In Lak Ech

In Lak Ech
by Luis Valdez

Tú Eres mi otro yo
Si te hago daño a ti
Me hago daño a mí mismo
Si te amo y respeto
Me amo y respeto yo

You are my other me.
If I do harm to you,
I do harm to myself;
If I love and respect you,
I love and respect myself.

The Topography of Urban Education

I asked my seniors to post a life motto - something that spoke to them - for our wall of fame. (Let's be real - making it to senior year is the ill triumph for all of my students.)

He wrote: "Live life fast."

Later in the day my skinny shiny-eyed junior was irritated with me. I wouldn't let him leave the room and enter a questionable situation. He replied, "Why? I'm not gonna live to 18."


Period.

As in: 'fact'.


I'm back in public school. This is the topography of urban education, third worlds within.