The reason I do it.

The work is hard, very hard. The pay's no good. So why do I do it? Here are a few reasons.

BUT FIRST. A SHOUT OUT!!! To Li, whoever you are. For donating to my classroom. Now I only have $526 left to go till I get my classroom set of Lord of the Flies. If you want to donate (it's a tax right off and extra blessings in Heaven) just go to the link above.

Back to the reason I do it.One and a half of my favorite twins. #9 and #29 are twin brothers. Don't let the hair throw you, they actually look a lot alike. And they are the two best students in the whole school! They are on par with all the students I had back in Utah. They attended private schools when they were younger but transferred to Dunbar so they could be on a championship football team, and they'll probably both get scholarships because of it. They have great parents and I just love them so much. Last year they begged me to get them into my class, and I'll never regret that I did.

The lightest boy, in back is also an identical twin. His twin isn't in the picture. Kareem and Ikeem Pingshaw are legends around the school. Last year they were known by all as the leaders of one of the schools most dangerous gangs. They were constant hall walkers who went home to drugs, violence and sex. But they were totally capable students. I'll never forget my first memory of Ikeem. He told me his favorite memory was "making his former teacher cry and then she quit." He had the biggest smile on his face, like "you're next." I would be lieing if I said I wasn't a little scared. But throughout the year I watched him make the biggest turn around. All of the sudden his journal entries started talking about how he was giving up drugs and gang life. He was going to leave the streets and hit the books. He was determined to stay on the football team and get a college scholarship. He also mentioned that his brother Kareem was not choosing to take this high road. It broke my heart. But Kareem eventually came around. The track coach saw Ikeem's talent and figured his identical twin had to be able to perform as well. So this year Ikeem's the football star and Kareem is the track star. Neither are involved in gangs anymore. And both have excellent grades. The students love them and I do too.













Meet Eric Jackson. Last year he was in my first period class. He was a bit of a trouble maker around the school, but for me - he was an angel. In fact, when the Assistant Principal came to observe me, she commented on how impressed she was that I had such good control over him. Well, his days of trouble making are over. This year he is a mighty Jr and one of the managers of the football team. And he works on the media crew for Toby (one of the office assistants) and you can always find Eric with a video camera around school. Which explains the other picture of him. I am so proud that he has matured so much since last year. The streets did not take him.

It's homecoming week and this is our Mr and Mrs. Football. Instead of voting on the "most popular" twenty kids in school, each organization nominates a couple of candidates and then they vote on the candidates - which must have a 2.0 and never have been suspended. Anyway, I love Coco. The girl in this picture. I had her for about two weeks at the beginning of the year but every time I see her she tells me how much she misses me and gives me a big hug. Curtis, the star football player, is her boyfriend. So I was glad they got to be Mr. and Mrs. Football together.






















And last but not least, the Volleyball team. They are decorating my car for the Homecoming parade. Cassie (the girl with the crown -Miss Pre-Engineering) is ADORABLE! She's our little cheerleader. If I ever take her out of the game the whole morale just drops. The girls in the middle picture are my favorites. They are the best students at school and just SO SO nice. Anyway, to decorate, I let them put Oreo's on the back of my car, it says C-Tide. Then I gave them washable markers and they wrote their names and #s all over my car. Of course we had a corner dedicated to Mek Mek. We miss her.

Ben's going to the game with me tonight. But he shot me down when I asked if he wanted to chaperone at the dance. To be honest, I want to go more out of curiosity than anything else. I would love to see them dance, cause lets face it. They can dance. Today at the pep assembly they had a dance contest and I about died. It is so amazing to watch them. And they have no inhibitions. Kids 100 lbs overweight were getting down! I would have never.

I love my job. I love the school. And mostly, I love the kids. They make it worth it.