Baltimore, MD—I came to Baltimore as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 20-year-old college graduate. I’d grown up in the Chicago suburbs, surrounded by people who looked like me and were raised like me. I’d attended a private college in Wisconsin, courtesy of a scholarship, financial aid, and, of course, my parents. And I’d applied to TFA (Teach for America) out of a desire to “give back to the community,” a desire no doubt fueled by the culmination of my “white and Asian guilt.” I’ve always believed that every child can succeed. As a lifelong homeschooler, I have always held that success comes in different hues. And as a liberal arts graduate, I promoted the notion that success is what you make it, that success is in the eye of the beholder. Baltimore City would challenge everything I believed. In 2015, I entered the classroom with approximately one month of teaching under my belt, no exposure to IEPs (Individualized Education Programs), and about as much training in class...
Just one teacher's attempt at retaining sanity.