I’m building the habit of reviewing my priorities, goals, roles, and performance once a month. To keep myself accountable, and to build in the open, I’ve decided to publish these monthly reviews.
Category: Personal Reflections
My Personal Mission Statement (v.2)
This is the second time I’ve posted my personal mission statement. The first time I did not open the post to comments, but this second time I will. While my personal mission statement continues to be intensely personal, I am now at the place where I’m comfortable enough with it to be accepting of comments,…
To the First Students I Ever Taught
Dear KIPP Academy MS Class of 2018, First, I want to say that I am proud of you. I am proud of the incredible work that you’ve done throughout the years, your grit, your ganas, and most importantly, your growth as students, as sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, teammates and young adults. I recognize…
My Personal Mission Statement
Dear Readers, I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People the summer before my first year and second year teaching. Central to this book’s argument is that as people, we should lead principle centered lives, not outcomes centered lives, because principles are foundational to who we are and should be used to guide all other…
An Entrepreneurship Update
Dave McClure, founding partner at 500 Startups, says that the perfect formula for a startup is hacker + hustler + designer. I’ve been trying to figure out which one I want to be for the past two months. I tried being a hacker, mostly through learning how to program in Python via Learn Python the…
On My Road to Being a Serial Entrepreneur
I have decided that I am going to be a serial entrepreneur. I’ve certainly dabbled in it, having founded the KIPP Houston Summer Internship Program (now KIPP Houston Urban Education Experience) and having tested basically every educational technology tool out there, but now I’m getting serious, now I’m preparing to start my own business and…
What’s It Like To Try To Build a Startup in 54 Hours?
Most importantly, I’m thankful for the people I met over the weekend, many of whom I hope will stay good friends and mentors for years to come. A special heartfelt thanks to the Tiedot team, without whom none of this would have been possible. Yogesh, Sim, Mike, Max, Gershon, Jamie (and Nihal), you guys ROCK….
What I Should Have Told My Interviewers
I interviewed at KIPP NYC’s three elementary schools this weekend! My day began with a demo lesson for 1st grade science at KIPP Infinity, then proceeded into a whirlwind tour of the three schools where I interviewed with the teachers and school leader of each school. A staple of any school interview is a debrief…
I’m Applying for Jobs
And it’s both exciting as well as nerve-wracking. I’ve thought a lot about what I would like to do, and I’m pretty content with the conclusions that I’ve made. The first conclusion is that I will continue working with students from low-income communities. I had considered temporarily moving to a private or magnet school that…
My Commitment for the School Year
Commitment is as much a mindset as it is a set of actions. So, this year, I am committing. I am committing to 100%. I commit to 100% of my students being 100% engaged, 100% of the time. This means that if I or another student am talking, all eyes are on the speaker, all…
Deborah Chang 