Dreams Are Hard Work!

My computer would not download the photo that I took of my Dream's 5 year plan and 12 month goal so I have included the link to the e-mail that includes the picture:

http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/showletter?mid=1_32638_1_2299955_0_AIGzo0IAAKl%2BSQxfCwwvzDRismE&fid=%2540S%2540Search&prevMid=1_31106_1_2259663_0_AH6zo0IAAXr%2FSRA%2BYw6L6Xj30g0&nextMid=&search=1&extraargs=%26.rand%3D1345353601&noFlush&mcrumb=eEL.Oaed.rl#_pg=showMessage&pSize=25&sMid=3&fid=Inbox&sort=date&order=down&startMid=0&filterBy=&.rand=1067577422&midIndex=3&mid=1_7608164_AIOzo0IAAFjsScA1Kw4ynxrCF3o&m=1_7610519_AH6zo0IAAYB3ScBnQwah2EJJdNQ,1_7609995_AIOzo0IAARSwScBFlAztVROM7%2FI,1_7609321_AH2zo0IAASFQScA41AkoKjBRO4s,1_7608164_AIOzo0IAAFjsScA1Kw4ynxrCF3o,1_7607565_AH%2Bzo0IAALcRScAuQA36yBTzhdw,1_7606792_AH%2Bzo0IAAEMbScAkewCspB7dszk,1_7606144_AICzo0IAAKf8ScAebwbGn0r4sgQ,1_7604962_AIGzo0IAAR%2F7ScAaZAq%2BU3RF5Cc,1_7605608_AH6zo0IAARTgScAawwjDbDqNglI,&hash=fd1c7bb60a512d4b48f97f63e8021657&.jsrand=9

Can you see it??????

My auto dealership role model could not be reached for comment despite the help that I received from the professor. But, I did not give up. I was able to reach a role model in education, which is one of the five lives that correlate with my dream of owning my own auto dealership. Since I will pursue education, particularly in the urban communities, I asked David Schaafsma what his thoughts were on the charter school movement in Chicago. I am pursuing an alternative teaching certificate program that partners with CPS schools that have been "turned around" or are now, charter schools. Let's take a look at what David Schaafsma, Director of English Education, had to say when I asked a couple of questions via e-mail.


What comes to mind when you hear school reform and Chicago Public Schools?

I think school reform is a catch phrase. Are schools being re-formed? All
the time. The small schools movement is one interesting experiment I
support. Everything good is still being undermined by the triage system
CPS put in place whereby they pull the best students from bad
neighborhoods and create uber-schools like Whitney Young and Northside CP,
etc. leaving Crane and Manley and Orr in the lurch. Until inequities are
addressed, and they will not be, school reform can't be taken seriously.
Any efforts are undermined as well by No Child Left Behind and similar
polcies that punish schools for failures that the government created.

What role does charter/turnaround schools play in school reform?

I think that charters are an interesting experiment and create room for
creativity, but they are also a mixed bag: some of them are great, with
good ideas, and some of them are not good. See Geoff Reu's EE MA thesis on
this, borrow it from me. Turnaround schools are like shuffling the deck
chairs on the Titanic. Much ado without funding.

Do you feel teaching programs such as Teach for America, where all majors
are welcome, are effectively contributing to school reform or hindering its development?

I don't think they hinder, but they don't reeally contribute. They don't
know how to teach. The elitist assumption is that knowing subject matter
makes you a smart teacher, but teaching isn't primarily about subject
matter and content knowledge, it's about how to work with kids. TFA
doesn't adequately address this.

Are there any setbacks for students that proceed into the
education field without any prior education/theory from their undergraduate experience?

Yes, many, see above. What do you do in the classroom? The arrogance of
TFA is that it says pedagogy doesn't matter, that curriculum theory is
irrelevant. It's like college teaching. Pedagogy is beneath talking about.


Are there any negative/positive consequences for providing a set curricula
when people such as Bill Gates donates money to teaching programs such as
the Academy of Urban School Leadership?

Set curricula are always bad, fundamentally. People are not machines. But
I don't understand your question.

What is needed to equip Chicago Public schools students with the
educational foundation that will enable them to compete with suburban
school districts, or any other well funded school? Should students boycott
and be bused to suburban schools in order to shed light on the ongoing
issue of schools being underfunded?

The boycott like Kozol's Savage Inequalities brings attention to a system
of injustice. I think that poverty and crime undermine equity, too. Money
matters. You can't change the school system to overcome those problems,
but some cool things can be done, and are being done, nevertheless.

Is there any connection between CPS school reform and the 2016 Olympic
bid? If so, how will it affect the chances of obtaining the bid to host the games?

The crime rate will hurt the bid. They won't give Chicago the Olympics if
it is the Murder Capitol of the World, as it is. One kid a week has died
since the beginning of the school year. Daley is touting success in school
reform as the reason we should be proud of Chicago, the reason it should
get the Olympics, but at the same time, kids are getting murdered here at
an alarming rate. The reform is not working for all of the above, and even
if it were, this is a crime town. Not safe for the Olympics.

My Interviews

I was able to contact one of my former English high school teachers and ask her a few questions over the phone before her class began. It was a very short conversation but I was able to receive some type of direction on where I should be looking and applying after I graduate this May and pursue graduate school and employment in the education field. Well here it goes....


What is one of your favorite topics to teach as an English teacher?

Creative Writing, hands down. But, we no longer have the creative writing course at Prosser Career Academy. FYI: One of my poems will be published in After Hours magazine, so I am reading for the magazine this Friday at Molly Malone's in Oak Park at 7:30. It is a release party.

Considering that I am graduating this Spring, is there any assistance or advice you can lend in transitioning from undergrad to graduate school and possibly working in the education field?

Well, do you want to teach full time or part time? Clarify for me. I know that North Lawndale Prep is hiring, but I do not have the details. You might email them and inquire about this. Also, you may check into alternative schools. And, are you applying for grad school for next year or at a later date?



After the short interview, I was able to visit my old neighborhood and speak with Joe, owner of Quality Car Corner on the Northwest side of Chicago.

Do you provide your own inventory transportation of do you contract an outside company?

We actually provide our own transportation. With a tow truck, we bring back the inventory from the auction or other dealerships that may have trade ins.

How long have you been in in business and what has allowed you to do so?


Quality Car Corner has been around this area for over 40 years! We started out as a real small lot and now we have two locations. I believe we have stayed in business for this long because of our long-term relationship with our customers. Making sure your honest and can provide quality cars at a economical price will help customers return and tell others about us.


Do you service the vehicles yourself? If so, how extensive is the repairs?

We only do minor maintenance to the vehicles like oil/transmission changes, brakes, shampooing carpets, and minor cosmetic touch-ups if the car needs some body work. But, for the most part, the cars are sold as is without any warranty.

Interview Update

I am working on interviewing Tyler Perry. Anyone have his phone number??