Ki-on carries on. Carmen manipulates. Carlos and Justin complain. Ibrahim defies. Seated in a horseshoe formation, in a corner room, they test me while taking their tests. I feel the familiar sensations: tightening in the throat and chest, tension in the neck and shoulders, gritted teeth. My frustration rises. This time, however, I become aware…

The traffic is bumper-to-bumper south of Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. A five-minute drive to the first exit for Bear Mountain takes an hour. When we learn the park is closed, due to reaching capacity, we realize we won’t make Oktoberfest. parked carson the highway medianfoot traffic Peekskill’s Downtown Art district consists of a short row…

All he needed to do was print his answers. But when he plugged his Alpha Smart into the printer and keyed the sequence to print, the device failed. We waited—in vain—for help from Astor’s Tech support, a CUNY intern in over his head. I scribed his answers and then walked him to class. All I…