 |
| President Obama addresses the gathering. |
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of flying to Washington, D.C., to attend the Teach For America 20th Anniversary Summit. Teach For America is the national teaching corps, dedicated to ensuring the day that all children in American have the opportunity to receive an excellent education. I taught 6th grade Language Arts in New Orleans about a decade ago, in a school that has since been obliterated by Katrina’s aftermath. TFA is passionate about closing the achievement gap so that, no matter what income bracket a child grows up within, they can have the same life prospects as their peers nationwide. 11,000 people congested the public transit of our capital, and it was a great time of reconnection and re-invigoration.
If there was a thread wound throughout the entire conference weekend, it was the rally cry that educational equity IS the civil rights movement of our generation, and in order to push for transformational change, we need to embrace this notion. As I'm no longer a classroom teacher, nor am I working directly in education, I admit, I was beginning to feel somewhat sidelined within the Teach For America mission. In my role as Director of DOOR Hollywood, I'm always drawing upon skills and values I learned during my service in TFA, as we invite and create experiences that others might "See the Face of God in the City." We are an asset-based mission, working to set up situations of mutuality and real respect across class, racial, and cultural lines. We dismantle the notion that benevolent upper class folks are the only people who can "help," and that poor folks living in the city are the only people who "need." Surely, my experience teaching in urban New Orleans has left an indelible impression on me that is paramount to my ability to convey these messages with integrity and authenticity. But that's only the start, and it's only peripherally connected to TFA's primary mission.
 |
| Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, keynotes the closing. |
Then, amidst many other provocative ideas, I caught hold of a gem in the “Faith in Action” breakout session moderated by Joshua Dubois, Executive Director of the White House’s Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. An excitingly dynamic panel shared ways that their particular faith was leading them to serious involvement in closing the academic achievement gap. And right towards the closing of the session, one statement hit me directly in the gut: "no civil rights movement has ever gained true momentum without widespread support from churches, synagogues, and other communities of faith."
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was invoked in many of the sessions and speeches, leading my thoughts to perhaps the most memorable image of his famous "dream" speech: children of all colors, races, and backgrounds walking hand in hand. Presumably, as equals. Equal opportunities, equal roles to play in the success of our nation, equal importance in the eyes of one another. This is freedom, this is what it ought to mean to live in America. We are not there, not when schools still look so segregated and academic achievement still looks so white, but this summit reminded me that we can be. We absolutely must work to get there. So what will I do? I'll remember that my faith teaches me to fight for social justice, and I will pray, support those in the classroom, and "not-shut-up" about this movement in my church and the communities where I live and work. Not until this flame turns into a bonfire, and maybe not until that bonfire turns into the afterglow we're all hoping and working for.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of flying to Washington, D.C., to attend the Teach For America 20th Anniversary Summit. Teach For America is the national teaching corps, dedicated to ensuring the day that all children in American have the opportunity to receive an excellent education. I taught 6th grade Language Arts in New Orleans about a decade ago, in a school that has since been obliterated by Katrina’s aftermath. TFA is passionate about closing the achievement gap so that, no matter what income bracket a child grows up within, they can have the same life prospects as their peers nationwide. 11,000 people congested the public transit of our capital, and it was a great time of reconnection and re-invigoration.
If there was a thread wound throughout the entire conference weekend, it was the rally cry that educational equity IS the civil rights movement of our generation, and in order to push for transformational change, we need to embrace this notion. As I'm no longer a classroom teacher, nor am I working directly in education, I admit, I was beginning to feel somewhat sidelined within the Teach For America mission. In my role as Director of DOOR Hollywood, I'm always drawing upon skills and values I learned during my service in TFA, as we invite and create experiences that others might "See the Face of God in the City." We are an asset-based mission, working to set up situations of mutuality and real respect across class, racial, and cultural lines. We dismantle the notion that benevolent upper class folks are the only people who can "help," and that poor folks living in the city are the only people who "need." Surely, my experience teaching in urban New Orleans has left an indelible impression on me that is paramount to my ability to convey these messages with integrity and authenticity. But that's only the start, and it's only peripherally connected to TFA's primary mission. 
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was invoked in many of the sessions and speeches, leading my thoughts to perhaps the most memorable image of his famous "dream" speech: children of all colors, races, and backgrounds walking hand in hand. Presumably, as equals. Equal opportunities, equal roles to play in the success of our nation, equal importance in the eyes of one another. This is freedom, this is what it ought to mean to live in America. We are not there, not when schools still look so segregated and academic achievement still looks so white, but this summit reminded me that we can be. We absolutely must work to get there. So what will I do? I'll remember that my faith teaches me to fight for social justice, and I will pray, support those in the classroom, and "not-shut-up" about this movement in my church and the communities where I live and work. Not until this flame turns into a bonfire, and maybe not until that bonfire turns into the afterglow we're all hoping and working for. 
