Why I call myself the other Mr. L is based on one of my heroes in the field of education. That hero is a man who grew up 25 minutes away from me in North Philadelphia. In contrast I grew up in West Philadelphia on the "other side of The Park (Fairmount Park)." The man that I'm speaking about is no other than Mr. Salome Thomas-El, principal of the Thomas Edison Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware. Also, he is the author of the book I Choose To Stay: How a Black Teacher Refuses To Desert the Inner City.
In this book Mr. El talks about his days as a teacher and chess coach at the now defunct Roberts Vaux Middle School in North Philadelphia, an inner city community in our hometown. Like Mr. El, I choose to stay in the inner city and was a chess coach with the same aspirations to help students become lifelong learners. I've done this at a middle school on the outskirts of Philly in Darby Borough an inner ring suburban town which has similar socio-economic characteristics as some areas of North Philly. Many students and staff members referred to me as "Mr. L" because many of them couldn't pronounce my last name which is Lumumba (Loo Mum Ba). I didn't mind because like Mr. El I too choose to stay and dedicate my life to the success of our children. This is why I call myself the other Mr. L.
No comments:
Post a Comment