one year in, I'm more aware that there's SO much more I need and want to do.

Yes, I am truly teaching, learning, and leading in New Mexico. Thank you all for your support , friendship, and love. I will try my best to do everything I can. I trust you will do the same.