Journey to the center of the system--in a nutshell.

So I had been in college for 6 years and decided to complete my Science major and worry about becoming a certified teacher later.

I landed my very first teaching job with my Alma mater Holy Angels Catholic School. There I learned from my former teachers what to do ---and on occasion what NOT to do. The women I learned form were: Sr. Larina, Sr. Helen, and Sr. Dorothy. These nuns raised hell---and I thank them for it.

I'm gonna go through this quickly so here it goes: left the archdiocese to go to a private Christian school and decided to get my master's degree in metropolitan (urban) elementary education and went to an African centered charter school for some student teaching left there went to do more student teaching at a top diverse magnet school elementary school was hired on there as a Reading Specialist and school based problem solving specialist left there to become a teacher in another top diverse magnet school got fed up and was recruited by the principal at the Christian school all mastered up for the Dean of students position of a K-12 school of 600 students got selected to be the Curriculum coordinator for the building and got selected to be the Third Semester Principal of that school was placed on the spin off design team for the "replication model of the private school" as a charter school learned much too much about the charter school system and after having personally recruited 200 plus students and being named principal of the new replication charter school after raising red flags about monies and spending and the intention to purchase the private school's USED books and the board deciding NOT to have the school replicate the entire model (with children not having gym, foreign language or art) I was told that someone else would be principal.  And I was RELIEVED! LOL

After leaving the pit of doom and despair, I went on vacation with the family and we decided to have another child. I still couldn't get enough of the need to help in the education field so I took a job as a curriculum coordinator at a non profit organization that was supposed to "FOCUS on the Family" and was tasked with coming up with educational supports and an evaluation template for 17 schools receiving a federal after school grant.

This job was probably the worst position ever because they collected hundred's of thousands of dollars to provide children in some of the worst performing schools in some of the most underserved neighborhoods with after school tutoring programming that was supposed to help them make gains.

In a nutshell it was mostly a lot of grant writing and pretending to provide training but continued to hire people who were not committed to doing anything more than status quo. While people collect money----the kids are not being educated. 

The worst thing is that on paper, the government gives money to improve the educational services by allotting monies toward these after school programs and the reality is the organizations  who go into these schools are not being held accountable BUT every one besides the children get paid---and it looks like there is nothing more to be done.

So I prayed and cried out to the universe---I said out loud and quiet internal prayers inside to God that I needed meaningful work that would inspire children, impact their world view, provide enriching experiences  and diversity.

And so, I educate my own damn kids---at home!