Celebrate Getting Stuck in the Snow

Here in Michigan, we had been expecting a big snow storm on Wednesday and Thursday. All week I have been dreading this snow storm because I knew we would be closing on our new house and was worried that the inclement weather would prevent it from happening. Not only did we close without incident, but the snowstorm ended up being a blessing in disguise for two reasons. 1) We had a snow day at school today so I could spend the rest of the day at the house helping my husband clean. 2) As we were inside cleaning the house I looked out our front window and noticed that our next door neighbors were shoveling our sidewalk and our neighbor across the street finished clearing the rest of our driveway with his snowblower. So not only did we get to meet our neighbors, but we quickly realized that we have AMAZING neighbors.

First memory in our new house: getting stuck in the snow trying to pull in the driveway. LOL!

Celebrate This Week was established by Ruth Ayres

Celebrate the New School Year

I thought I would participate in my first "Celebrate This Week" post, established by Ruth Ayers, since each day of the start of this new school year found something new and joyous to celebrate. Here is the rundown:

Monday
Today began the first week of school at my new/old school (new because it's my first year teaching there/old because it's where I went to school). No matter how many years I've been teaching, the first day will always be nerve-racking. Being the new kid compounds that times ten! Plus, being a graduate of this school piles on the pressure of expectations in some ways. Still, it was a great first day and I'm excited to learn and write alongside my students.


Tuesday

Still in the "getting to know you" phase with my 8th graders - AKA "What's your name again?" But I had a great moment in all three of my classes when I was convinced they'd all think they were too cool to sit on the floor and have a picture book read to them, but instead most of them got up and sat on the floor with great enthusiasm and listened attentively to the story, which was Deborah Freedman's The Story of Fish and Snail. Afterwards we talked about the message of the story, which is to move outside your comfort zone, take risks, and be brave. We even invited Deborah into our conversation by asking her a question on Twitter:

@BethShaum I'm working on other things right now, but I'd rather see THEIR sequels, anyway! Maybe they'd like Mouse & Frog, in April. :)
— Deborah Freedman (@DeborahFreedman) August 20, 2014

Tuesday was also cause for celebration because author Gae Polisner was in town and she led a wonderful event at Nicola's Books with three other YA authors called 90 Second reads. It was so wonderful hanging out with Nerdy friends and authors.


Wednesday
 Today we continued our class discussion about being brave by showing my classes the video "Brave" by Sara Bareilles and then asked them to write about the ways they plan to be brave this school year.

When I asked each of my classes who wanted to be brave and share with everyone, I had one brave soul in my last hour raise his hand and proceed to share words so heartfelt and moving that I couldn't help but find tears welling up in my eyes. And on the first week of school no less! It wasn't long before a few more students showed their bravery and shared their thoughts with the class too. I have no doubt this is gong to be a great school year.

Wednesday was also my husband's birthday and we celebrated by having dinner with some friends at one of our favorite restaurants, Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, and then attending another book event at Nicola's, this time for author Kathleen Flinn's new memoir, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good, which is a book I will do doubt be using as a mentor text in my own classroom. 


Thursday
Parent night. Which always gets my hands clammy and my face about three or four shades of red and blotchy, as I am not the most articulate of speakers when I am nervous. But the best part of the night is when I had a parent come up to me and tell me how much it meant to her that I wrote a syllabus that was so positive and uplifting. She said, "So often teachers write what students can't do. I was so impressed at how you focused on the positive."


Friday
Today I finally got around to showing my students the classroom library and how to check out books with Booksource Classroom Organizer. They took some time to peruse the shelves and book boxes, and most students left class with a new book to read. Individual discussions with students about favorite books or what types of books they were looking for reminded me of just how important it is to make those personal connections with kids to show we care about them and their interests. That idea his home even more when I read this article on Slate about the two things students want from their professors more than anything else. I think it can also be said of K-12 teachers as well. 

I also had the privilege of meeting the newest Nerdy Book Club member, Sarah Andersen's baby boy, Jack William.

Not only is he absolutely precious, but as Brian Wyzlic pointed out yesterday on Facebook, it's a WONDERful thing that Jack Will was born in August (especially since Sarah was due in September!). And if you don't understand that reference, it's time for you to drop everything and read Wonder by RJ Palacio. What makes Jack's name even more special is that Sarah didn't even make the Wonder connection until Brian pointed it out. Such a happy moment or serendipity.

New beginnings: a look into my past, present, and future

Today it was back to work -- a new teacher orientation meeting at my new/old school. I use the term new/old because it just so happens that my new place of employment is the school I attended from 5th-12th grade.

Me in 8th grade -- the very grade I'll be teaching at the same school I attended

Part of today's orientation was to take a tour of the entire campus since it is quite large -- encompassing a K-12 school as well as a Catholic parish. As I entered both the church and high school today, I was struck by how true it is that scent is the sense that is most closely associated with memory. The smells in both of those two buildings were exactly the same as they were twenty years ago. Immediately and like a bolt of lightning, the memories came flooding back. As I walked through the church and down the main aisle, I saw myself walking down that same aisle at my 8th grade and high school graduation. As I walked through the high school gym, I smiled at the memory of cheering for varsity basketball games. But more importantly, I recalled with great fondness how much this school felt like a second home and helped give normalcy to a childhood and adolescence that was fraught with angst and family issues that, upon further reflection, were much bigger and grown-up than I realized at the time. My teachers, friends, and school community helped give me the faith and stability that I needed, and for that I am forever grateful.

So it was with both a heavy and joyful heart that I wandered through these buildings today. For the other new teachers, it was likely just a routine tour, but for me it was where my past and present suddenly crashed in a head-on collision.

There are moments in your life that happen and you say to yourself, "This feels right. This is where I'm meant to be." Today, I say those words wholeheartedly. I knew it from our opening prayer to the time the meeting was over and I drove away with a huge smile on my face despite the raging headache that was wreaking havoc with my ability to do anything productive and caused me to leave before I could do any work in my classroom.

I end this post today with the way our meeting began, with a beautiful prayer and reflection that speaks so much to the heart of a teacher.


It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord's work.

Nothing we do is complete.
No one sermon says all that should be said.
No one prayer fully expresses our faith. 
No one reconciliation brings perfection.
No one program accomplishes the mission.
No one set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. 
We plant seeds that one day will grow. 
We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's
grace to enter and do the rest.
 
And although we may never see the end results,
we remain workers, ministers, not Messiahs. 
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.


Adapted from A Future Not Our Own by Bishop Ken Untener