This is why I love my students

We have been discussing the poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins the past two days in class. Yesterday the students did a close reading and discussed in groups and today we discussed as a class. I always wonder if it makes Billy Collins throw his hands up in exasperation to know that this poem is being broken down and dissected in classrooms across America since the meaning behind it is telling you to do the opposite. And yes, that irony is not lost, even on 6th graders.

One of the best moments from reading the comments and questions they wrote on the poem itself was one student's drawing of his interpretation of the poem:

And people always ask me how it is that I can teach middle school. Because middle schoolers are awesome, that's why.

Ripple Effects

3,000 views in three days. Wow! Now that the video is starting to make its way around the Internet, I am starting to see the ripple effects. Reflecting on the impact the video had on them, the following rock star teachers wrote their extended thoughts about why they stay in education. If you know of any others, please pass them along to me.


Cindy Minnich at Charting by the Stars:
It’s the most difficult job I have ever had. I make a million decisions every day about a million different things that happen in my classroom. There is no standardized list of what to do that works like a magic wand for all students. There is no guide for every scenario that comes your way. There is no easy answer for every curveball heartfelt questions you could get asked. You learn as you go, sometimes through trial and error, always through reflection.

It is the most rewarding job I have ever had.


 Christine McCartney at An Educator's Re-Education:
I will no longer be a silent, complacent bystander, or worse, participant, while you have your way with the American education system; I have invested too much and there is too much at stake; neither my students nor I are going to end up in that abyss …not while there is still time to turn things around.


Katherine Sokolowski at Read, Write, Reflect:
I stay because I will not be defeated. 
I will teach how I believe is right. 
I will teach how I know is necessary for growth. 
I will not let my students become numbers on a sheet.


Sarah Andersen at YA Love:
I stay because...

• “Mrs. Andersen turned me into a reader.”
• “You explain stuff better and I actually understand it.”
• “Really, this class is hard and a lot of work, but you make it feel like it’s not.”
• “Are you going to get *insert book title here* when it comes out?”
• Students need passionate teachers.

Sarah Gross at The Reading Zone:
A book can change a child’s life. With a classroom library and the wide range of books I am always reading, I can help students find that special book. That’s why I stay.

Not because of the tests. Or the mandates. Or the races to the top.


Kaitlin Popielarz at Kait and Bill Make a Home
Teaching is difficult and challenging but it is also REWARDING, JOYFUL, and MY HOME.


Sherry Gick at Library Fanatic:
There has been a shift in the value of educators and our knowledge of how to best teach our students.

 It's time for us to stand up and speak out not only for each other, but for what is truly best for our students.


Michelle Nero at Literacy Learning Zone:
I stay...

. . . for the smiles, the laughs, the high-fives.  There are multiple celebratory moments sprinkled throughout the day -- those "a-ha-light-bulb" moments of "I get this!" or a second grader coming into my classroom telling me "I'm a reader now!" or a fifth grade student telling me she just finished a book and what she's reading next.  That's why I stay.


Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core:
I want to add my OUTSIDE VOICE to all the others, shouting loud and clear: I AM A TEACHER. I AM A PROFESSIONAL. I KNOW IN MY HEART I AM GIVING MY STUDENTS THE BEST I CAN GIVE. THEY DESERVE NOTHING LESS.


Maria Selke at Maria's Melange:
I teach to create the future, one small human at a time.

A different kind of resignation letter

Many teachers have been publicly resigning from their jobs as of late, the most recent and well-known being Gerald J. Conti in Geddes, New York.

But Christine McCartney (who also graciously added her voice to the "Why I Stay" video)  wrote a different kind of resignation letter and sent it to Arne Duncan, our spin doctor of an education secretary. She is resigning her silence and complacency. She is resigning that education should be a top-down endeavor and is using her outside voice to shout "It's time for some bottom-up!" I hope we can all join her.

Read Christine's letter here.