For UCHS

The school is absolutely glorious.  

Today, I visited Uncommon Charter High School to sit in on a meeting of the school's Gay/Straight Alliance.  The school is located in the middle of Crown Heights, but you completely forget where you are upon walking inside it.  It is located in a brand-spankin'-new building with great facilities (including a turf soccer field on the roof which has a beautiful view of Brooklyn), and even though it only houses two charter high schools as of right now, it has the capacity to accommodate so much more, which is ultimately the goal.  UCHS currently comprises of a mere 71 ninth and tenth graders, all clad in uniform.  Their second floor home seems unnaturally tidy; it still smells as if it were painted yesterday.

As I walked into Sr. Baker’s Spanish classroom, the LIRR train passed directly alongside the window, almost as if it were coming at me.  He greeted me with a hug, and several students recognized me from a video he showed a week before about how I deal with stress.  The room was charming; only 11 students were in the class.  The sight was so odd because all of my high school classes were about three times the size.  A soundtrack of Spanish music was playing softly in the background.  Each student was using a netbook computer to shop for an outfit and were assigned to write about said ensemble in Spanish.  It made me smile because I reminisced about 5 years ago (and I can’t believe that 5 years have already passed) when Sr. Baker nervously introduced himself to my Spanish 3 class after coming into the room late because he was misinformed about which one to be in, and I just remember thinking that he was the most adorable dork I’ve ever seen walk the halls of LaGuardia.  I remember his hands trembling as he asked everyone in the room the simple question of “¿Cómo estás?”, and I remember talking to Sophie Howes about it once class ended.  I remember his style of teaching (and his style of dressing) and the fact that he seemed to be the only person in LaGuardia who knew his way around a SMART Board.  I remember his practical assignments.  I remember his distinct handwriting which will always be ingrained in my mind.

As I just stared at the quaint classroom waiting for the meeting to begin, I just thought about what I would be like if I were a student here.  They had bright, smiling faces.  They carried themselves with immense dignity and pride.  They spoke eloquently, and their interpersonal relationships with both students and faculty were mature and refined.  I thought back to when I was in the 10th grade, which I keep forgetting was not very long ago, when I was aloof, I had very little concept of the world around me, and I was terribly awkward.  I still think similarly of myself even today.  I’m sure these fourteen and fifteen year olds probably think the same of themselves, but I could sense none of that as I sat there.

Once the meeting began, the depth in which these students spoke about how they see the world reminded me of my own classes at college.  Even though they were five years my junior, I still kept thinking that these kids are more grown up than I am.  As I watched the friendly debate unfold, I had no desire to chime in because I was too busy hearing these young people speak instead.  I remember being in the GSA at LaG where we couldn’t even hold the most simple of discussions.  I just was in awe.

Anyway, to Uncommon Charter High School, you are doing amazing things, and I am genuinely inspired by the nurturing environment which is being built at your school.  I’m excited for the future growth of the school because it would only mean that more students will be exposed to such a great place.  From the point of view of a possible future educator, this school is a dream.  And as for this afternoon, thank you so much.  I really appreciated it.