Israel

... Is better told through pictures. So visit my album, where instead of a long, long blog entry, I've broken down my trip in captioned bits.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100170805526206.2524437.5515657&l=068d3f21b5&type=

That should be open to viewing by all.
If the link doesn't work, let me know!

Peace and love,
Tori

June in Review

The last time I wrote, I was living a different life. Since then:

- School is over.
- My time as a Teach For America Corps member is done.
- I received my first ever C+ in a college course, which I totally deserved for slacking off so much at the end of the year.
- I completed my master's degree anyways, so who cares.
- I went to a ball at the French Embassy.
- I went to a Kenny Chesney concert. And A Mumford and Sons concert.
- I got certified in the State of Maryland, and soon the District of Columbia as a Spanish teacher for life.
- Two of my best friends moved away. Betsy is in New York teaching at Uncommon schools. Kate is in Denver working for Senator Johnston.
- Meredith and I bid adieu to 1368 E Capitol St. and our front -yard view of the capitol.
- Meredith and I moved 10 blocks closer to the Capitol. So we can't see it anymore, but we can walk to it in 5 minutes.
- I got my first-ever plaque as a thank you for my time at Gwynn Park.
- I hung my first-ever plaque in my first- ever office (yep, I said office. It has a window. And a door. And a leather high-back chair) at my new job. See photo!


- I started my new job, working in Development at the Center For Education Reform.
- I now officially take the 8:15 into the city.
- I had my first- ever phone call with a billionaire. He owns a little chain of stores called "The Gap" and happens to love education reform.

There's more. There's so much more. In the last month, my life has turned upside-down. And frankly, I haven't accepted all the changes yet. I keep thinking my friends will walk in the door any minute. I wake up a bit startled every morning with the feeling I'm on vacation and borrowing a guest room somewhere. My job just feels like a summer internship. But this is life 2.0 ... This is how it will be indefinitely.

That's not to say 2.0 is bad. It's just very, very different. And it all happened so fast! On Friday, I was at Gwynn Park sitting in a circle of highschoolers talking about boys. On Monday, I was on the metro to Bethesda wearing a business suit and reviewing donor lists. One week I live in a house. Now I live in an apartment!

Life 2.0 is full of blessings. I really couldn't ask for anything better- I'm working in the line of work I love, for a cause I believe in, with hilarious coworkers and a beautiful office. I've got a gorgeous apartment and a roommate I love and a social life I wouldn't trade for the world. Soon the stress of this transition will melt away and life will feel normal again. And probably just as I'm feeling settled, it will be off to Israel!

Peace and Love.

Good Dog Brewer

Goodbye, Brewer. (I think) You would have been 13 this month! In honor of your 13 joyful years with us, here are my 13 favorite things about you.

1. His nicknames: “Surfer dude,” for his laid-back disposition, “dairy boy,” for his love of cheese, ice cream, etc. and “Houdini” for how he escaped every tether we ever put him on (including a body harness. This confounds us to this day)

2. The way he’d run, at lightning speed, from anywhere in the house or yard at the tiny, soft pop of the cap coming off the can of whipped cream. (I still don’t know how he heard it!)

3. How he could retrieve the paper- not from the ground, but FROM THE MAILBOX! (We had to halt this trick after we started getting newspapers from the whole neighborhood.)

4. How when you commanded him to “bark,” he’d just open his mouth and “air-bark” without making any actual sound.

5. How when it snowed, he’d bark to go outside, and roll around making “puppy angels”.

6. How when there was food around, he’d just start “shaking” and putting his paw on your lap, unrequested.

7. How he’d always be in your way, picking the most inconvenient locations (example: in front of the stove while cooking thanksgiving dinner) just so he could be near you.

8. His abject fear of geese.

9. His “bear bark,” whenever a bear came near the property.

10. His total and complete discipline, knowing all hunting commands by hand, voice and whistle.

11. His status as “mayor of the neighborhood,” visiting every dog on the mountain each morning, getting treats from all the neighbors, and accompanying all the kids to the bus stop.

12. How he’d just start “talking,” making little woofs and growls if he felt like being petted or wanted some attention. As he got older, he did this from other rooms in the house to make YOU come to him to pet him. (who owns who now?)

13. His unquestioned loyalty, devotion, obedience, and love for everyone in the family.

Miss you Brew! Have fun with Buck, Otis, Maddie, and all our other furry friends in the great beyond!

Catching up!

It feels like a long time since I've written...life is extremely hectic right now, and there's lots to say!

Last week, I started my new job at the Center For Education Reform. Tuesdays and Fridays after school, I go to the office in Bethesda and work in the evenings, training and preparing to start full time June 20th. So far, my new coworkers have been welcoming and I'm excited to get started full time. It's going to be an odd adjustment to work in an office after two years in the classroom. I was struck by how quiet it was compared to a day at school! And there's plenty of small perks that have me excited - the least of which is Georgetown Cupcakes directly across the street from the office!


In Gwynn Park news, the seniors had their graduation this week. The picture is of them waiting nervously in the tunnel before heading out onto the floor for the ceremony. Graduation was bittersweet. I have very strong personal relationships with a lot of the seniors and I was thrilled to see most of them in their caps and gowns. In the United States, less than half of black males graduate high school. Some of my favorite students didn't make it, and despite the joy of the day, my mind was dwelling on those few students. I'm still struggling with the guilt of leaving the classroom, especially in moments like that. I think I'm going to try and tutor or something next year so I stay in touch with my reasons for working in Ed Reform.

Finally, I got a cool taste of life in education politics last week. It's an experience I hope to repeat many times over in my time in DC. Congressman Steny Hoyer happens to represent the district in MD where my high school is located, and he wanted to meet with the TFA teachers who work in the schools there. Seven of us responded to the invite, and we met with him at a local high school to tell him about our experience in TFA, our work in the classrooms, and what our future plans are. I didn't know any of the other corps members there besides my roommate, Meredith, but it was a great group and we really did a good job representing TFA and Mr. Hoyer was so impressed with us! We followed him to a session at Bowie State University. He was on a panel with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the Lt. Governor of the State, the national teacher of the year, the Md. State teacher of the year, and a number of local university presidents and superintendents. The point of the panel was to promote teach.gov, a new initiative from the dept of education to encourage careers in teaching. Hoyer saw Meredith and I there and called us out by name in front of the whole auditorium! He made us stand up and praised us for being "on fire for education" and told the entire assembly to speak to us afterward if they wanted to meet people that really understand why teaching is the most important job, etc. It was a really cool moment and I was like "wow, Arne Duncan just heard my name!" Silly, but still fun. The pic below is of us with the congressman. I'm in green!


Finally, a big shout out and thank you to my mom, who visited me for the holiday weekend and helped me shop till I dropped and eat till I burst! I love you and can't wait to see you soon.

Peace and Love.

What a Riot

Spring Fever has arrived at Gwynn Park. The weather is nice, the year is winding down, and all anyone can talk about is summer. As much as I love this time of year, it's the worst time to be a teacher. Keeping kids in line who just want to be done with school is a miserable process. I can't say I blame them for wanting to get out. I also want the school year to be over! But at some point, all that tension boils over, and for a number of high schools in the area, that tipping point was this week.

Wise Senior High School, our neighbor, had a riot on Wednesday. This week was the last week of school for Seniors in the county, and a Senior prank food-fight there quickly turned into a real fight. Twitter was abuzz with pictures of kids engaging a swat team, and the local news reported nine students were arrested. Wednesday night, I couldn't sleep. I knew that this kind of drama would have the kids at Gwynn Park buzzing and that Thursday would be a long day. Our principal sent out a warning message to all the homes, asking parents to tell their kids to avoid senior pranks and stay in line. We took precautionary measures, limiting hall passes and forbidding bags and backpacks. But alas, it wasn't enough.

Third period at Gwynn Park, all hell broke loose. Students dumped baby oil around the ramps and stairwells of the school as a prank, and students slipping into each other quickly broke into widespread fistfights. We went on lock-down mode and herded any student close to our classrooms inside before we closed and locked our doors. We were stuck there, without directions, for almost three hours till the end of school. I had no idea what was going on. The students thought it was hilarious, but as a teacher, it was terrifying. Lock-down means danger. It's the same code we use if there are firearms or intruders in the school.

Finally, we were released safely and everyone made it home. Two students at Gwynn Park were arrested, and mace was used to get the student body in line. That said, we apparently had the school locked down and hallways cleared in only 30 minutes. This is an amazing feat and speaks to the efficiency of our administration, staff and security. Wise could not clear its hallways for an hour and a half.

The week ended on a pleasant note Friday with Prom. Everyone was beautiful and with all the miscreants suspended after Thursday, there was no one there to cause a problem. Prom was peaceful and lovely and I was so happy for my kids. I love seeing the students I care about, the students that work hard and act with kindness, rewarded with the kind of events they deserve. I took some pictures with some of my favorites and put them here!




Peace and Love.

Cloud 9

Yesterday, we had more than 40 people in our backyard for an end-of-the year bbq, and we certainly had reason to celebrate! It's been a few weeks since I've posted (yes, the New Year's Resolution breaks in April! Not too shabby) but those few weeks have been some of the craziest of the year.

I went home for a lovely Easter with my family, and although we enjoyed good food, good company, and a phenomenal egg-decorating celebration (see below) I couldn't fully enjoy myself knowing that my fate in DC was still a mystery. The job search was weighing heavily on my shoulders, and I was stressing about finding an apartment for next year without knowing where I was working and how much I was making.


Seven hour car rides are bad for the psyche. They give you far too long to over-think and over-worry about everything. On the car ride home, I was feeling pretty glum. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize, so I let it go to voicemail. When I pulled over at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike, my life changed forever. The voicemail was from the Center For Education Reform. They are a think tank in DC and their CEO, a woman named Jeanne Allen, spoke to my grad school class last December. I loved her so much and was so impressed by her work that after class I chased her, got her card, and arranged a meeting with her. We talked about the work she does and I asked for advice on how to transition into the realm of Ed Reform from the classroom. She kept my resume from that meeting months and months ago, and when a position opened up at her organization, she brought me in to interview!

That car ride and fateful call was Monday. Tuesday afternoon I was in the office interviewing for the position and a week later, I was offered the job! My new title is "Manager of Development" and I'll be working closely with Jeanne to develop a number of strategies to grow the organization and spread the news of its work. I'll also be building relationships with many major donors, exploring why they have a vested interest in Ed Reform. The position has so much untapped potential and I think there's a lot of room for me to grow! Best of all, they are letting me start work after school as a "consultant," go to Israel, and come back to officially start full-time in July.

As if this isn't all exciting enough, Meredith and I also found a gorgeous apartment on Capitol Hill and signed the lease for it this weekend. It is LITERALLY 2 blocks from the Capitol Building and one block from Union station. The location could not be more ideal and we are so excited to have a place where we can put down some roots and hopefully stay more than a year!







Everything is really coming up roses right now. A mentor of mine from college summed it up perfectly: "You're living the dream! A place you love, great friends, and a chance to do work you believe in....that's what it's all about! Kudos."

I know things would not be so great for me if it were not from all the love and support from family and friends. I am so thankful!

Peace and love.

Welcome to Mississipuh

Prior to doing Teach For America, if anyone was talking about "The Delta," I probably thought the conversation was about a hot sorority girl. But in the spring of 2009, one of my best friends got the news that she was accepted to Teach For America and would be placed in Mississippi. And thus, the word "Delta" took on a whole new meaning.

The Shana Fisher that I knew in college was a Staten-Island girl who I never thought could survive in the deep south. I remember my Dad and I giving her a lesson in the finer points of rural life: shooting guns, drinking beer, talking about Jesus. (see: EASTER 2009) Now the tables have turned and she's a country-life expert! After 2 years of crazy stories, I knew I had to come visit her before our time in Teach For America came to a close.


Where to begin describing this wild weekend? It was nothing short of a culture shock. My first surprise: brown tap water. "It's brown and slimy," Shana explained, "But we put it through the Brita." I pulled out the Brita. "Shana, it's still brown!" I was dumbfounded. "Yeah, but the Brita gets rid of the slimy," she said. "It's fine!!"

The next morning I planned to accompany Shana to school. I was dying to compare my teaching experience to hers and see what her students were like. "I can't wait to see if you understand them," she said. I wondered how bad it could be- how different could these students sound from my students?

I walked into the classroom in the 300-person, decrepit highschool. "Hoo-da-ee!" The kids pointed at me. "Hoo-da-ee?!"

I had no idea what they were saying. Shana had to explain... "Hoo-da-ee?" = "Who that is?" The southern drawl was unreal!

Thankfully, Shana is a Spanish teacher...so we switched to a language all of us could understand and began interviewing one another in Spanish. I loved it!

After school, we drove to a local "restaurant," called "Chucks." It was a dairy-bar, order at the counter kind of place, where nothing was more than $5. Shana introduced me to heaven on earth: Corn-nuggets. They were deep fried balls of creamed corn and I can't explain how amazing they were. The corn nuggets were just a small sample of the mounds of fried food I ate that weekend. Doughnuts, chicken, catfish, hush puppies, french fries, more doughnuts, and as much beer to wash it down as you could want.


Mississippi was a beautiful place in its own way. It's very flat and there's not much to see, but the sky was so enormous! Shana lives on a farm next to a river. We spent a lot of our time outside partaking in all sorts of joyful southern activities: searching for alligators, climbing grain bins, riding horses, and of course shooting guns. All of Shana's neighbors, including her landlord and his family, came by to chat with us about life in the Delta and enjoy the beautiful day.


The conclusion of the trip was a fish-fry dinner with some of her Delta friends followed by an evening at "The waterin hole" - the only "bar" for miles and miles. I'm fairly certain there were more confederate flags in this bar than full sets of teeth, but everyone from the surrounding towns comes in to hear some live music, have some beer, and cause a whole lot of small-town drama.

There's so much more I could say about the weekend there but a blog entry could never do it justice. I think Shana and her friends should work on a book about life down there- it's a whole different world that us east-coasters can hardly imagine. Cheers to life's great adventures!

Going to Massachusetts to finish out vacation at home. Peace and love!