Categories
Writerly Life

An Open Letter to My Students:

Twenty:5- A Writer’s Gallery was last night— I will blog about it; have no fear. For now though, I’m still in processing and feeling overwhelmed at the enormity of what an event like that meant to my students & I. Thank you for supporting us!

Today I’ve decided to post the piece I wrote for the gallery last night, in hopes that you might catch a glimmer of the love that I feel for these kids. Enjoy!

An Open Letter to My Students:

As a child I loved nothing more than to sit quietly in the back of my mother’s middle school classroom, and watch her teach. It was there, as an observer that I first fell in love with the art of education. During summers and after school, I would stand in the front of the room and instruct my imaginary class. I don’t remember any of them ever forgetting to bring a pencil to class—then again, they were imaginary.

Then I went to college, eager to find out how to be a better teacher. Soon, I became obsessed with knowing the top research and using only the best methods. I subscribed to magazines for teachers and went to seminars and workshops, all in the name of being the best educator around. When I first got my own classroom, I was meticulous; I made sure I followed the rules, if something didn’t go as planned, I turned to the experts. It was a beautiful thing.

And then there was you.

You broke the rules; the books had no answers for your heart and tenacity. There were so many times this year that I was unsure. Unsure of where to go next, unsure if something I was teaching would stick. It was then that I fell back on the best lesson my mother ever taught me: build relationship.

And build it we did.

Twenty: 5 is a testament to that investment, on your part and mine. You pressed through and journaled everyday, playing with your sentence structure, genre, voice, and content. Sometimes in the stillness of morning I would sit with your words, and oh how you moved me. Your stories of growing up captured my heart; I would not have had it any other way.

In the classroom, I felt most like a family when we were on the floor, huddled around a piece of chart paper. It was there that we learned to let down our guards and accept feedback on a piece we had poured our hearts into. Our room became a safe place to take risks, for both you and me.

Now, in the first week of June, I’m sitting the back of our classroom, trying to wrap my head around exactly what to say to you tonight. Your gallery pieces are almost ready, but my heart is not. I certainly will not know what to do when I arrive at Starbucks next Saturday morning without a bag of your writing beside me.

And so, right now, in this moment, I need you to know, I believe in you. Your words, your passion, your compassionate, and laughter filled hearts—you will go far and do big things.

As you move onto your next phase in life, I hope you’ll remember the time you spent with your journal in this classroom.  I hope you continue to capture small moments and ask yourself the three questions we’ve heard over and over this year.

Why is this important?

That matters because . . .

So, what I’m really trying to say is . . .

Because in the end, what I’m really trying to say is: Thanks for the adventure, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

 

Categories
Classroom Writing

Writing Therapy

Just the other night my fifth grade daughter reminded me of the importance of writing as therapy.  Bridget is and always has been VERY afraid of tornadoes.  An otherwise rational 11 year old can become hysterical and dive for cover if the word is mentioned by a weather forecaster.  The rash of horrible tornadoes in the southeast recently has been troubling to her, to say the least.  The other night, after catching a quick glimpse of a report on the news, she quietly went upstairs.  What she later brought down to me to read was the reminder that writing is therapy.  She had written a beautiful poem expressing her awe at the power of the storms but also the strength of the people who will rebuild their homes and their lives.  Bridget did what I wish all of our students would do, she reached down to her true feelings, her fears, and used writing to sort those feelings out and make sense of them.  She used writing as her therapy, her way of making things ok. 

As you go into your classroom tomorrow think about the kids sitting there.  Do they have fears, worries, concerns that they may not know how to deal with.  Maybe if we show them how to write them down writing can be their therapy too.  Next time you want to tell your students what to write about think of Bridget and tornadoes, what is your students’ tornado?

Categories
Writerly Life

Writer’s Block

I have had a serious case of writer’s block. Everytime I sat at my computer to begin a new blog entry my mind was spinning, I had a lot of ideas but they would not come out. It has been frustrating, exhausting, and discouraging. I help kids write, I help teachers to help kids to write, and I can’t write! My block seemed to dissolve today with a simple visit from my writing teacher friend Rachel. She just popped into my office filled with excitement over the new web site and the .org and suddenly I was ready to write. Was it her excitement? the new platform? or just seeing a colleague who shares my passion for teaching that inspired me to go forward? I am not sure which it was but it worked and I could not wait for a spare second to sit at my computer to write.
This got me thinking about our students. You know the ones who sit there and stare at a blank page with “nothing to write”. You give them encourgement, seed ideas, threats, and none of it works. None of those things worked for me either. It took time and a spontaneous visit from a friend. We have to give those students time and happy visits to their desk, checking in, sharing our excitement over our own writing, reading them some great lines from books. Who knows what will work but take it from me, something will, you just can’t plan on when.
Hopefully you can give those students a happy face and the time and space they need to get over their block (I know with days left in the school year the time thing may not be so easy…). I am glad my block is gone! Now let the dreaming begin!!

Categories
Writerly Life

New Website Launch!!— www.notesfromahappyteacher.org

When notesfromahappyteacher started on January 27, 2011 it was something I knew I should do, but I had no idea how it would change me. It felt like a risk then, to put my words out into the world with potential for disagreement, laughter, and public spelling mistakes. Surly this blog has brought all of those things, but it has also brought the opposite, moments where I have found others whose heart burns with passion for kids just like mine, applause from friends who have been moved, and sentences that reveal the heart of the craft.

And so it is with great enthusiasm, that I announce the launch of the new website. www.notesfromahappyteacher.org note the difference in the ending. We are an org now. This is certainly one of those big dreams I was talking about. So change us on your favorites and RSS feeders; it’s important to us that you journey with us. Don’t forget to comment and talk, your voice is important and gives us encouragement to keep writing, even when our crazy schedules seem to overtake us.

For now, the website appearance itself will look almost exactly the same, but have no fear friends we will be updating the site itself as well.  I can promise you that we will keep writing, that we will be happy and proud of kids and those moments in our classroom that remind us all we’re in the right profession, at the right time, with a group of kids that were made just for us. We’ll be real, and honest, and maybe a few things we’re still dreaming about . . .

 

Categories
Writerly Life

Confessions of a Dreamer

Do teachers dream? I mean, really dream? Big. Of course we dream of days when all of our students bring a pencil to every class, everyone reads their independent reading book, and journals with enthusiasm.

But I’m not talking about those kinds of dreams; I’m talking about the kind you can’t complain about. The kind of dreams where every student in your school gets an iPad because, well, they’re cool. And a Gallery Invite is an everyday part of life, because your students, wouldn’t have it any other way. All the kids at your school come from supportive families that never fall apart or go through junk. The kind of dreams that just could never happen. Or could they?

I have friends that aren’t teachers (shocking I know). Many of them are dreamers; I think it may be contagious. I spend my nights listening to them dream big, starting new businesses & creating new mindsets— that’s just the beginning. Some people have started building wells in Africa, some have started small businesses that work to empower those with fewer resources, and that’s just the beginning. They’re writing books, making movies, creating.

And me, the teacher? I dream of pencils never needing to be sharpened while I’m talking? Well, okay maybe I do, but this dreaming big thing is starting to work its way into my heart. Because recently, when an idea pops into my head, instead of brushing it off, I’m speaking it aloud and saying, “Why not?”

And so this year I’ve had a Gallery Walk in my classroom, a document camera donated by people outside of my school, and plans to . . . plans to, keep dreaming!

Dreaming is scary business, and I’m not talking little dreams, like being able to take good notes on every writing conference I have (although at some point that dream goal, feels more impossible than others). When do we lose that instinct within us to let out the wild dreams, and then actually believe in our hearts that we can achieve it?

I have some 8th graders that think they might be professional football players and politicians when they grow up. But take me to a first grade classroom, those kids, they dream it and believe it— their desire to be quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles is thwarted only by the realization that they would make a great President, and maybe it would be hard to do both at the same time? Or would it?

So if you’ve got the heart of a first grader, speak it out; what are you dreaming? Who do you want to be when you grow up? Are you a teacher, or are you a dreamer? Can you hold tight to both? I’m trying.

Categories
Hidden Gems Book Talk

Celebrate

I wanted to start this blog post with a quote from Hidden Gems. I could not settle on one.

“An acceptance of all students’ attempts at writing must be build into the process from the very start, or else learning how to write feels sterile, scary, and without purpose other than because it’s at school.”—164

 “…when you write; you don’t know where you’re going until you get there; that the process is messy and recursive and as Donald Murry reminds us, that you write to find out what you didn’t know you knew.”—164

“It’s like when you’re working on a thousand-piece puzzle or building a model car, boat, or airplane—you need the completed picture on the top of the box to envision what this pile of little pieces and parts will ultimately become.”—164

“Besides the party-time accoutrements, a celebration provides a formalized, ritualized way to lift up an individual and respond to his or her accomplishments.”—165

          If you did not read chapter 10 of Hidden Gems, you are missing out. This chapter, along with The Columbia University Writing Project changed my teaching career, maybe even my life (That’s dramatic, I know, but I teach in a middle school).

            I feel like so many people, so many of our kids, go through life without these kinds of celebrations, where adults and friends look them direct in the eye and say, “this is good.” And so this year one of my goals became to celebrate a little more, sometimes this came in the form of blog posts, other times e-mails, texts, notes in journals . . . and at other times it was more formal, more direct; a Gallery Walk or a classroom family reflection.

            These formal and informal celebrations have become part of the ebb and flow of my teaching life this year. It’s changed what I look for and in turn made me happier to be at work on rainy Monday mornings; happier to revise a story that looks like it’s going nowhere; just happier? Because in the end, the smile on that persons face, the confidence in their heart, is worth way more than any grade I ever put in the book.

            If you haven’t thought about attending my class’s last formal celebration of the year, check it out; we’d love to share our work with you. Click on our invite for more details. Gallery Invite

Categories
Classroom Writerly Life Writing

Writing Partners

Tonight I have written five absolutely fantastic starts to blog posts, that I’m not ready to share with the world. That’s the funny thing about writing, it’s so personal and yet, its true beauty is released only when shared. All five of these posts felt risky when I was writing them—some of my closest friends don’t even know I feel this way or dream about that.

I’m left thinking about what I ask my kids to do in my classroom. One of the goals on their writing checklist is, “Take Risks in Writing”. Don’t get me wrong you could take that goal anyway you wanted to, but when you’re in eighth grade, usually that means write something with content that you don’t normally share. The problem with this is simple: sharing is important in a community of writers.  It’s how we do our best thinking, by analyzing and helping to refine each other’s writing.

In my room we have writing partners, we switch these partners two, maybe three times a year. These are kids that know each other well, and until tonight I would have told you that my reasoning in this was so that they could hopefully see patterns in each other’s style and way of writing—so that they could call one another out when junk was written and applaud when the level of writing was lifted.

But, maybe there is more to these partnerships than that. Because honestly, someone will see those first five blog posts. They’ll run in the form of e-mails at some point to Jess, a trusted friend, who will shot me real and honest feedback. Somehow from those e-mails, I learn which ideas/dreams are ready to be harvested and shared, and which are not yet quite ready for their journey to the ears of others. We never formally sat down and said, “Will you be my writing partner?” Things just sort of morphed that way over the years; I couldn’t imagine having the guts to write this blog without years of Jess e-mails behind me.

As I listen in on my student’s conversations I realize more and more that “writing partner” means more than a friend to walk through the process with. Writing partners are friends who listen to stories that aren’t quite ready for the rest of the world, and love you the same whether your writing is junk or Pulitzer Prize material.

Categories
Writerly Life

Happy Mother’s Day

always an adventure with mom

I am my Mother’s daughter.

I have never been ashamed of that.

In my writing I hear her writer’s voice sneaking in; when I read to my students I hear her inflection and her care in preserving character’s voices/personas. Daily I am amazed at the ways we are similar. Sometimes when I say things to my students I hear my Mother’s voice, and it’s in those moments that I know I am getting it right.

The first text she ever sent me (see two weeks ago) was, “There’s a little girl throwing stones in the creek with her red galoshes and her Mom. Ahh wanna go back in time?”

And last week I posted on her facebook wall, “Mom, tonight I think I need to snuggle up on your bed while you grade papers; let’s go back, just for tonight.”

I love my Mom. Lots. Always have. That weird teenage stage where girls hate their mom? Not here, never.

Of all the lessons I learned from my Mother, the one that sits closest to my heart is relationship. She taught me at an early age the value of being present with people, learning their stories, and walking with them as they grow. There is nothing I love more than to journey with people, investing my heart and my time.

I’ve watched my Mother invest in her students and in her friendships for the past twenty-six years of my life. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever seen, and if my teaching or my classroom feels different than others, it’s only because I’ve learned from her how to encourage and push at the same time.

When we generate ideas for writing poetry we often write lists. Here’s my Mother’s Day generating list for you.

Ten things I’m thankful my Mom taught me.

  1. Don’t be afraid to be a kid.
  2. Being distracted is sometimes really important.
  3. Don’t freak out in stressful situations.
  4. Drink tea to help you focus.
  5. Give specific feedback on writing and relationship.
  6. Go outside.
  7. Just because you’ve never done it, doesn’t mean you can’t.
  8. Set goals. Achieve Goals. Repeat.
  9. Forgive, forgive, forgive.
  10. There is a big God out there, who does big things; pay attention.
Categories
Classroom Writing

poetry & revision

I fell in love with poetry this summer, spending summer nights in the West Village Bowery Poetry Club listening to Carlos Andres Gomez bring the house down with spoken word.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdHWVlpBGiY]

Carlos wasn’t the first time I fell in love with poetry; in fact the first unit I was ever proud of as a teacher, was a poetry unit I did at Benchmark School using the book Bronx Masquerade. Drew McCorkell & I were quite the team, teaching kids to write with passion and encouraging them to take risks as writers.

Then there is now, in my classroom. I’ve been working with kids, watching them craft poetry in their journals. Sometimes they sit there, scribble down a few obviously unheartfelt lines, close up their journal and claim they are done. My blood begins to boil; I’ve taught them to revise, to reflect, to dialogue; why are they doing this to me?

And then I realize, poetry is different. It’s not always safe to share and revision happens differently. I would have to teach my kids how to spend time with a poem, revisit it, and clarify the poem to make their message clear and yet still have that foggy quality that only poetry can have. As I started thinking, I realized I don’t often do these things in my own poetry, and I wasn’t sure how authors did it either. So with the help of my kids and authors like Ralph Fletcher and Sarah Kay, along with Katie Wood Ray and maybe a little Barry Lane, we came up with this helpful list for revising.

Here is our wall chart of Poetry Revision Strategies:

  • Star your favorite line.
    • Move that line to the top of your poem
    • Craft a new stanza after that line
  • Add in Similes and Metaphors
    • It’s a poet’s love language
    • It lets people connect
  • Take out words
    • Take out as many words as you can
    • Poets leave room for people to think for themselves
  • Line/ Stanza Breaks
    • Create drama and set a mood
    • Breaks say to the reader—think about that
  • Use Repetition
    • Draw attention to the importance of a line or phrase
  • Craft strong conclusions
    • Leave the reader with a feeling, image, connection, or question

I’m thankful that my classroom is a learning community and that we can create these lists and journey together. Initially, I wasn’t sure that they would go for these strategies, but after spending a year together taking risks they seemed thankful that we could take the mystery out of the process—bring it back to the familiar writing routine we loved— and allow the risk to be within the content only . I was thankful that I wasn’t going crazy, and that we had all remembered to revise, to reflect, to dialogue.

Categories
Classroom

Hidden Gems

Good morning Hidden Gems readers…for today’s book club comment with something affirming that you read and something new you are going to try.  If you have more to say please say it!  Just cliock on comment and add your thoughts to the conversation.  Happy blogging…