To the scholars of Sheffield's AP Language course.....

It is with a heavy heart that I must bid you each farewell. It has been a long 2 years, filled with so many valleys to cross and mountains to climb. Yet here we are at life's crossroads. We have served our purposes and now must part. How you all have influenced me! I am a better teacher, and a better person for having made your acquaintances. I have enjoyed every single minute I have spent with each of you. It was filled with happiness and peace. I had worked with low students so long that I had to learn to adjust my practices when working with students who wanted a push. I think I got it now! I had to do some homework and stay just one step ahead of you guys-- but somehow we all got there.

In a few days (July 5th), we will see how well you all did on this AP exam. I am reminded that this isn't a "pass/fail" exam; it is more of "a college level student/ not a college level student" test. Meaning that if you score a 2 or 1, you are still performing on a high school level and if you get a 3 or higher, you are operating on a college level, and thus will receive an AP credit in college. I say all that to say that no matter what your scores are, none of you "failed". You all have grown tremendously as intellectuals, and a scholars, and we must appreciate how much we all grew thanks to this course.

Personally, I also want to leave you all with some parting words. I would have sent them privately, but as always, we learned to learn from each other so each of you will benefit from the other's personal messages:

D.B.- I appreciate you. You make me sick quite often, and I grew restless with your excuses, but you are definitely an articulate, black beauty and I pray you find your balance in order to encompass all of those great qualities at once. You struggled being good at everything at the same time, and that is hard to do. Please always be positive and push yourself to be the best you can be. And try to remember that although extra-curricular activities are fun, your education is a PRIORITY. Don't sleep on your grades, because essentially they can hold you back if you don't do well. Then, what good are the extra-curricular activities if you don't get into college because of your grades? Find your balance and don't run yourself thin this year. Stress is real!

J.A.- Even though we playfully fuss and argue, I want you to know how much I totally respect you. You never cease to amaze me because you are never afraid to step up to any of my challenges: verbally, mentally, etc. When I think you are down and out, you come back with a vengeance! Your test scores ALWAYS show me that you are hearing me, even when I think you aren't! You had one of the highest EOC scores last year. You had the 2nd best writing score this year! You are a force to be reckoned with! I will forever respect you for your willingness to be pushed. I am very proud of you and wish you the best!

A.Bak- Girl, you know you make me crazy. You are one of the most naturally smart students I have taught, yet you are so complacent. I have never understood why you weren't an A student when A's could be so easy for you! Some people would kill to have your thinking capacity. I hope you learn to use it to your advantage soon before you miss out on some very important opportunities that will pass you by if you do not seize upon success in the classroom! As a senior, grades and ACT scores are all that matter! And you are too smart to miss out on what is for you!

A. Bar-You are the definition of brilliance. You will be able to do whatever you want in your life! I hate you will not graduate with your class, but I know you will be valedictorian wherever you go. You can write, you are articulate, you are thoughtful, you are gorgeous! The world will not be able to stop you! I am thankful I was given the opportunity to teach you. I learned very much from you being in my classroom- I learned that there are some students who are ready to be exposed to knowledge! You are designed for very great things.

Y.P.- Yes, when we met I did think you were all about mirrors and make up! Boy did you prove me wrong! You are so smart and so quick to catch onto whatever is thrown your way. I will miss you! I hope you continue to prove people wrong who think you are just another pretty face! You are a kindhearted, intelligent individual. REMEMBER THAT. Too many women are stereotyped because they are pretty and no one takes them seriously in the workplace or in relationships. Continue to be you AND knock down that stereotype for all us pretty women in the world!

A.G.- We spent two very contentious years together. And even though I questioned if you got it or not, I think you did. I have seen you grow so much. IF we can keep your mind on the books and nothing else, I believe you can be great at whatever you do! Do not get lost in the moment of being in high school! Remember that passed May 2013, there is a whole life on the other side of high school! Prepare for that now, by pushing yourself to be the best and honing your abilities. You can do it.

K.W.- I am very glad you took my class this year. You are extremely articulate and I wish I heard your voice more! Continue to find your voice and craft yourself into who you envision yourself to be! Your voice is too important to not be heard, or to get lost in millions of other, more dominant voices. I appreciated every single time we heard your voice because you always had something valid or thoughtful to say!

K.N.- You are so intelligent. When you knew what we were doing, you always gave me some of the most profound responses. Other students stand in awe of you. I don't know where you lost your your way, but please find it so that you can excel to your potential! It is never too late to turn things around!

D.M.- The depth of your knowledge is astounding. I understand this. I respect how immensely intelligent you are. Sometimes I questioned my ability to teach you something new! I lesson planned with you in mind all the time because I wanted to make sure I was pushing you. I realize how easy things are for you, but some of the most beautiful and profound writing that I came across this year, belonged to you! You are probably the smartest individual I have ever come across. I believe that you will receive that 30 on the ACT your heart desires. It just might take you doing more studying for it on your own, because not too many sub-par teachers (including myself) know how to fully teach you. Thank you for allowing me to try to teach you these last two years-- it made me a better educator!

A.T.- You are one of the most complex people I have ever met. I have grown to respect your pursuit of education, when others have found it a nuisance. I have grown to appreciate your thinking processes, when others found you to be a trouble maker. You taught us all that your education is YOUR education and one should never settle for less than the VERY best from those who are in charge of educating you. When it came to us, however, you were too busy still fighting battles and missing the education! I hope that what you did gain from me, will be enough, although I am afraid sometimes it won't be. It is hard to catch up on missed time. Please continue to read to broaden your scope. Continue to question everything, including things you don't think are correct. Read the New Yorker magazine, Time magazine and Newsweek so you can experience the world outside of this city (which is NOT indicative of the world!). Build yourself up mentally so that nobody can ever question your beliefs! I am excited to read and hear about the great things you will accomplish, because you truly are destined for greatness.

A.J.- I hate I didn't teach you two years. But it really didn't matter after awhile because you made up for it by reading everything you could to catch up. I respect and appreciate all of your effort this past year! It was exciting to watch your evolution from regular high school student to high standing intellectual. You pushed yourself to be a more dignified writer, and never, ever settled for less. I was excited to see you disappointed about 7s, although your peers all got 5s and 6s. I saw you strive to be better, and you were. No matter who teaches you, continue to feed your thirst for knowledge. Sheffield is sleeping on you! Make everybody wake up around you! You are not just "another black girl". You are one who is going to be something real special when you get where you are going!

C.C.- The lone gentleman. I am so glad I was given an opportunity to teach you. I have seen your ability expand by leaps and bounds! I cannot express how grateful I am that you stuck in there. That you continued to push, push, push to keep up with your female counterparts. Maturity comes with your days, so it'll all balance out eventually. Thank you for hanging in there, because we all know you didn't have to. Thank you for constantly letting me know you appreciated my long nights and early mornings planning lessons in order to teach you. You took it all in! Every piece of information I gave you. Continue to be that adamant about your education! Do not allow another person to fluff over your education because it will be YOUR loss, not theirs! And be who you think you want yourself to be. We cannot live for our peers' or teachers' or parents' approval. We can only live to our own potential. Just keep YOUR BAR HIGH so you can reach YOUR goals. Expectations are everything. You must have high expectations for yourself in order to push yourself to greatness.

S.B.- You hold a very special place in my heart. You are one of the most insightful and kind people I have ever met. I appreciate that you always tried to push yourself to keep up with the pace. You never counted yourself out. Ever. Now, if you would go through senior year without letting trivial stuff get you in a rut, you will finish the top of your class and be headed for greatness! Continue to read!

A.R.- Utter brilliance. I wish that your home life didn't interfere as much with your school life because I imagine what you could be like if you were there everyday. You have a gift! The raw gift of thinking. I pray that with this new legislation (that you were so worried about) you will receive the college education you DESERVE. Please make your education a priority!

S.W.- I think I believe in your intellectual ability more than you do! You are so smart, and I wish you wouldn't be afraid of it. You are destined for great things and I need you to believe that as much as I do! Stop 2nd guessing yourself and believe that you know what you know! Rebuke laziness and procrastination because it holds you back from your greatness! READ, READ, READ and think about what you read. You are extremely bright and quietly beautiful, inside and out! Believe those things about yourself.

D.P.- You are still with me. Sitting in your seat, every single day. Thank you for being in my life for 1 1/2 years. I always stood in awe of you. Your intelligence, your prowess on the race track, your humility. There is not one thought of you that crosses my mind that does not make me overwhelmed with tears. We were robbed of such a wonderful human. But honestly, the good have always died young. And all geniuses have their vices. Some die of drugs because they cannot calm their minds without it. Some die because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to have a life outside of their intelligence. You were definitely the latter. How I wish you didn't go to that party that night. Your cryptic tweet, "Everybody is sleep- I will sleep when I die" still haunts me, because I wish you would've slept that Christmas Eve. Then you could've awakened Christmas morning to get that laptop you wanted (and needed) so badly. Instead of receiving eternal sleep. I will always remember that time in Nashville when you read Huck Finn all day every day, when everybody on the trip were having fun. You were one of the most self-disciplined students I have ever met, and EVERYBODY stands to learn something from that. You refused to ever be left behind, even if it meant staying after school, or missing a track practice in order to do your work. ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL. Nobody told you to do these things. You did them to appease your own standards. Incomparable. There will never be another like you. However, I know you are with me. And that you guide my meditations of how to teach your classmates better than I was taught. I miss your voice, but you will always be there. And I thank God for the little acquaintance that we did have, because I am a better person for having met you.

Parting is such sweet sorrow. I will miss you all in my class as my students. However, I am at peace with the thought that you all operate on higher standards now. Please do not settle for anybody who refuses to teach you. Always make the people being paid to educate you, work. It will be to your detriment if you decide to become complacent in anything involving your education. Remember that, seniors.  And whatever you do READ, READ, READ. Never stop reading. There is so much you have not read that your non-black counterparts will have read! You have to constantly read in order to keep up!!!! The world outside of Sheffield is filled with intellectual beasts that you will soon have to compete with for jobs and stature. You cannot lose that war, because you all are our talented tenth! Expose yourselves to life outside of Sheffield by READING.

It has been a wonderful year. And I will miss each of you differently. You all have formed and molded me into a better teacher and I cannot wait to try this thing again with my NEW AP class!! Thank you all for taking that educational journey with me.