It is a rollercoaster. Hope sits next to terror. As a writer and teacher I know this mix intimately. Sometimes the possibilities feel electric, heavy with power. Other times? I am scared of losing it all.
Freedom as Curriculum
The Voices of Change fellowship changed things. It gave me permission to “freedom dream.” Not in a passive way. In the classroom. Daily. My north stars are joy and equity. I build real relationships. I call my students family. My door has a Gwendolyn Brooks quote above their photos:
“We are each other’s magnitude и bond.”
This year I added world history to the mix. It energizes me. I want to revolutionize how history is told. The Remedial Herstory Project and Facing History and Ourselves helped find my voice. These tools matter.
The Year Outside the Window
Joy didn’t save me from the grind. This school year in Minneapolis has been brutal. We started with mass violence at Annunciation School, close to where I live. Then came ICE. Neighbors disappeared. Families were ripped apart. Then Renée Good and Alex Prettt were murdered.
I held back tears. Every day. I tried to teach. We were scared. Mental health frayed. The world outside the glass was loud, violent, and distracting. How do you focus on grammar when the neighborhood is burning?
DEI is Not a Buzzword
They say DEI harms academics. A narrative designed to legitimize brutality against Brown and Black people against protesters? I reject that. As a Spanish and history teacher I know better. Diversity centers life into lessons. I teach Indigenous histories. I center women’s voices. I honor Afrolatine lives. The curriculum becomes richer, more complex. Dynamic.
Seeing neighbors rise up helps. They protect the heartbeat of the city despite ICE violence. Their strength tells me hope is not gone. It fuels me.
Lessons in Humanity
We banish hate in the room. I channel the world I want into the work. In Spanish we studied “In Times of Crisis.” Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean. We looked at José Andrés and World Central Kitchen. How food restores dignity.
In history we paused on the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka. Buddhism. Principles of peace, nonviolence respect for creation. One student said the lesson made her want to convert.
Does peace work when society is on fire? For me it has to. Politics may be conflict but leading with fierce empathy is possible. Necessary even.
Still Writing. Still Teaching.
My path keeps shifting. I got a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2024 after the fellowship. That confidence led to a summer writing residency this year. I plan to write about the classroom. The hard parts. The soft parts.
But after twenty years teaching, some things don’t change. Joy. Humor. Connection. We still build competencies. For school. For life.
I want every day to carry the hope of freedom dreaming. I want my students to believe in unity. A world thriving on dignity. Respect for all.
Whether it works remains to be seen. 📖
