betheteacheryouloved asked: What's it like at KIPP Houston? I used to work at Mastery Charter in Philadelphia.

Hey! Sorry for the late reply. KIPP has many different locations and each one functions differently. The one I student teach at is in third ward and goes from fifth grade to eighth grade. It’s been interesting. I loved it when I first started, and now I can’t wait to get out of there. This school in specific is all about testing. I mean, March rolls around and students get double and triple doses of the subjects being tested that year. The 6th graders, for example, miss out on their electives, science, social studies, and for some their after-school activities until testing is over. I dislike that. I love the kids, I really do. I can’t handle 35 of them in one class, though. There are a lot of ELL’s at KIPP since it’s a title one school but they don’t get the attention or differentiation they need. It’s understandable. There’s a hundred 6th graders and one team of teachers. Again, this is probably only the school I’m at now. I just applied to switch to a low-income public school so I can see how they differ. I’ve never been in a public school so I can’t say exactly that I prefer them. 

I am going to avoid getting on my soapbox because testing in schools makes my blood boil. I’m sorry, not testing, but teaching to the test. The test is great; now all we need is an army of teachers who know what to teach and how to teach it. KIPP mostly gets its teachers through Teach For America, and unfortunately, these teachers are only trained for about a year at max and usually leave after their two year commitment. There is no consistancy in who the teachers in the school are, and if every year you have a first or second year teacher, there is no solid platform on which the kids can learn.

Okay, seriously done. Hit me up if you want to talk some more!

Why people make such a hullabaloo about marriage, I don’t understand. Calm down, buddy. If Allah wants you to get married, you will. 

Goodbye BS and ACV

Late June, I decided that the regular shampoo/conditioner/product routine sucks. Though I only washed my hair twice a week (… which is how often you should be washing your hair for all of you thinking “ew” right now), it was a freaking frizzball. Not cute. I buy uppity shampoo that cost $24 a liter all for dried out hair that resembled hay. My conditioner is wonderful, and so is the frizz serum I used, but I still wasn’t satisfied.  

Redken All-Soft Shampoo. It was great for my hair once upon a time, but that was probably because I was using something even worse for my hair before this stuff. It’s nice, but it’s too strong; it sucks all the life out of my hair. It’s as a dementor for the life on my head, if you will (and why isn’t dementor in the dictionary yet?). My hair feels dry down to the scalp when I use it, and it takes way too long for me to even notice the natural oils come back in my hair. Not good, for those who also experience this. The natural oils are a good way to condition your hair and keep your roots healthy. It’s almost similar to having to put oil in your hair. If your body produces it naturally, don’t kill it! 

Tresemme’ Conditioner. I usually use the ones that deal with moisture or repair or something. This was good stuff. No complaints here, to be honest. I liked it. I quite loved it. Cheapest and best conditioner I’ve found, not including ACV. :) 

This wonderful frizz control serum is much better than Biosilk in my opinion and only costs ~$5 a bottle. It was a great relationship while it lasted (though I might need it again now….).

Somewhere along the way, the combination of the three just didn’t suit my hair anymore. It felt unnatural, and the texture of my hair was not smooth, and I noticed the dryness was causing flakes. I started researching and thought I’d try the natural route. I saw a lot of different routines online, but decided to go with a basic baking soda rinse, followed by and apple cider vinegar rinse. The baking soda rinse is 1 TBSP baking soda to a cup of water (I use boiled water as an extra protection for my hair). The apple cider vinegar is made using the same ratio. I make an army of bottles at once so I don’t have to worry about it for a couple months. 

Anyway. 

I start by using the using the baking soda rinse, working it into my roots using the pads of my fingers. I use less than a cup each time, you don’t need a lot, just enough. It’ll feel a little slippery, but it’ll be libteraly distributed throughout your roots. I use a comb to make sure I get it everywhere, and to keep my hair from getting tangled. It’s a weird feeling, not getting a lather. Once you rinse it out, you’ll feel the clean. It’s pretty awesome. Be gentle with your hair, it’s not as chemically treated as it would be with shampoo so pulling and being rough will literally break your hair. 

On the websites I stumbled upon, they just poured the apple cider vinegar rinse through the hair. I use a spray bottle to make sure I get it everywhere. RINSE THOROUGHLY. And that’s it! It smells like vinegar till your hair dries. It never bothered me, but apparently my sister hates the smell. To each their own! 

I started this nine months ago. I decided to dye my hair a blend of crazy colors two days ago so now I can’t use BS anymore. Apparently BS strips the color straight out. My heart cries. I can still use ACV though! I just need to find some kind of organic or natural based shampoo and I’ll be fine. 

I’ve been meaning to post this since I started using BS and ACV. Ironic that I post it when I can no longer use it. Hm. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, kay thanks. 

I LOVE YOU BS AND ACV, I’LL BE BACK!

Dusty Springfield

shitmystudentswrite:

Everyone in town hated Atticus Finch for defending a white negro.

LOL