Another thing is that we (as a country) need to start investing in the human infrastructure to help people actually get into college, succeed in college, become successful business owners, etc. We need to grass roots it. Start investing in getting mentors into schools, getting more educators who are people of color,…

A few years back, my husband and I were on our way to an RV campout with some friends we were meeting up with. There was a group of about 15 of us meeting at the halfway point in Lone Pine, CA and then we were going on to Nevada to meet up with about 20 more RVs. First night we pull in and hang out with our friends.…

I was on the textbook adoption committee for my district, for the middle school textbook adoption.  I was the last hold out, insisting the book that was eventually adopted was trash.  Now 6 years later the district is like, "this book is trash but we don't have funding for another adoption so you teachers figure it…

But we have tacos!

I did a budget wedding a little over a decade ago and it’s totally the way to go. It can be annoying and maybe even a headache but if you can do it, DO it. A good friend told me the only thing people remember is the bride’s dress and the cake. Our cake was chocolate with layers of fudge/ ganache and a whipped cream…

I had a student try to sell me drugs.  That was a fun parent conference . . .

You think you won’t see those people again.  Then I became a teacher and now teach with 5 other people who went to high school with me and another teacher is married to one of my old classmates (he wasn’t her teacher, it’s just a coincidence).  I see those mofos all the damn time.  

School counselors are kind of a mixed bag. Your sister is probably a good one. Even at the same school (just finished my 22nd year teaching) I have some counselors I work with who are amazing. They do so much and work so hard for the kids on their caseloads. Then there are others who are just like, “whatever”. For…

Art is one of those things that has to speak to you.  People like certain styles or artists because something in the piece or style speaks to them.  I love Frida, but I am a fan of surrealism.  I don’t really like Pollock because I’m not a huge fan of his style.  Like Kandinsky’s White on White is just nothing to me. …

There is absolutely no reason we can't feed every kid lunch for free in public schools. The money we spend on education is so mismanaged and spent on things that do not actually help students.  Most districts are so administration heavy and classrooms are packed.  Lower class sizes, feed kids and get rid of so many…

I teach middle school math and please do this people!  Some kids struggle so hard with just basic number concepts (half is the same as 50 percent/ 50 cents or even a quarter of an hour is 25 minutes, so 60 divided by 4 is 15).  This will help kids just make some connections with number.  Also, just another idea.  With…

Growing my own and some avocados also!!

Possible unpopular opinion, but put some jalapeno powder in your deviled eggs.  So good.  

I applaud her for being honest and vulnerable.  She had to know some idiots were going to have shit to say, but she put herself out there anyway.  A lot of women who are not as beautiful or accomplished as she is feel the same way, that “do I still got it” thing.  And she made it okay for the rest of us to realize…

Potato chips!  One of my students, 5 minutes before the end of class, decides to start eating potato chips.  Ummm, #1 I told you NOT to eat and #2, did I lose my hearing?  Everyone else is quiet, working and you start eating potato chips?  There are a million other QUIET snacks to eat if you want to try and break the…

The movie theater (a major chain) in the neighborhood I grew up in is EXTREMELY lenient. As in, people brought in pizzas, Mexican food in to go boxes, Pho, all manner of fragrant feasts, Starbucks all right out in the open. No problem. So, I went to the same chain in the neighborhood I live in now, with my husband. I…

People REALLY do need to use a wide range of vocabulary with their children! My students (8th grade) have such limited vocabularies. The other day I was talking to my students about a manifesto and I had to explain that. I also had to explain the idea of if something is intuitive or not. They really latched on to…

This is awesome!  It puts me in mind of something I did in my classroom.  I got the flesh colored markers, multicultural pack and have left them out for all to use all year.  My students (majority white school) of all shades use all shades.  When illustrating things with multiple people, a lot of different colors are…

Did anyone see that Finding Your Roots where Ty Burrell finds out his great grandmother was AfAm.  You could tell his was kind of repulsed at the idea of what his great grandmother went through, there was also this huge age gap.  I remember watching that episode and feeling revolted.  Any time someone finds a single,…

My wedding cake had a whipped cream frosting.  It was basically a dark chocolate cake with layers of fudge in between and a whipped cream frosting with chocolate shavings on top.  It was super decadent.