As a former teacher
I had to post this beautiful trailer for the film, “The First Grader.” http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/sites/video/swf/ngplayer_syndicated.swf
Category: teaching
My Fan Letter to Mocha Momma On Being Black (and more I added later)
This is in response to this fantastic post, “On Being Black” that makes me wish all good bloggers got paid! The photo below was taken from Mocha Momma‘s awesome blog. Dear Mocha Momma: (Click there and read her cool bio!)A friend just pointed me to your blog. I guess something about my latest post, told her… Continue reading My Fan Letter to Mocha Momma On Being Black (and more I added later)
I overdid it, thank G-d!
I definitely overdid it today trying to squeeze in seeing a bunch of friends in one day. OUCH. This morning, I saw my best friend from my teaching days. As it happens, she is the wife of a Presbyterian pastor! Yeah, this is not the beginning of a joke. We have been trying for years… Continue reading I overdid it, thank G-d!
A Nice White Lady?
Reading about one writer’s responses to watching the movie “Precious”, she mentioned the “nice white lady” trope and I thought, “Huh?” So, the writer, of course, added a video. As a former English teacher in NYC public high schools, I’m not even sure what to say about this video or this “trope.” I laughed but… Continue reading A Nice White Lady?
Challah Con Platanos
Here’s a very short play I wrote for a “Multicultural Jewish” writing contest. I didn’t win. The ending’s kind of abrupt. It was in my earlier days when I wasn’t writing so much. I was trying to give the readers a good indication of what my Shabbat meals were like. The curtains open to a… Continue reading Challah Con Platanos
Teen Latinas Considering Suicide
I can remember “wanting to die” when I was five years old. It was the only way I could think of escaping my situation. I was living with a mentally ill mother who was chronically abusive. Sure, we were also living in poverty, in a neighborhood too dangerous for me to play outside where I… Continue reading Teen Latinas Considering Suicide
New Piece: Inappropriate for the Shabbos Table
Who said adopting a new religion and culture was easy? I sure didn’t. Sometimes, it’s actually quite embarrassing. And by “it,” I mean me! Check out: “Inappropriate for the Shabbos Table”
The Thrills and Chills of Pondering Day School Education
Another regular day in the Yeshiva of Hogwarts…. I live in my own little bubble. For the most part, my close friends are in their 20s. They are either starting their families or have infants and I’m hoping that they didn’t read “Applying for Day School Aid: A Degrading Experience” in Jewish Week. (I’m still… Continue reading The Thrills and Chills of Pondering Day School Education
Let Freedom Ring
I remember the taste of freedom. After running away from home, after kidnapping and winning custody of my sister, I was free. I felt so free and happy, I started on a journey that began in church and led to my eventual conversion to Judaism. My first Pesach, I wanted to write my own Haggadah… Continue reading Let Freedom Ring
My Second Shabbaton: Ruminations on speaking at Brandeis University
My cousin O. wants to know how I’m making so much money talking about myself. But the answer to this question and similar mysteries can only be answered by G-d. And if G-d started talking directly to either of us, we’d probably be filthy rich (or locked up in Arkham Asylum). In the meantime, I… Continue reading My Second Shabbaton: Ruminations on speaking at Brandeis University
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 