Called to Teach

I gained an appreciation for culturally relevant education when I was 7-years-old, shortly after experiencing the culture shock of transferring from Uhuru Sasa Shule (Freedom Now School, the Africentric collective into which I was born in Brooklyn, New York),

The East, Brooklyn, NY (Mom's the tallest. I'm in her arms)

Brooklyn, NY (I'm the one to the right of the sign)

to Pepperhill Elementary School near Charleston, South Carolina.

Pepperhill Elementary, Charleston, SC

Fortunately, an abundance of love and an Africentric curriculum at home instilled within me a sense of self-esteem and pride, which simultaneously grounded me while giving me wings.

Contrasting life in New York to that of southern culture, while spending summers in Brooklyn throughout middle school and high school years, gave me an appreciation for experiential education. Those enlightening summers up north, coupled with a steady diet of PBS programs and National Geographic magazines, filled me with a desire to stretch my wings and explore the world.

After learning of classmates and friends who were killed or incarcerated during my first 2 years at Notre Dame, I decided I’d become an educator to help curb the African American dropout rate. However, since I knew classroom teaching would become a lifelong endeavor, involving earning a graduate degree in education, I postponed learning academic theory in the classroom in favor of the experiential education of community service and traveling.

ND "Arkies," Rome, 1991 (That's me with the dreadlocks)

In Italy I was a student who learned Italian while studying architecture in Rome… 

EIL Group, Taormina, 2008

Then I was a Group Leader for high school students…

EIL Group at a cooking school, Asti, 2011

on 7 different occasions!

In the U.S. I was an AmeriCorps-NCCC Team Leader guiding my teams on community service projects, including after school programs  and environmental conservation.

J H Berry Elementary School, SC, 1994

Duke Forest, NC, 1995

In Nicaragua I was a Peace Corps Volunteer who learned Spanish while establishing youth leadership councils, teaching English and coaching soccer.

Horatio Hodgson High School, Bluefields, Nicaragua, 2000

Los Super Meteoros, Bluefields, Nicaragua, 1999

As an Expedition Leader I taught nonviolent conflict resolution and facilitated cross-cultural education while leading experiential learning trips to 18 countries.

Near Chang Mai, 2010

Making adobe bricks, Pun Pun Center for Self Reliance, 2010

Like Thailand, where my Youth International group and I trekked the highlands and volunteered at a sustainable living and learning center.

Jumping with Maasai, near the Serengeti, Tanzania

"During" - In the process of building the chicken coop, 2008

"After" - completed chicken coop, near Ft. Portal, Uganda, 2009

And Tanzania and Uganda where my Carpe Diem group and I participated in Maasai rituals and helped build a chicken coop for AIDS orphans.

Kalokolevu Village, Fiji, 2005

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2005

And Fiji and Australia where my LEAPNow group and I helped plant cassava with a socioeconomically challenged community and learned to SCUBA dive.

Red Cross Camp, Zaragoza, Spain, 2010

Crooked Tree Village, Belize, 2005

And Spain and Belize where my Experiment in International Living groups and I facilitated a Red Cross camp for immigrants, and built a playground for a village school.

"After" - orphanage construction, Mallco Rancho, Bolivia, 2004

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, 2004

And Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador where my charges and I helped build an orphanage before trekking to Machu Picchu, and exploring the Altiplano and Galapagos Islands.

I had no idea it would be such a long and winding path, but witnessing the fascinating growth and development my groups and I underwent as we lived with host families, learned new languages, and expanded our comfort zones was addicting. And I’ve truly enjoyed my 20-year odyssey down this road less traveled through 41 countries on 6 continents.

La Familia Vargas, Dolores, Nicaragua, 1998

The Serengeti, Tanzania, 2009

To be honest, I gain such fulfillment from facilitating metamorphoses from egocentric individuals into conscious, community-minded global citizens that I could lead expeditions forever, but I want to have a greater impact on creating a better world, especially for African American boys who, according to my research, are in dire straits. So I finally put down the backpack to return home in order to gain the knowledge and insights necessary to become the most effective and inspiring elementary school teacher I can be.

I believe in experiential education that is student directed, culturally relevant, and incorporates as many learning styles (e.g. kinesthetic, visual, etc.) as possible. My lesson plans will respect students’ backgrounds and empower them to create the world in which they want to live.

I’m looking forward to finally having my own 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th grade classroom shortly after I’ve earned my Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education in May of 2014. 

A few of my favorite education quotes:

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”

– attributed to Ignacio Estrada

“Tell me, and I’ll forget. Teach me, and I’ll remember. Involve me, and I’ll learn.”

–attributed to Benjamin Franklin

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

– attributed to W. B. Yeats