I am a proud teacher.
The last few weeks in CORE Charter School have been difficult. With graduation closing in, many seniors seem to be feeling the pressure to get everything done and cross the finish line.
This probably was not the best time for me to assign a major project. In my teacher thinking, here's what I had planned, "We just spent five weeks discussing the employability traits and connecting them to personal narratives. It'd be great for students to share their stories with their peers. They already produced good skits in a very short time period. Two weeks will plenty of time." What I failed to take in to account is how personal a personal narrative is. Each one of you has a story to tell and it was not fair of me to expect you to lay out your story in a two week period. However, I have been pushing you for a reason- because each one of you is powerful beyond measure. You have earned your seat in CORE Charter School. I know many of you have not enjoyed coming to school in the past and I hope that CORE Charter School has at least provided you with a place where you feel safe, are challenged, and can tap into your talents. If you graduate early or if it takes you an extra semester to get through high school, my hope is that your prepared to jump through the hoops that await you after high school.
I'm also doing a project. I'm working on finishing up my masters degree, and I've been doing research over the past several weeks on our employability unit. I was starting to get stressed out because the results of my research were not what I was anticipating...the technology wasn't working, which meant that you guys couldn't get your projects done and that I wouldn't get my project done. On top of all that, my last day of teaching you is May 14th. I want to finish the year with you but I will be spending much needed time with my beautiful baby daughter.
I am a proud teacher because you took a risk. I just finished looking over your video's. I have not seen everyones video yet, but Lio's, Mikey & Brandon's set the bar very high. Thank you for opening up and telling your story. Your fearlessness is rare in a time when so many people are concerned solely with image and appearances.
My goal as a teacher is to make you feel a little more self assured than when you first walked in to CORE Charter School. This years seniors have perservered and achieved something that cannot be taken away. DO WORK, was something that I heard on a daily basis, sometimes it was just talk- but not with your personal narrative projects. Thank you for putting your heart into your work. It made me very proud to be your teacher. Please let me know what you need to get where you're going next-
-Mr. McCabe
