My Vision

Emma Richman
Teach For America
September 8
th
, 2014
Why am I doing this:
I teach because I love. I teach because there are dark and horrific aspects of
our world that are unjust and need to be filled with light. I teach because my
students are brilliant, kind, and innocent. I teach to assist our society in fostering
untouched and pure potential. I teach because every student sitting in my classroom
could be living in the White House in the next thirty years. I teach for the smiles, the
moments of recognition, the blazing feeling of power. Power through knowledge,
power though possibility. I teach to help move the obstacles that are blocking doors
and pathways. I teach because I learn, too.

Background:
Birney Preparatory Academy was not always the name of the school that sits
on the intersection of 9
th
and Lindley Avenue. When the K-8 school opened its doors
in 1912, it was simply called Birney Elementary School. Generations of students
walked through its bright red doors. In 2009, Mosaica Education took over and gave
the school its current name. 720 students walk through those same front doors
today. 88.8% of our students are black, 4.7% are Latino, and 2.4% are Asian. 69% of
students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Academic Achievement:
My students will feel a passion and appreciation for reading and writing.
They will understand the pressing necessity for literacy in our world. They will see
that the pen gives them power; power to express themselves, power to change their
own trajectories, and the power for self-advocacy. My students will be at least
proficient by the end of the school year, and will show genuine engagement with the
texts that they read. They will seek out books in their free time and feel personal
satisfaction from reading. Their vocabulary will also grow, and they will
demonstrate this linguistic development through both written and verbal mediums.

Access:
My students will see literacy as a pathway to opportunities. They will
recognize the direct correlation between academic achievement, college, and
employment success. I will show my students model exemplars of historical figures
who used their ability to read and write to accomplish greatness, and my students
will feel empowered by and confident in their own abilities. My students have what
they need to succeed living inside of them at this current moment; they simply must
learn the ways in which to foster their own potential.

Personal Growth:
My students will comprehend the importance of empathy and love in our
world. Life is a learning process; as human beings, we all are constantly growing and
evolving. I have just as much (if not more) to learn from my students as they have to
learn from me. We will be patient with each other and embrace our mistakes and
failures together. We will look for shining moments as a team and assist each other
when someone is feeling down. My students will appreciate the strength that they
can find in unity and trust that they can rely on each other. They will simultaneously
celebrate their own individuality and find beauty in their differences. My students
will respect each other, and understand both the positive and negative impact that
feedback can have on a human.

Social, Cultural and Political Consciousness
My students will not be blind to the inequality and injustice in our society.
They will be exposed and aware of it, which will push them to further their self-
advocacy skills. They already know that success will not be handed to them on a
silver platter; they will spend the year learning ways to achieve greatness on their
own. Together, we will read articles and novels that will expose them to historical
inequality, in hopes of inspiring them to fight for equal opportunity in their own
futures. They will be dreamers, door breakers, leaders and fighters. They will be
their best representatives, and learn the importance of writing in their fight to
represent themselves.

We are in this together. We are a team grounded upon love. We will support
each other, build off of each other, and succeed as one. We will grow, we will
achieve, we will love.