It's been a week, hasn't it? And sometimes, during times like this, it's really hard to find things to celebrate. I had to be very intentional to find things that brought be JOY this week. But, because I paid attention, I found celebration all around me.
Little things--
- Double chocolate donuts brought as birthday treats
- Great conversations with kids after the election
- My College Prep Lit kids who discuss books better every day
- Starting a new speech season
- New improv team members who are rockin' it!
Big things--
Our district became part of the Iowa Teacher Leadership grant this year, and as a result, we have three instructional coaches. While all of them came from the elementary building, they are great educators and have spent a great deal of time learning the ways of secondary ed.
They've all been in my room, but one in particular has become a regular in my College Prep Lit class. She loves sitting and discussing books, so whatever we read, she reads. And then, about once a week she comes in and joins us for discussion. She's helped me with finding a way to grade discussion rather than worksheets. We're working on ways to connect students and discussion when they all read different books in the next unit.
I love having someone to bounce ideas off of. Someone who finds resources and shares them with me. Someone who has been in my room multiple times, watched growth in my students and continually says, "I love what you are doing."
Last, I want to celebrate the passion of a student involved in the election. Last year, as a junior, he was an ardent Bernie supporter. He caucused. He was elected as a representative for our county and went to the state meeting to cast votes for Bernie. But when Secretary Clinton was selected as the Democratic nominee, he was all in. He went door to door. He made phone calls. Again, he threw himself into the campaign.
When he wasn't in school on Wednesday, some in my classes assumed he was home, too upset about Clinton losing to come to school. The actual story? He had to drive to the state capitol to return his party laptop. I wrote him a note this week and told him in a note how proud I was of his commitment and enthusiasm.
Trust me.
The future is in good hands.
