In this teaching memoir, Azya Maxton uses her twenty plus years of experience, teaching in various capacities from Pre-K to College, in over fifteen Baltimore City Schools to share stories and strategies. In this memoir, "Miss Azya", as she is commonly known to students. offers vignettes, victories and a multitude of real-life challenges from the perspective of an urban educator. Through this writing the author hopes togive you a better picture of the problems our students and teachers face, along with a few proposals for problem-solving and some worthwhile resources.It is the author's hope thatwe mightuse this text to contribute to the conversation, which, ultimately, culminates in thecreation of an evolution in education.