A Slice of Life We Don't Want

       I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today. It's always a pleasure to read what everyone writes about their lives.

        One part (slice) of my life that is sometimes challenging is that I am alone. I do miss my husband for so, so many reasons, and one of those ways that I miss him is in our conversations. When you live with someone for a long time, you become used to the give and take of words, the usual and the important. We ask for each other's opinions, share articles read, plan and worry about the future--together! So, in this election, this election I find akin to Alice falling down the rabbit hole into something bizarre and unexpected, I want to turn to someone to say the following: Did you just hear that? That's wrong. And that; he doesn't know the facts! Or-she could have said more there. And, have you read ________ here, or here? So, I hope you understand that this is brief and I will share one thing that I've shared already on FB, and with friends, because I have no one at home to pat me on the back when I want to go kick the wall in frustration, or to tell me that everything will be all right!

"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." -Hermann Göring, Nazi military leader (12 Jan 1893-1946)

  

Slicing is like going to school every week!

Two Writing Teachers hosts slice of life each Tuesday.  Come share!  And this time, find out about the March Slice of Life Challenge!
        Share on twitter with #Slice2013 
     

            MORNING COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

Among all the other individuals and groups I work with, sometimes I have conversations with our school’s assistants.  There are 13 core classrooms in my school and each teacher has a full time assistant.  Some of these are schooled as teachers but have never had a classroom yet.  Others have experience with children in other ways and bring different passions to the classes, like science or art backgrounds.  Collectively they are not experienced teachers but learn as the days go by, from the core teacher with whom they work, and from observing children, conversations with others and reading professional texts.  Some decide they might want to be licensed and work with us while attending an alternative-licensing program. 

I have the challenge next week to facilitate the assistant meeting that happens every few weeks.  The topic is explained when I say the word EXPO!  Our largest event of the year happens in early February.  We call it Expo and I have written about it before.  Since each student studies a different self-chosen topic, at this time each shows the learning he or she has completed so far this year.  It is somewhat like a science fair.  Because we believe in the journey as much or more than the destination, this is challenging to both teachers and students.  Everyone has the same deadline, one evening in February.  And the nervousness and stress are discussed each year.  How to alleviate it?  How to make the excitement grow at the same time as lessen the pressure to do well?  It’s exciting, but…

Planning With My Colleagues

          I’ve created a way of planning on a chart that’s been helpful to me and the teachers with whom I work.  Sometimes we create the chart together, and sometimes I do much of the planning and the teacher adds or subtracts to it according to what she or he believes are the needs of the class.  Certainly response by students can change the plan.  When, for example, some first drafts of a writing assignment are read, a different lesson may be needed before moving on to another draft, or additional conferring with individuals and small groups, etc.  Here is a sample of part of one chart created with another teacher as we were beginning a few weeks of writing experiences with her students.

      Date   -  Weekly Goal    What Teachers Do          What Students Do

Monday – During Workshop Goal-Support for personal essay- something near and dear to one’s beliefs/heart – similar to a personal column piece-requires some research   Explore two topics - 1st draft of one	Read – I Want To Be by Thylias Moss, about a girl who discusses all the choices she has in the world.  The point is to have students ponder who they are, what they believe in, what is important to them.  Give copies of music essay by Julia B., but read together.  Review page of the basic parts that are expected in this kind of essay.  Let students brainstorm ideas that might be important ones for them to write about.  (Another set of essays to use for examples is available for individual student study.)	Discuss their beliefs, what is important to each.  Create a personal list after filing out the page called ‘first brainstorming’.  Share many kinds of columns and essays for students to read, then come together as a group to share what was found.      After this session, independent writing time.  The assignment is to write about two personal topics identified as personally important to see where it leads.  In a few days, they should choose which is the one they’d like to develop.
Wednesday – During Workshop Examine what is working well with the students.  Share the positive and the negative-identify needs.	Make available the time for a productive conversation, listing tips from the group along with challenges.  During quiet writing time, individual conferring about the writing so far.

The plan will continue being filled in as we talk together and choose the paths the students need.  It’s fun to work together, pooling resources and discussing what we’ve seen in the student work.

Examining Reading Habits - Great Conversations

August 5, 2011

This is sometimes what I feel my TBR list looks like!

 My Reading Habits – Wondering What Students Do, Too?

Sometime early in the year, I’ve always liked to have students write about their reading habits, what they’re currently reading, what kinds of things they read besides books, what they love and what they don’t.  I usually write too, to let students know how diverse reading habits can be.  Those who are avid readers will see that I’m usually reading several books at a time, as they do, and those who are less enthusiastic will see that reading behavior doesn’t just mean books. 

Here’s a sample of my reading during a regular day:

o   The local newspaper.  I read the front-page articles, and if especially interested, finish them when they move to the inner pages.  I check the baseball stats for the Rockies, I read certain columns in the local news section and the funnies and my horoscope.  This is wake up reading, starting the day with words, coffee, yogurt and cereal.

o   Several times a day, I read blogs from my online reader, and then turn to the e-mail.  On e-mail, I receive newsletters from Choice Literacy and NCTE, which I skim, and save for the future if some of what is shared looks like I’ll want to look again.

o   For writing inspiration, I am currently reading from Roger Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves The Human Heart.

o   For non-fiction, which I read a bit at a time, I’m reading The Food of a Younger Land:  The WPA’s Portrait of Food in Pre-World War II American, by Mark Kurlansky.

o   For teaching, I am re-reading Becoming A Literacy Leader by Jennifer Allen, and articles I’ve downloaded like the recent tips that Two Writing Teachers shared on Facebook, the Stenhouse Blogstitute articles, and some from Education Week.  I also read the NCTE journal, In The Middle.

o   For pleasure, and lately for teaching, I’m reading Cynthia Voigt’s latest novel, Young Fredle.  Our school librarian and I are planning to hold weekly book groups through the holidays called ‘looking for Newbery’, so she and I are reading the books that are creating Newbery talk for the coming award.  And, I read magazines like Orion, High Country News, The Smithsonian, Sunset, and a local one titled 5280. 

That’s it, mostly.  You who are readers know that readers will pick up anything to read just a bit, to see what it’s like, or to skim something interesting.  When I share some or all of this with students, they begin to examine their days, and realize that they’re really reading more than they think.  I didn’t add texts, but they will, along with Facebook.  After discussions about what we read, the next step is how do we read each kind of print?  And then, sometimes questions come about how fast, which mean ‘how much to skim and when’?  And, where is the most productive place for focused reading? 

Making a list of what is currently being read supports great conversation, which leads to other conversations, some lessons in different approaches to different kinds of reading, and recommendations by peers.  Reading, critical to all learning, is one of the topics that can’t be ignored just because students appear to read well.  There’s a depth and a breadth of individual learning to consider. 

Saturday Conference

March 5, 2011 - Day Five of SOLC

I was in a local conference all day, & have done a lot of listening & talking. This particular conference was created by a few people from local schools, both public & private, to begin the talk about diversity issues, certainly those in our schools, but also in the wider world. I is called C.I.R.C.L.E. (connecting inclusive responsive communities leading education), & is in its third year of being. Different schools take turns hosting the event.

It's both an exhilarating and frustrating day, filled with ideas, confirmation of goals, & definitions of the reality of some people's experiences that are not always positive. One group's session that was especially motivating was the "white allies" group. To be an ally was defined as being a friend or mentor with courage. Most in the group have discussed and chosen to be an ally at one time or another because of personal convictions. This group had more to share, however, about feeling alone in other groups at times, about students' stories (confidences) of being excluded, about those who had made commitments to speaking out for change in their schools. It was a slice of life for me to join others in talking about this topic so often ignored in our public & professional lives. I do think that, to paraphrase an old bromide, we have now talked the talk, I hope we're ready again to walk the walk.