Field Trip to DC!

This week I finally made good on my promise to take my kids on a field trip to our nation’s capital. I first made the promise on the first day of school, when I didn’t really know what the heck I was saying. I was just trying to invest my students. Throughout the year, I kept telling them that yes, the trip was still going to happen, even though I hadn’t started the process of approval or planning. It’s amazing how many lies I’ve told my kids over the year. No major ones; mostly just ones to keep them at bay or to catch their attention.


But on Thursday, the one-time lie became a truth. With approval from the principal and superintendent, I took a group of 80 students to Washington D.C. We left at 4:45 in the morning, leaving from the Henderson Middle School parking lot and arriving at the Washington Monument at about 8:30 in the morning. The kids (many of whom had never been to DC, and some of whom had never been out of the state of North Carolina) were immediately dazzled by the size of the structure. Standing at the Washington Monument, they could see the Capitol building to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. It was at this point that the long drive and the stressful hours of preparation paid off. The kids were beaming. They were so excited to get a glimpse of the world, and to be out of Henderson, North Carolina.


From there we walked down to the World War II Memorial, then alongside the reflecting pool until we reached the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where we stopped for a group picture. It was also at this point where I showed the kids the engraved block of limestone that marks the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The kids were fascinated with this, and with the Lincoln Memorial in general. Of all the characters they’ve learned about this year, Lincoln and King were their favorites.





We then made our way over to the Vietnam War Memorial, the black wall that lists the names of the 58,000 soldiers who were killed or went MIA during that tragic 9-year war. Before leaving for the trip, I dedicated a lesson to the Vietnam Memorial, to let the kids know about how controversial it was back in the early 1980’s, and how many Americans were passionately opposed to its construction. I walked my kids through its history, getting them to think critically about why there was such controversy. By the end of the lesson, I was impressed with their answers. One went something like this:

“Well, the point of a memorial is to remember something or honor something. But for a lot of people the Vietnam War was a terrible thing, so why would you want to remember it?”

-Antonio Castillo, 14

After that lesson, they even understood the symbolism of the dark wall compared to the bright and gleaming monuments that surround it. Of all the monuments and memorials in Washington, it is the only one that is a black or charcoal color, while the rest proudly boast a clean marble, or something close to it.

We then walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of Air & Space where we had lunch and let the kids browse the exhibits. It was a long walk, and some of the kids started to complain of hunger and fatigue. Then, when we finally did arrive, we didn’t have long to do soak in the museum, as our buses arrived shortly after our arrival there, ready to take us back to HMS.

As I rode home on the bus that day, reading and daydreaming, I wondered if the kids enjoyed themselves. I wondered if the trip was worth all the work and stress and money I had to personally put into it. I would have been devastated if they spoke ill of it the next day, telling their friends who didn’t go that they wish they, too, had remained behind. But the next day, to my great relief, the halls were buzzing with stories and experiences and praise for the field trip that I had worked so hard to engineer. People were sharing photos and looking at each others’ cameras and laughing and generally having a good time. That right there made the difference, and I’m already in the process of planning next year’s trip.

Light at the end of the tunnel...

This week marked the 1 year anniversary of the day that we signed a contract with Teach For America. We had just rented out our house, I was a week away from graduating from USU, and our future - although planned - seemed as uncertain as ever. What did we know about being teachers? What did we know about the achievement gap in America? What did we know about racial and socioeconomic inequality? The answer: very little.

We did, however, have the tools necessary to succeed in the program and make a difference in the lives of our students:

1. A college degree (suggests some degree of intelligence)
2. Experience in rejection (thank you, LDS missions)
3. A genuine desire to serve and lift up the under-served, the poor, and the needy

This year has been an eye-opening experience, and has challenged us in ways we never thought we would be challenged. We have been exposed to a new world, and a different America that we knew and grew up in. Here poverty is commonplace, crime is an occupation, and education is often viewed as an obstacle, not a solution.

I don't remember any of that from my childhood. Sure, there were a few kids that I knew didn't have much money, because they lived in the trailer court near USU's Romney Stadium. And sure, there were a couple of kids who got in trouble with the police and ended up doing community service or going to an alternative school, but that was the case for less than 1% of my peers. Thinking back, I don't know that I can name a single classmate that dropped out.

So what does that say? What does that tell us about the world? The country? The education system? Well, to me it says there is work to be done, and I'm personally glad to be doing some of that work. It's not easy, it's often unpleasant, and it requires a stiff backbone. That's why I can't tell you how proud of Celeste I am. She has developed into a PHENOMENAL teacher. Her students respect her, and their test scores have climbed gradually all year long. She throws it down, people. I wish you could see her in action.


When we both started, we felt like we were drowning. Now we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have only 3 more weeks of instruction before state testing begins. It's hard to believe this year is almost over. Many of our days seemed to drag on forever. But those days are behind us now, and we're looking ahead with enthusiasm and hope.

Teaching is not a glamorous profession, nor is it high-paying (or fair-paying, for that matter). But I love the feeling that comes from serving these kids, and it's something I'll never regret.

Spring Break!

What a week we've had. Starting with Josie coming to visit, then Herm and Norma flying in from Utah, a trip to the beach and oh so much more. The biggest of the big was the fact that we had a break from all of our adorable students for a week. They're so adorable.

Our Spring Break was filled with many a fun thing, not the least of which was seeing that my sister is all grown up (she defended her master's thesis a few days ago, and was frantically working to prepare for that event while visiting us), and that my parents haven't changed a wit since we moved to North Carolina. Dad still does his old man version of push-ups and sit-ups every night, watches TV on mute until he stumbles upon a movie - any movie - in black and white, and never fails to wear his white gym shoes with pleaded khakis and a polo shirt. Mom still carries around a bag of black licorice candy, checks her facebook account whenever possible, and falls asleep the second she gets into a car. On top of all that, they both still make me proud to be their son. They're a wonderful pair, and I've been blessed to have them as my parents. Here are some photo highlights. Until next week, farewell!

DAD RUNNING FROM THE WATER LIKE A CUTE OLD MAN


CURRITUCK ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE, NC





CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE, NC



MINI-GOLFING IN KITTY HAWK



WRIGHT BROTHERS FIRST FLIGHT MONUMENT




KAYAKING IN THE ALLIGATOR RIVER WILDLIFE REFUGE






RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA LDS TEMPLE

Field Trip to the University of North Carolina

This was a special week for my little ninyos. Working with the Tarheel Outreach Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 50 of our 72 students had the opportunity to take the 50 mile bus ride from HMS to UNC. It may as well have been on the other side of the world considering that Chapel Hill is a beautiful community filled with gorgeous houses, clean streets, and "Public Ivy" university. Henderson, on the other hand, has abandoned warehouses, public housing projects, and a lucrative drug trade.

It was a lot of fun, and we heard our kids arguing on the bus ride about which college they were going to attend. Those, I assure you, are the kinds of arguments a teacher loves to hear.

Here are some of the highlights of the day, which included games, activities, speakers, and a surprise encounter with Tyler Zellar, UNC's star 7-foot center on the basketball team:

Our Very First Visitors!!!

Clay and Jen win the prize.

Ever since moving to North Carolina, we've offered the world an open invitation to come and stay in our roomy and luxurious 2-bedroom apartment and to taste a slice of the South with us. Well, this weekend, someone finally answered the call.

It was great to have Clay and Jen in our home and to show them a new portion of our lives. See, much of our dealings with our family friends only offers us the opportunity to give them the "surface" story of what goes on in our lives. It's hard sometimes to explain or describe what our lives are like on a daily basis, but this weekend Clay and Jen got to see our classrooms, walk through our hallways, and even meet some of our students. And that was just the beginning.

In their short stay, we saw Chapel Hill and Durham in all their glory (they seemed to really like the Southern-style homes), visited the campuses of Duke and UNC, watched a Duke-UNC baseball game, played tennis, and ate at all of our favorite restaurants. You'd have to ask them what their favorite part was, but for us, it was just being in the company of family. We're quite isolated from family out here in North Carolina, and it was nice to laugh and talk and spend time with them...other than on Skype or on a phonecall.

Now, they may have won the gold, but there is still plenty of time for y'all (and by "y'all" I mean everybody), to take silver and bronze, and any honorable mentions that may come after that. Don't be shy now. Come on out and let us show y'all what Southern hospitality is all about.

Knocking on Spring's Door

The cutest couple in the world in front of the capital building in Colonial Williamsburg

As this week comes to an end, so does winter around these parts. We did experience a little snow on Wednesday night, but it looks like temperatures are steadily climbing with highs in the upper 60's for most of the week.

With spring just around the corner we are looking forward to bike rides, tennis, bacci ball, and of course, baseball season. (Jackson's first game as an HMS baseball coach is Tuesday!) But what we are most looking forward to are visits from family that are just around the corner! We can't wait! With the visits also comes SPRING BREAK which will mark the three-quarter point of our first year as teachers. For all of the hard work, sweat, blood and tears, looking back it has gone remarkably quickly so far.

While we await visits and the fun in the sun, we took another trip up to colonial Williamsburg. It does seem strange for us to go to the same place to vacation within a month's time, but we didn't actually plan this getaway. We put our names in a drawing at a local restaurant and surprisingly won. We enjoyed relaxing stay and some friends even came up to join us for a night.

Celeste enjoying a meal at the Victory Museum in Yorktown, VA

A tavern is a restaurant that serves colonial food with authentic entertainment and service.

Enjoying a meal at the King's Tavern with our friends Matt and Kay, good friends in TFA

Cute Jackson showing off the authentic napkin at the King's Tavern that was larger than a table cloth.

Hello, world!

Jackson and Celeste "hiking" near Oxford, NC. At least that's what they call it.

Hello, and our most heartfelt greetings to all of you from North Carolina! We apologize that we haven't updated our blog for the last several weeks. On the ever-growing "to do" list of a modern-American teacher, blogging doesn't always claim a high priority. But today the sun is shining, life is good, and we want to share it with the world.

So the snow has melted (I just looked at our last post. Brrrrrr!), the grass is greening, and the air is getting more warm and welcoming by the week. Last Saturday Celeste and I played tennis outside in 60-degree weather. It has since cooled down a bit, but we're consistently in the high 40's to high 50's, which has been very nice. You know that smell that comes around every year that just smells like Springtime and happiness? Yeah, we've got that here. It's amazing.

Since our last post, quite a bit has happened. First of all, Celeste gave her students a Unit Test this week and her students did awesome. The class average was a 75% (up from 40% last semester!) Celeste has become an awesome teacher. Also in the classroom, I engulfed myself and my students into the Civil Rights Movement on account of it being Black History Month and all. The Civil Rights Movement has long been one of my favorite eras of American history, and this month only reinforced that. I got to teach my kids about Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, the Little Rock 9, the Greensboro Sit-ins (which took place just over an hour from where we live!), and much more.

It was amazing to see how well they responded, too. Many students who were failing or cared little about social studies suddenly came to life, and were some of my most engaged students. It was an incredible experience to teach the Civil Rights Movement to a predominantly black audience, in a school that used to be segregated, just down the road from famous Civil Rights battle sites. It was eye opening and yes, even a little life changing.

Kayshon and Stephanie, working on our Black History Month door decorating contest.

Early in the process.

Tonei, Stephanie, and Ki-Jana, still at work.

The finished product. If you look in the right upper corner, you'll see me smiling back at you.

Outside of the classroom, Celeste and I went on a romantic weekend getaway to Williamsburg, Virginia for Valentine's Day and had a ball seeing all the sights and traveling back in time. Williamsburg is a city everyone should visit before they die.

Celeste, ready to do battle at a Williamsburg gift shop.

Us at the Governor's Palace. Williamsburg, Va.

I also started coaching baseball. We're starting our 3rd week of practice next week, and have our first game on March 9th. It's a hoot to be out there with the boys, I tell you what. Hittin' and throwin' and catchin' and runnin'. "Ohhhh, man I wish I could go back in time. I'd take state." -Uncle Rico

Well, that about brings us up to speed. We have been truly blessed and are grateful to God for the opportunity to make the world a better place, one challenging day at a time.