Celebrate the need for laughter and human connection

I have been reeling this week from the news out of California (and Paris and Colorado and...). I am having a hard time being productive because I can't stop focusing on the hatred and negativity that seems to be swirling around me, our country, and our world in recent days and months.

So I need to celebrate and focus on the good that is happening in the world and in my classroom. I need to celebrate laughter.

So here's a couple good laughs for you, and especially for me.

Last night while I couldn't stop festering about something that happened earlier in the day, one of my good friends posted this link on Facebook of an interview with Carrie Fisher on Good Morning America and it gave me the good laugh I needed. I have a confession to make, though: I don't even like Star Wars, but I have to say that this was the best celebrity interview EVER.

More laughter came in the form of a wonderful writing conference I had with a student yesterday. Students have been revising their author bios this week that they wrote at the beginning of NaNoWriMo. Many of them, now that they had spent a month donning the identity kit of a writer,  decided to completely overhaul their author bios and start over. I am a proud and beaming teacher right now to see them embrace revision in this way.

I came close to not having writing conferences yesterday because I was feeling particularly negative and questioned if they even make a difference, especially because they are so time consuming. And plus, I always worry if my comments are hurtful rather than helpful to their writing. But I pressed on. And I met with one particular student who completely changed his author bio and in so doing, had deleted one quirky detail that I suggested he put back in. In his first draft, he said that one of his hobbies was "lawn care." I have to admit, for an 8th grader that gave me a good chuckle and I said that I would love to see that incorporated into his final draft somehow. My good chuckle then turned into full on uproarious laughter replete with happy tears when he proceeded to tell me that he loves "lawn care" so much that his most recent birthday present from his parents was a backpack leaf blower. And he was serious. He said his parents haven't had to do any yard work for the past three years.

(But, you know, "kids these days" only care about spending time in front of screens.) <--- It's very hard to perpetuate that negative attitude when you actually force yourself to sit down with each student and talk to them as individuals. 

So had I not taken the time to confer with students yesterday, I would have never heard such an entertaining story that made me see this particular young man in a new light.

And as the world continues to fester in its hatred of those who are "Other," all I can do is hope that the personal connections I make with my own students will make a difference in helping to contribute to creating a more tolerant and accepting world. When it comes right down to it, humans just want to be validated. They want others' words and actions to say, "I see you." I am striving every day to try to make that a reality in my own classroom.  It's not always successful, but I am making a conscious effort.

Celebrate This Week was established by Ruth Ayres

NaNoWriMo: Seeing my students in a new light

I am so impressed with my students right now I can't even tell you. They have been so focused and motivated since we started NaNoWriMo. My 6th hour yesterday, which has been my most challenging class all semester, actually made me cry because they have been the most enthusiastic and hard-working of all my classes so far. I had a student come up to me at the end of class, a student who has barely said two words to me since the beginning of the school year and who has shown little enthusiasm in his work, proudly inform me how many words he has written so far. It took my entire being not to just openly weep in front of him. These are the things you cannot evaluate with a standardized test score.

Students CAN write. When you believe it, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We just need to give them the right conditions to make it so.

While students were typing their own stories, I was inspired to write this poem:

A NaNoWriMo Poem
The room is silent
except for
the hypnotizing click of keyboards
as stories begin to emerge
from grey matter.

The classroom is rife
with possibilities.
The motivation is palpable
as students rise to the occasion
and bear their souls
to a blank screen.

Celebrate Teaching and Learning with PLN Colleagues: #MCTE14

Yesterday I presented at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English conference with two colleagues and friends whom I greatly respect, Kevin English and Kirsten LeBlanc. We discussed the topic of student writing an the need for teachers to view it in positive terms rather than the typical deficit model thinking you so often hear in exasperated voices in teachers lounges across the country.

Not only was the presentation a wonderful experience, but I was able to hang out and learn from some well-respected teachers throughout the state of Michigan and throughout the country. And as per usual, whenever Penny Kittle speaks, tears tend to flow and her morning keynote was no different. If Penny Kittle is speaking at a conference, you MUST listen. She is so inspiring.

Here is the slideshare of our presentation:
Students CAN Write: Changing the Narrative of a Deficit Model

And here is a Storify of the tweets I wanted to save from the conference:
#MCTE14 Storify

Celebrate This Week was established by Ruth Ayers