Home is where the heart is

Technically, right now I am homeless. I have signed my lease on my Chicago apartment but am living at my mother’s house until I make my official move on August 15. In the past few months, I have lived in Chicago, NYC and Atlanta. The concept of home has completely lost its meaning. I have no idea what to claim as my home. A few days ago, I landed in Atlanta half expecting the NYC skyline and instead was greeted by a Southern heat wave. I had arrived from a magical place that could potentially be called home, Chicago: where I developed and learned a lot about myself in a short time span of 2 months. A few months before that I was living in NYC, my home for the past 8 years where I experienced laughter and tears, great friendships and unforgettable moments. Now, I am staying in my mother’s house in Atlanta, eating traditional Dominican meals everyday, reliving and remembering childhood memories although I grew up in NJ.

“Where is home?” The clear answer is home is where the heart is but I realize that my heart is in so many different places. My heart is in NYC with all the wonderful people I met through Columbia, Teach For America, MLT, CIS 339, Lauren Booker’s Jackie Robinson crew, Abyssinian Baptist Church, FFC, CIEE study abroad, INROADS (I was an honorary member), NSHMBA and more. My heart is also in NYC with my sister, brother and niece. My heart is in Chicago with my classmates who were my true friends before I even knew I would be attending Booth and my newfound friends through Jason Pugh’s social circle. My heart is in Atlanta with my mother, father and sister.

However, after further reflection, I realize that my heart is in many more places than NYC, Atlanta and Chicago. My heart is also in Los Angeles, London, Boston, Houston, Philly, Hong Kong, Durham, New Zealand, Ithaca, Twin Cities, Ann Arbor, DC and so many more places. I have been extremely blessed to meet so many amazing people, who have touched my life in many different ways. These are people who are not just in my “network”. I consider their residences my home; I can call and tell them I am crashing for a few days and they would welcome me with open arms. So, I am not homeless. Home is where the heart is and I know I have found a home with so many people, who hold a special piece of my heart.

Classroom Management in a corporate setting

Being a manager is fun and reminds me of teaching but like teaching it has its tough moments. A lot of teachers blame their students for not meeting academic standards. I do understand that some students do not have the drive or motivation to complete their tasks. However, the teacher's actions have a lot of impact on how students perform academically. As a teacher you must scaffold your lessons by slowly building your students up to the highest academic standard. For those who are/were not teachers, here is a definition of scaffolding: Scaffolding is an instructional technique whereby the teacher models the desired learning strategy or task, then gradually shifts responsibility to the students. When managing people, it is important to properly train your employee (step by step) on how to do their job well. They cannot do this if you do not demonstrate for them.

Another important skill to have as a teacher and manager is to communicate expectations effectively. One way, I would do this in the classroom was to show my class an example of an ideal essay. I would explain how that essay meets my expectations by going through a rubric that shows how they will be evaluated on that essay and pointing out how the ideal essay meets or exceeds those expectations. Therefore, as they write their own essays, they have a clear understanding of how they will be evaluated and what I am looking for.

In terms of motivating students, this is also tied to teacher actions. As a teacher, you must invest your class in your work. You must motivate them by providing extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards and giving students rationale that explains why the subject you are teaching is critical for them to learn. My students understood why certain lessons were taught in my class and how they tied to the overall curriculum but most importantly how that lesson may help them in life. I was doing sales and marketing but instead of selling a product, I sold an education. As a manager, you must also make these things clear to your employees. Employees need to understand how they will be rewarded for good work and why their work is valuable. Most college graduates/interns nowadays don't work solely for financial purposes and therefore their work must add value. It is important for a manager to connect employee work to the overall company goal or mission.

Lastly, all teams need to be performance-driven. A collaborative team culture is always valued but if your staff is not focused on results, you will not accomplish much work depending on the industry you are in. Teach For America is a results-oriented non profit organization. Although we value our social culture, the mission of Teach For America is focused on student achievement. In the classroom, it is great to have a class that reflects a cohesive community with students caring for each other and being respectful. My students would constantly help their struggling classmates in assignments or be willing to offer a hug to another student who had a bad day. In addition to that, my students also knew that they had academic goals to meet. They were being graded on their performance and not on how they interact with others. In managing your team, it is best to create a positive culture but remain focused on results. If you would like to read more on this topic, I would suggest reading the article in Harvard Business Review called "What holds a modern company together?" by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones.