just another manic....

hey everyone

its monday. i learned today that in 1992, the buildings that stood on the ground that the Accelerated School now sits on were burned to the ground in the Riots. Now, in 2005, The Accelerated School stands, a $44 million dollar beacon of hope, standing defiantly against the forces that threaten to consume everything else in South LA. A safe place, a refuge.

today was filled with a lot of getting to know my co-workers a lot better. At TAS, we had a pupil free day, in which all the teachers, admin and IAs got together to discuss and plan out the rest of the semester. We began our meeting with each person going around and saying our name and something positive that has come out of our experience working with kids. it was a very inspiring thing for me to hear what the other teachers are saying and expereincing from their kids. Really, I am so grateful to God for this place. I am grateful for the chance to work here. There is a sense of community, a sense of justice being done. What impresses me is that whenever i hear any TAS teacher talk about TAS or their students, they almost never mention the fact that these kids are 'at risk' or live in 'a rough neighborhood' The teachers talk about their kids as simply kids, human beings with potential to succeed. This brings so much dignity to them, because it dismantles the whole notion that only middle-class suburban kids are the 'norm' At TAS, people are creating an environment where children and their families are empowered in their community.

I was blessed to really get some quality time with the other 2nd grade IAs. I usually dont get time to socialize with them becasue we always have to watch our kids. I love it becasue they are actually from the neighborhood...they grew up in the same areas as the kids at TAS, and are now most of them going to Cal State LA. A lot of us are in the same boat, trying to decide whether we want to teach or not. I really relate to them in a way that is close to my heart and reminds me a lot of back home, when I was more in contact with my own home community in Albuquerque when i was in middle school.

Then after work at Walden, I was invited by two of my co-workers to their house in Duarte where they cooked some manicotti and made angelfood cake for my visit. It was good to just recieve some hospitality from friends from work-peers who are non-christian.

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Big ups to M-sizzle and the homies last night for the Fatburger and the conversation.

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Babylon, you shall have no more of my tears!
Babylon, my children will escape from your cold hands!

fight for me blindly, fight for me, knowing I will again forget you.
a warm flame
a dying seed
a strong gentle hand moving tear-soaked hair away from another's forehead

why did i never go to the small villages in New Mexico in the winter?
the lonliness was too cold.
the sense of call to another place was too unsettling.
so i turned my back on the mesas, mountains and arroyos
as have many who came before me.

yo he perdido mi cara en los espejos de la tierra
tantos recuerdos
tantas lagrimas
todas mis lagrimas estan corriendo hasta un nacion nuevo, una patria desconocido.