Sharon's Books (INCREDIBLE novels and nonfiction books on urban & rural education)
(1) The Sellout by Paul Beatty (one of the BEST novels Sharon has EVER read)
(2) For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y'all Too by Christopher Emdin (Dr. Emdin came to speak at Sharon's Math for America PLT and she got to meet him personally!)
(3) History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
(4) Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
(5) An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
(6) A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League by Ron Suskind
(7) Multiplication is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit
(7) Multiplication is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit
David's Books
Artemis by Andy Weir
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
Evening in the Palace of Reason by James R. Gaines
AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
Evening in the Palace of Reason by James R. Gaines
Our Favorite Movie Rentals
(1) Bamboozled
(2) My Fair Lady
(3) 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
(4) I, Tonya
(5) Equity
(6) The Wedding Banquet
(7) Bladerunner 2049
(8) Wonder Wheel
(9) The Shape of Water
(10) Monty Python: Life of Brian
(11) City of Gold
(12) Stuck in Love
Best NYC Film Festivals
(2) My Fair Lady
(3) 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
(4) I, Tonya
(5) Equity
(6) The Wedding Banquet
(7) Bladerunner 2049
(8) Wonder Wheel
(9) The Shape of Water
(10) Monty Python: Life of Brian
(11) City of Gold
(12) Stuck in Love
Best NYC Film Festivals
(1) Tribeca Film Festival - Sharon and David together saw Home + Away, a documentary following three Latinx students attending high school and playing sports in Texas and trying to achieve the American Dream
(2) International Children's Film Festival - Alexi and David saw White Fang and Mateo (attending for the 1st time!) and Sharon saw the phenomenal animated Animal Jubilee
Best New Year Activity
Sharon and Mateo went to see the Lion Dances and set off firecrackers for Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and afterwards had lunch at Vegetarian Dim Sum House
Best Movie in a Theater:
BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee @ NYIT Auditorium (movie was not working at first though help received after a call to LA)
Best New Year Activity
Sharon and Mateo went to see the Lion Dances and set off firecrackers for Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and afterwards had lunch at Vegetarian Dim Sum House
Best Movie in a Theater:
BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee @ NYIT Auditorium (movie was not working at first though help received after a call to LA)
Best Outdoor Movie - The Breakfast Club in Bryant Park (one of Sharon's favorite movies EVER!!!)
Delayed start after downpour, though led to Sharon getting a front row seat on the lawn
Delayed start after downpour, though led to Sharon getting a front row seat on the lawn
Favorite People/Places/Publications to follow on Twitter
1. Dalai Lama - @DalaiLama
2. Chalkbeat NY - @ChalkbeatNY
2. Chalkbeat NY - @ChalkbeatNY
3. Chalkbeat - @Chalkbeat
4. Meat Free Mama - @meatfreemama
5. Kanye West aka ye - @kanyewest
Best Art Exhibits/Museums/Gallery Shows/Participatory Design
(1) Fragmenticos by Esteban Ocampo Giraldo @ Gitler & _______ Gallery
(2) Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination @ Met Museum
(3) We Come In Peace Mural Project by Huma Bhabha @ Rooftop Garden of Met Museum
(4) Survival Research Laboratories @ Marlborough Contemporary
(5) Silkscreening: Putting the A into STEAM @ Math for America - Sharon created Einstein OneGoal silkscreened shirts and posters (Sharon as artist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
(4) Survival Research Laboratories @ Marlborough Contemporary
(5) Silkscreening: Putting the A into STEAM @ Math for America - Sharon created Einstein OneGoal silkscreened shirts and posters (Sharon as artist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Best Broadway - The Iceman Cometh
Two words: Denzel Washington
Best Shakespeare: Twelfth Night: The Musical @ Delacorte Theatre
Sharon waited on line in Central Park for five hours the day of the play, though it was totally worth it to see this play, which was a musical adaptation of the famous Shakespeare play featuring amateur actors and actresses from Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Best Museum for Kids - Museum of the City of New York
Best Museum for Adults - Steinway Piano Factory Tour in Astoria, Queens
Coolest NYC Event - March for Our Lives
Sharon took Alexi and Mateo to this important protest march and demonstration, to stand up for school safety and remember those who have lost their lives in school shootings and school violence
Best Cycling Events
NYC Century - David, Alexi and Mateo biked the 55(!) mile route together in the pouring rain, with Mateo riding in the red trailer and Alexi biking solo. Sharon volunteered at the Astoria Rest Stop, making hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for hungry cyclists.
Best Concert/Live Musical Event - Apollo's Fire @ Carnegie Hall
Best Family Member in Concert
David playing oboe in "Bach in the Subway" with a small ensemble at 59th Street Subway Station to commemorate Bach's 333rd Birthday
Best TV Series - Goliath (featuring the *PHENOMENAL* Billy Bob Thorton)
Best Math Event - Sharon getting her National Board Teaching Certification in Mathematics for Adolescents and Young Adults!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best Sporting Event - Mateo's first time going with Alexi to see a NYCFC Soccer Game (in the pouring rain!) at Yankee Stadium
Best Sporting Event - Mateo's first time going with Alexi to see a NYCFC Soccer Game (in the pouring rain!) at Yankee Stadium
Best Kids Event - Washington Heights Salsa, Blues and Shamrock Run
Best Travel Destinations
(1) Budapest, Hungary
(2) San Felui de Guixols, Spain
(3) Raleigh, North Carolina
(4) Luray, Virginia
(5) Rochester, New York for Fall Foliage Camping
(3) Raleigh, North Carolina
(4) Luray, Virginia
(5) Rochester, New York for Fall Foliage Camping
Best Halloween Event - SMS Halloween Costume Party
Best Vegan Restaurant - Modern Love in Brooklyn
Best Vegan Restaurant - Modern Love in Brooklyn
Best Pick-Your-Own Fruit: Alstede Farms
Best Neighborhood Festivals: Spring Egg Hunt and Harvest Festival
Best Holiday Event: Santa Train (our annual holiday tradition)
Best View of NYC: Looking out the windows from LinkedIn's NY Headquarters
Best Neighborhood Festivals: Spring Egg Hunt and Harvest Festival
Best Holiday Event: Santa Train (our annual holiday tradition)
Best View of NYC: Looking out the windows from LinkedIn's NY Headquarters
Top 5 Reasons to Love New York City
(1) FAMILY - We spent lots of time in our pre-war apartment this year focusing on our talents and passions. Mateo plays piano at home daily on our new Yamaha upright piano. Alexi can usually be found at home reading, doing French Duolingo or playing chess. Alexi and Mateo are each other's best friends and still enjoy playing games full of imagination with each other. David plays oboe or piano at least once a day and enjoys quiet moments of reading. Sharon spent countless hours in front of the computer working on both her National Board Certification and Math for America Master Teacher + II Fellowship renewal this year. Sometimes the focus has to be on ourselves instead of the outside world.
(2) FAME - "If I can make it there, I'll make it ANYWHERE, It's up to you, New York, New York" Exactly Frank. This year Sharon was finally recognized for her phenomenal teaching and contributions to urban education in New York City. In August she was interviewed by Chalkbeat.org, the largest nonprofit news agency in the country. The piece was published on August 8th as part of the "How I Teach Series", which profiles the best educators in the United States of America. On December 1st Sharon was notified that she obtained her National Board Teaching Certification in Adolescence/Young Adult Mathematics, the highest honor that can be attained by American educators. She is now one of 98 newly National Board Certified educators teaching in New York State. Sharon works daily to fulfill the TFA mission that one day all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
(2) FAME - "If I can make it there, I'll make it ANYWHERE, It's up to you, New York, New York" Exactly Frank. This year Sharon was finally recognized for her phenomenal teaching and contributions to urban education in New York City. In August she was interviewed by Chalkbeat.org, the largest nonprofit news agency in the country. The piece was published on August 8th as part of the "How I Teach Series", which profiles the best educators in the United States of America. On December 1st Sharon was notified that she obtained her National Board Teaching Certification in Adolescence/Young Adult Mathematics, the highest honor that can be attained by American educators. She is now one of 98 newly National Board Certified educators teaching in New York State. Sharon works daily to fulfill the TFA mission that one day all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
(3) SCHOOLS - Public education is all the talk in New York City these days. Among the distopian educational landscape there are some true gems. Sharon is in her fifth year teaching at New Heights Academy Charter School, serving the Latina/Latino students of Washington Heights and the Bronx. Her stealth progressivism is a huge hit with students, and at the end of the year she introduced the first ever Statistics Roundtables at New Heights Academy. Alexi is in his final year at Castle Bridge School, the only inclusive, progressive, dual language public school in New York City, where David is on the Friends Committee. Mateo is at Special Music School studying piano with Miss Irina. SMS is the top ranked public school in all of New York State. Our family strongly believes in public education...we are walking the walk and talking the talk.
(4) MUSIC - NYC is one of the classical musical capitals of the WORLD. Mateo now goes to school right next door to Julliard and Lincoln Center. Piano music fills our home early every morning, and oboe music waffles through our rooms late at night. David and Sharon together got to attend their first Apollo's Fire Concert and were transformed. David got to tour the Steinway Piano Factory with fellow SMS parents. Sharon and David attended Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night: The Musical. David joined the SMS Community Choir and December was spent performing in/attending various concerts, recitals and warmed up winter sings.
(5) VOLUNTEERING - We love volunteering in our community of Washington Heights and in NYC in general. At the Spring Egg Hunt Sharon and Alexi ran the bake sale table, raising money to fund next year's hunt. For the NYC Century, Sharon volunteered at the Astoria Rest Stop, making hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for hungry cyclists. In the autumn David helped run Movie Nights at Alexi and Mateo's school as a fundraiser for the PTA. As a family we volunteered at the Harvest Festival, with Sharon running the Pie Contest and food tables.
(4) MUSIC - NYC is one of the classical musical capitals of the WORLD. Mateo now goes to school right next door to Julliard and Lincoln Center. Piano music fills our home early every morning, and oboe music waffles through our rooms late at night. David and Sharon together got to attend their first Apollo's Fire Concert and were transformed. David got to tour the Steinway Piano Factory with fellow SMS parents. Sharon and David attended Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night: The Musical. David joined the SMS Community Choir and December was spent performing in/attending various concerts, recitals and warmed up winter sings.
(5) VOLUNTEERING - We love volunteering in our community of Washington Heights and in NYC in general. At the Spring Egg Hunt Sharon and Alexi ran the bake sale table, raising money to fund next year's hunt. For the NYC Century, Sharon volunteered at the Astoria Rest Stop, making hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for hungry cyclists. In the autumn David helped run Movie Nights at Alexi and Mateo's school as a fundraiser for the PTA. As a family we volunteered at the Harvest Festival, with Sharon running the Pie Contest and food tables.