Reminiscent to the words from Uncle Ben (*a wink to our native friendly neighborhood Spiderman), I hope to empower these kindergartners so that they see their responsibility as a noble one, and in turn, uncover their inner superheroes to make their families and community proud!

The academic pressure on these young individuals weigh heavy on their shoulders, and in my heart. Yet, they continue to surprise me with the amazing progress they make between September to June. This can only be a testament of their hard work, and the unwavering support from their loved ones.

My students often reflect a childhood that many people share when growing up in Queens, NY - they come from self-sacrificing families that immigrated here to work odd jobs and make ends meet, all so they can provide their children with the best of what they can manage. As a result, my kindergartners come into school already with an immense responsibility to uphold.

When you think about a kindergarten classroom, there's an image that comes to mind - colorful walls with welcoming posters, an alphabet chart paired with cartoonish animals, and toys at every corner. The teacher is happily sitting on an organized desk as his/her students chatter peacefully and play.

The reality, however, is that if a kindergarten classroom DID look like that, it is a result of extensive spending from the teacher's personal pocket, and generous donations from supportive individuals.

Specifically in NYC public schools, the overcrowding of students alone makes it impossible for this image to be a reality. As teachers, we ultimately get creative with how we choose our materials, and bargain shop for versatile items that work as both teaching materials, and space savers. Often, we reuse and up-cycle items again and again.

For this upcoming school year, my easel is asking to retire after working eight tireless years as a white board, storage unit, painting easel, chart-hanger, office supply provider...the list goes on. Much like tired bones, its metal legs are sore from carrying hundreds of books and miscellaneous materials. Its wheels are also stiff from the constant movement, squeaking and stalling as it tries to wheel around the classroom. Most of its white board sections are stained and scratched. Quite honestly, it was looking forward to retiring last year to a lovely condo in Florida, but the trooper decided to stick it out for one more class because those kids were so stinking cute.

In an effort to send my current easel off to sunny beaches and a happy retirement, my class is asking for a new white board easel, baskets, a magnetic calendar activity center and a classroom timer, so that the young successor will be fully armed and prepared for a long, rewarding career in kindergarten.