Soapbox: The Way I see Things

Slice of Life Day 18: Back to Fiction

My fifth graders have begun writing allegorical stories, and I’m joining them. We’ve identified issues we feel strongly about, and we’re crafting short fiction to serve as metaphor for the problems we’d like to solve.

I’m not ready to give away my issue, but perhaps you can identify it – or at least some traces of it. I’ve just got the bare beginnings, so now I have the unfortunate task of moving the plot forward.

Send mojo.

Here’s my excerpt:

It started on an ordinary day in the settlement of Juventa, a town nestled in an isolated valley among the foothills of the Cogora mountains. The people had lived there since well before anyone could remember.

If you visited Juventa, you might think it was an ordinary village. You’d see people living in simple thatch huts along stony walkways. You’d see gardens full of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental flowers. You’d see fields and farms and a central square with a marketplace.

But Juventa was far from ordinary. You see, some towns run on solar energy. Some towns run on coal or gas. Juventa ran on the power of its children. Their imagination was so strong and powerful, it was enough to keep lights on and machines running.

If you asked a Juventan why, exactly, they ran on children instead of coal or gas or solar, they’d shrug their shoulders and tell you that’s how it’s always been, since well before anyone could remember.

And it was on this ordinary day that Greta got up, had a simple breakfast of porridge, put on her blue and grey uniform, and made her way to the factory at the center of Juventa. It was, by far, the largest structure in the settlement, a brown, two-story brick building with thick chimneys emerging at the center.

“Hey, Greta. Nice clothes. They one of a kind?”

Greta rolled her eyes and turned to face her best friend Milo, dressed in identical fashion. “Ha, ha,” she retorted. “Nice joke, Milo. You just think of that one?”

Milo shrugged and said, “Can’t help being so hilarious. He’s here all week, folks.”

We’re ALL here all week, thought Greta dimly. Every week. Every. Day.

Slice of Life Day 17: On Professional Learning

Our district moved to the HMH “Into Reading” language arts curriculum this year. After experiencing some success the last few years with a homespun writing initiative, there have been growing pains, for sure. So when our Assistant Superintendent asked me if I wanted to lead some writing work, I jumped at the chance. Today, a colleague and I taught two half-day sessions on writing, with a focus on bringing back some of the joy and choice teachers helped foster.

My partner and I laid out our plans:
– have teachers engage in writing
– discuss what the experience felt like
– connect that to the work we do with students
– examine how we can streamline practices to allow student independence and choice
– engage in sustained, collaborative planning

Sounds simple, right? Well…that depends. Let’s just say one group was game, and the other…not so much. I was about a half hour into one group and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was ACTIVELY BOMBING, with very little hope of shelter or retreat.

And here’s the thing: I’ve run dozens of workshops, and I’ve dealt with weirdness from participants. Not everyone is up for every PD all the time. Some activities and discussion questions are a swing and a miss, at best. Teachers, too, are notoriously terrible class members. There’s also educational “baggage” teachers carry into meetings or training.

I can’t lie, though. Seeing it come from colleagues I work next to every day? That’s hard. I’m not surprised, because it’s happened to me before with the same folks. So I don’t know why I would have expected today to be any different. I guess I’m just…sad, for all the reasons. At this point, I could dig in and pout that I had a contingent of folks who – for whatever reasons – pushed themselves out of reach.

Or.

I could focus my energy back into the folks – at both sessions! – who brought their hard work, their sincerity, their eagerness to make things better for themselves and their students. I could be proud of the work we’ve done to center students in the learning experience.

Yeah. That feels better. I think I can sleep okay tonight.

Chart paper with sticky notes — When are scaffolds helpful?

Chart paper with notes — Teachers reflected on “big ideas” about scaffolding instruction

Slice of Life Day 16: Contentment

I went to sleep last night with a full heart. It was my turn to host an online Slice of Life meet-up. I had already interacted with most everyone online, so it was especially wonderful to see and hear the people the writing came from.

All of us were longtime teachers, one retired, two on the cusp, and two very much in the thick of things. We stretched across the U.S. from coast to coast. The conversation was free and easy, and it was a reminder of how much I love this experience year after year.

And think: behind every comment each day, behind every blog, is an amazing human waiting to be known, appreciated, seen. Just knowing that is a comfort in a world where it’s harder and harder to be human.

So today, I’ll take my little scrap of hope, tuck it in my pocket, and move forward.

Screen shot of five participants — Look at us. We’re BEAUTIFUL =)

Slice of Life Day 15: Tip for Tomorrow

This morning, I was listening to the Two Writing Teachers podcast as part of my Sunday routine. I’m partial to the “Tip for Tomorrow” episodes, as they’re great for thinking about simple ways to “level up” my teaching. Melanie’s “tip for tomorrow” episode featured a discussion about morphology (hey, kids! that’s a fancy way of talking about word structure).

Melanie’s words were particularly validating to me right now, because that’s so much of the work I’m doing with students. I’m trying to support readers and writers across grade levels through vocabulary, and word structure is a meaningful way to do it. Right now, I’m asking my kids to think about words as Lego blocks: we can build them, we can take them apart, and it helps us make meaning:

Photocopy of a student reference source — Part of a reference page I’ve made for kids

Now that I’ve heard Melanie’s words, I’ll be doubling down on my efforts, and you know what? I’ll probably introduce them to the word “morphology.” Why? Because kids love big ideas. I’ll also be leaning into Melanie’s suggestions for using affixes to guide students as spellers.

I’ve got three student groups this week, and I can’t wait to share my learning. You’ve gotta love it when the “tip for tomorrow” is literally a tip…for tomorrow. Let’s go!

Slice of Life Day 14: Plan B

Today’s agenda, originally:

Grocery shopping
Comment on a million slices
Walk the dogs
Clean walls so they can be painted
Meal prep
Catch up on housework
Read
Do some PT exercises
Throw in a few loads of laundry

…until my husband’s friend came through with tickets to the Big 10 Championship Semifinals. Him: “Well, it might mean we have to cancel our dinner reservation.”

Me: “How is it even a QUESTION?”

So, we interrupt this day of Perfectly Logical Errands and Chores to bring you…FUN.

Photo in front of a "big 10" display board

Picture of wrists with lighted bracelets

Picture of Michigan basketball players with flags

Clockwise, starting at top left: 1) me somehow not able to take a selfie and look at the camera simultaneously; 2) cool light-up bracelets that were synchronized throughout the arena (and lost their excitement after about 10 minutes); 3) Michigan cheerleaders riling up the crowd; 4) Michigan players taking the court (before almost rolling over for Wisconsin); 5) A shot of the scoreboard to start the game, just for my mom who’s cheering for UCLA from beyond; 6) A celebration of the proper team winning.

…oh. And those dinner reservations? We’re home in plenty of time. Win. Win. Win.

Slice of Life Day 13: Victory?

Today’s half day started with a friendly competition. Our staff was divided into teams, and we were to go against one another in a scavenger hunt. People were AMPED. One team even made T-shirts.

The principal came on the PA and announced that the weather wasn’t cooperating for the scavenger hunt, but we’d have a Kahoot quiz.

I ambled to the library at the appointed time, fully expecting to be chill about the whole thing (I’m a lover, not a fighter). And then my friend and colleague looked me straight in the eye and said, “WE. HAVE. To WIN.” I don’t know where she got this crazy level of competition, but I have never seen that side of her. (What can I say? My friends contain multitudes.) Our team named ourselves The Magnificent Seven and entered the Kahoot.

Wouldn’t you know, we won. We WON!

Photo of a Kahoot podium — I don’t know why our mascot was a tiger with a pie on its head. The world works in mysterious ways.

But…did we?

The scavenger hunt: It was supposed to be a race to our evacuation rally points. And the Kahoot quiz was about protocols for active shooter situations.

Let that sink in.

I’m supposed to pretend that this isn’t entirely messed up? I’m supposed to pretend that “escape the shooter” survival games for schoolchildren aren’t sinister and dystopian? Shall I ignore the fact the necessity for any of this speaks to critical faults in our societal foundation?

So yes, my team and I cheered. We high-fived one another early and often. We are anxiously anticipating the lunch we’re treated to as a prize.

But don’t think, for a moment, we can’t recognize the price at which it comes.

Slice of Life Day 12: So Much Depends…

…upon

an old
brass bell

gathering
dust

in my mother’s
front hallway*

I’m five years old, living in the house on Stoneyside Lane. Like my siblings, I’m out playing around the neighborhood: collecting berries from bushes, riding my bike, sweet-talking neighbors into giving me Lorna Doone Cookies.

Then I hear the bell cutting through the late afternoon air. I know what it means, and so do my brother and sisters: we’d better be home for dinner before that sound stops. In fact, every kid in the neighborhood knows to go home when that bell sounds.

It’s 1979. Late October, 3:30 a.m. I’m home asleep when a sound rouses me from my slumber. It’s…no. It’s not…it is. The brass bell. My mom’s ringing it – am I dreaming? From a Pavlovian place in my brain, I emerge from my room, wandering with my brother and sister down a hallway and through hazy rooms toward that bell. We congregate at a front hallway that’s engulfed in flames before escaping together.

I’m 35, a full-on adult now and mother to my own kids, and the honorary I’ll-be-the-one-to-drive-in-to-help-with-stuff gal. My parents are moving, downsizing, casting off. There aren’t a lot of possessions I covet, but when I see the bell, I know exactly what I’m taking back to Chicago with me. It doesn’t work at calling my own kids back home (believe me, I tried), but I keep it in my front hallway nonetheless.

That bell still occupies a place of honor right by my front door. My mom is gone, and even though I’m 53 I could still use some mothering now and again. And when I do, I walk to the front hallway and look at that bell, remembering it’s there to call me home.

*after William Carlos Williams

Slice of Life Day 11: Currently

Today I’m taking my inspiration from Elisabeth at Dirigible Plum. Her “currently” post is right at the top of ideas I’d like to try writing:

watching: Honestly? Not a lot. The only times I ever really watch stuff is when my husband has the TV going. And maybe I’ll watch the odd Josh Johnson or Hot Ones videos on my laptop.

reading: I’ve got a coupla things cooking here. I’m into my father-in-law’s copy of Minority Report by H.L. Mencken, with The Matchmaker’s Gift by by Lynda Cohen Loigman thrown in to keep things on the lighter side.

listening: I’m a podcast junkie, so I’ve got Judge John Hodgman, the Meyers Brothers, The Moth, and Stuff You Missed in History in my queue. I’ve also got David McCullough’s audiobook John Adams (OK, I’ll admit it’s there to help me fall asleep) and several playlists on Spotify depending on mood (one current favorite: Jesse Welles).

making: excuses for not exercising more.

feeling: a whole jumble of things: apprehension about the world in general, joy and relief that my sons are on an okay path, anxiety over a mounting to-do list, and wonder at the sheer amazingness of my students.

planning: Spring Break, if we can swing it. That, and a workshop about meeting the needs of gifted kids planned for Friday. Eek!

loving: this beautiful sweet girl who likes to keep me company, who has also finally decided she no longer wants to paw at my keyboard, but who would be just fine about things if I closed my laptop and took a moment to commune.

On that note…

Slice of Life Day 10: Seventeen Years

Today’s my blog-iversary!

Seventeen years ago, I started my original, now defunct-ish blog. It was my first foray into public writing since…well, since my creative writing days in college. Here was my first entry:

So what’s the same? The struggle with perfectionism. The love I have for words. The joy I take in PLAYING with words. My incessant need to revise as I go, wordsmithing for effect time and time again. And again.

And what’s different? There’s a lot less impostor syndrome, mostly because I’ve come to see myself as a part of a writing community. I’ve come to see that belonging as earned, both online and with my students. I’ve allowed myself to take more risks, stretching into genres I’ve long resisted (hello, fiction. I’m looking at YOU).

I’m still working to let go, but I’m better at it. I’m still working to let myself write without the need to keep editing myself. I don’t know where I’ll be in another seventeen years, but I hope I’ll be able to look back on even more growth. I guess that’s why they call it the writing…process?