Alyssa, 25. I like words.
Monday marked the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, and I’m both excited and petrified. That’s normal, right?
I am by no means a first year teacher, but with four preps, two of which I’ve never taught before, I’m starting to feel the panic that every first year teacher inevitably feels. What if I don’t know the content well enough? What if my lessons aren’t engaging? What if I fail? Does…
I wish my students knew
How many hours I spend thinking about
What they do,
How they feel,
Who they are,
Who they’ll be.
I wish my students knew the things they say matter
In good ways,
In bad ways,
In every way.
I wish my students knew how important their education is
For their future,
For my future,
For our future.
I wish my students knew how vital they are
To the classroom,
To the school,
To…
Last week in class, my ninth graders were tasked with listening to, reading, and analyzing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s seminal speech, “I Have a Dream.” During this time, the students were able to grapple with some of the text’s content and discuss the implications of the speech at the time it was given and in today’s world.
During the discussion, a question was posed by one of the students:…
Okay or Not Okay: That is the Question
I’m not okay.
Don’t worry; that doesn’t mean what you think it means. I’m not in danger or hurt; I’m just not ‘okay.’
In fact, I don’t think I even remember a time when I was consistently ‘okay.’ Sure, there are the occasional instances of okay-ness and even, dare I say it, of happiness. But, on the whole, I’m not okay.
It’s taken me a while to come to this realization (about 20 years, give or…
The Reviews Are In: Bohemian Rhapsody
The band Queen is iconic, and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury, is an icon that has outlived his unfortunately short life.
This biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, has the nearly impossible task of making a film about this band and this man that not only lives up to these two monumental figures of music history but also humanizes them. In a way, this film has a lot to live up to, and one could argue that…
And, if your brain didn’t just jump to “Baby, don’t hurt me,” then we cannot be friends.
More to the point; I don’t think I’ll ever find love.
Before you get too worried; this isn’t some desperate, attention-seeking post from another twenty-something whining about her love life.
It’s more existential than that. I mean, give me a little credit.
I just mean that I don’t really understand how anyone
The Reviews Are In: BlackkKlansman is Political Commentary Worth Watching
Two weeks ago, I accidentally watched ten minutes of an idiotic conservative documentary and today, I saw the film’s opposite.
I walked in with virtually no expectations, and I walked out with both a glib and hopeful perspective on the future; all in all, this film did EXACTLY what it was meant to: force the audience to understand that the problems that existed forty years ago and forty years…
The other day, I had some time to kill, so I went to the movies, which, as it turns out, is a great way to kill a couple of hours.
Because of this impromptu trip, I didn’t look up any of the movies that were playing. I simply walked up to the counter, asked for a ticket to a show that was playing at that time, and then walked into the film ignorant to what I was about to see.
The film had just…
I learned something about myself this summer. Kind of shocking, I know. An over-analytical and overly self-aware human actually reflected on her life and learned something?! It should be front-page news because the chances of that happening are so slim that the ice caps have a better chance of melting completely causing sea levels to rise and environmental catastrophes to roam the earth. Oh wait.
Shit show. According to Dictionary.com, “a shitshow is a description of an event or situation that takes an unexpected turn and is thrown into chaos. It’s another word for spectacle or a complete mess.” It’s a word that I’ve used in the past, but not one that I go to very often.
However, in the past few weeks, the frequency with which I use this word has increased nearly tenfold for reasons I’d…
NFL Anthem Policy: United We Kneel
Considering the NFL’s new policy that requires players on the field to stand for the National Anthem or else be subjected to a fine, I would like to dedicate today’s blog post to the first amendment.
Many people are citing the first amendment law as a basis for why players should be able to silently protest by kneeling on the field during the song. Others are saying that it’s unpatriotic to kneel…
I’m not usually one for expressing emotion or discussing emotion in any sort of real way, but last week was Teacher Appreciation and I’d be lying if I said that the notes I received didn’t melt my cold heart a little.
There was one instance last week that is of particular note.
One of my students, who I’ve known for three years, wrote me a note that truly made me remember why it is I come to work…
The Reviews are In: Avengers: Infinity War is…
Welcome to my subtle, yet not that subtle, attempt of giving you a bit of a cliffhanger similar to what you’ll experience if you go to see the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s epic saga.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been following the MCU’s meticulous schedule since it began with Iron Man back in 2008. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been anxiously awaiting how…
Teen romances are my guilty pleasure.
If you haven’t seen Love, Simon, I highly recommend it. Even if you’re not into teen romances about high school, there is something nostalgic and relatable about them.
This film is about a gay teenager who falls in love with another closeted classmate via email. There is an air of mystery as both Simon and the audience attempt to work out who “Blue,” the pen…
March 1st marked the beginning of Women’s History Month, so I wanted to take this month to introduce some kick-ass women of history.
I’m starting this series out with a woman who not only got a king to divorce his wife but also got him to create a new religion and change the face of England and Europe for centuries that followed.
That’s right, it’s Anne Boleyn.
You know in job interviews when…