{solsc} 11/31 #sol18 A Lovely Way to Spend a Sunday

I remember Sundays before retirement. I'd be up at 6:30, make the coffee and grab the Sunday paper. I'd read it while I drank a couple cups of coffee.

After the paper, I'd check Facebook and Twitter. But also lurking on my computer would be

• 40+ websites to check blog posts and portfolios
• writing drafts shared through google docs that needed feedback
• published writing that needed to be graded
• assignments from other classes that needed grading
• emails from kids with questions

All day and into the night I worked on this list, slowly whittling it down. I don't think I ever finished it, but I some point I had to move on to lesson plans for the six different English classes that I taught.

Ugh.

I definitely had a case of the SMONDAYS.

Since I retired, Sundays are more relaxed. I don't have to hurry through the paper. There is nothing to grade. My planning looks like this now

• two outfits for the week (jeans are always an option)
• check my calendar  to see what's coming up for the week
• what movie to watch in the afternoon
• what should we fix for supper

That's it. 

And let me tell you, it's a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

My Last Lecture

"How exactly, do you catalogue your childhood dreams?"   Randy Pausch

In 2008, Randy Pausch, along with Jeffrey Zaslow, wrote a little book entitled The Last Lecture. It's a book that has stayed with me for a long time. In fact, I'm rereading it right now. Although it's an extension of a lecture he presented at Carnegie-Mellon, I really look at it as his love letter to his kids. You see, at the time he gave the lecture and wrote the book, Pausch was dying of pancreatic cancer, and he had three kids under five.

Well, I have a love letter I want to write also. A love letter to my school family, my kids, and teaching. As of today, I have nineteen days left with students and one more inservice. I've begun purging my room. Throwing some things, giving some things away, and wondering what in the heck I was thinking in keeping some of them.

And as I purge, I've reflected and remembered.

And so, in this month of lasts, I'm going to write and remember and share.

{#sol15} 4/31 Never Count on a Snow Day

Join us at Two Writing Teachers
for the March Slice of Life challenge.
Share your stories!

You know how it goes....

You are listening to the weather before dinner. There is a winter weather advisory listed for your town. Freezing rain, 2-4 inches of snow, 35 mile per hour winds.

All the ingredients needed for a 

SNOW DAY.

Homework waits.

You give your body and soul a much needed night off, secretly making a to-do list for tomorrow.

You check your weather app before bed.  It says that the weather will start about 3:00am, with the worst weather arriving between 6:00am and noon. Another needed ingredient.

You sleep. 

Deeply.

Dreamlessly.

You sleep.

The alarm goes off at 6:30am. You immediately realize there was no robo-call about school being called off--or even LATE!  You look out the window.

No sleet

   No snow

      No freezing rain

         NOTHING!

All that work you put off last night!  Arrrggghhhhhhh!

You shower. Read drafts with coffee. Comment on rubrics about yesterdays speeches. Figure you will use time throughout the day for grading other things. 

And in your head, the words of advice you gave to students yesterday echo, "Don't count on a snow day. Get your work done tonight."

SSSSSSSSllllllllllllooooooooowwwwwww

SSSSSSSSllllllllllllooooooooowwwwwww

That's how I'm trying to start second semester.

In looking back at last semester, I feel like I rushed many things in my classes. I ran lessons according to the calendar and not according to my kids. I was so worried about getting though each unit, units that I knew so well, that I forgot it was the first time students were going through them.

And, of course, because we are 1:1, I forgot that some of my kids still need me to walk them through setting up their digital portfolios. Some are unsure of themselves when it comes to new websites and software. Even though I assure them they won't break anything, they need reassurance that they are doing things correctly, at least for awhile.

SSSSSSSSllllllllllllooooooooowwwwwww

Last week's cold days helped me do that.

Before Christmas, I had two weeks to a month of lessons planned out for my kids. Some were tried and true. Some were tweaked. Some were brand-spanking new. And they were planned down to the minute (well, not really, but almost).

But you know what happens when you miss school. It messes up "the best laid plans".

And (thankfully) those cold days reminded me that just because I've got all these great lessons planned, I don't have to have this one done by Monday and the next one by the following Friday. And really. Does it matter if we do one less writing piece or one less speech?

Cold days also reminded me that I love time to sit and think about what I'm going to do next, and sometimes, my kids need that too.

SSSSSSSSllllllllllllooooooooowwwwwww

5 Pics/1 Story: A Collaborative Effort

You know me and Twitter.  I love it. Follow great people. Try new ideas I find there.
That's what this post is about. It's full of links, so I hope you have the patience to check them out!

Two Iowa educators, Erin Olson and Leslie Pralle Keehn, who now work for one of the education agencies in our state, have started a Connecting Creativity Series. I'll let you check it out. There is a new activity every month, and I use these as a way to connect my students to students in other parts of the state.

This month's "assignment" is a 5 Photo Story. This one excited me because my Creative Writing students and I already do this in collaboration with our art teacher and her digital camera class.  This post will share how we go about creating this activity and even meet some common core standards!

STEP 1A (and beyond. Will try to have her write about what she does in class)
@Artteach13 talks with her students about telling stories with pictures. They need to take pictures to give a setting, characters, mood, etc.  They get about a week to take pictures. Once they have their pictures taken, they upload them to a google doc with numbered folders. @Artteach13 grades their photos separately from the story (although WHEN we are allowed to have our digital storytelling class, this will be one grade)

Meanwhile, over in Creative Writing....

STEP 1CW

This is the beginning of our fiction writing unit, so we spend a couple of days writing group stories from picture prompts I found on Pinterest (where else?):

My students have fun with these little writing "episodes" and there is no pressure. We share them out in class and talk about what it takes to write a story from a picture.

On Day 2 or 3, I send them to my website to work through tutorials on creating 5 Pic Stories. It includes sending them to a site dedicated to 5 Card Flickr Stories. On this site they can pick five pictures and write a practice story of their own. They also have the ability to share their story, so I have them email me the link. This is not a graded activity, but it is an expectation.

By this time, the digital camera class photos are uploaded to the google doc. My students have two more things to do: Read/look through @Artteach13's and my mentor text and watch the tutorial on using tackkboard. We post our stories to tackk, and the video shows them how to do it. (Our hashtag this year: #CHS5Photos14 Look for it after Monday.  Last year's photo stories are here)

My students have several class periods to draft/share/conference before their deadline. At first, they look at the pictures and think they can't possibly come up with a story. But you know what? Once they stare at them for awhile, talk about them for awhile, move them around for awhile, a story pops into their heads. And they write.

This is a fun collaborative project for our two classes. Do we have kids who don't get pictures done on time? Yep. Kids who don't get story done on time? Yep. But because they are collaborating with peers, no one wants to be that kid who doesn't do the work. It all gets done!

Our students (and ourselves, actually) are always surprised at how the stories turn out. The photographers had a story in mind when they took the pictures, but the writers can arrange the pictures however they want. Our kids have created some amazing stories. I hope you'll try this fun activity in your own class, either on your own or in collaboration with another.

Celebrate

This past week was Homecoming week in our district.  A week not only celebrated at our high school, but with our elementary and junior high as well. It is a crazy week of dressing up, selfie contests and and anticipation. For some it is easy to see negative behaviors and wasted class time, but for most of us, IT IS FUN.

Three little words that are so powerful.  I love you.  I've been saying them a lot this week--to students.  And I've been hearing those words a lot this week--from students. Kids drop in to talk, "Love you, Mrs. Day."

"Love you, too"

As I thought about it one night this week, it just made me smile.  Today, as I was looking through my quote board on Pinterest, I found this:

My students and I are creating quite the little community. We have a few "family" members who need to shape up, but most of us are taking care of each other in the classroom.  We're not perfect. Sometimes we lose our patience with others, sometimes we say things we shouldn't, sometimes we let things slide that we shouldn't. But mostly, we are getting it done.  And I do love my kids.....

This is my favorite picture of the week

When I asked him if was getting work done or if he was watching a movie or something, he immediately turned his computer around and showed me his work.  Never underestimate the power of putting yourself in the corner and getting a little work done!

And the last thing I am celebrating this week is a new friend, someone I know I can go to if I need to. She has joined @Artteach13 and I every Friday morning in a little project we have.  We are writing Happy Grams, for lack of a better term. Notes home celebrating something a student has done in the classroom or in school.  Not just the A students, but any kid who needs a boost.  It's been fun for us to meet and talk and write these notes.  We also decided that maybe they shouldn't be just for kids...there are a few adults who could use a boost also.  Here's to sharing celebrations!

Pittsfield: The Takeaways 1

Howard-Winn CBE team with staff from Pittsfield

I've spend two days with a group from my school visiting Pittsfield Middle High School in Pittsfield, New Hampshire.

Learning

Asking questions

Thinking

Thinking hard

Questioning what I do and how I do it

Questioning why I want to change--especially why I want to change at this point in my career.

It would be so much easier to coast through my last five years. To rest on my "laurels". To embrace being the oldest female in the building and simply do what I've always done.

But if you do what you've always done, you get what you've always gotten.

And what I've gotten isn't good enough. It isn't good enough for me and it certainly isn't good enough for my kids.

Years ago, I used to say to students that in my class I wanted them to learn to think. I would give them crossword puzzles, logic problems, boggle boards and then step back and let them struggle. I wouldn't help them. I watched how they figured out what they didn't know.

Some would cheat. Some would use resources at their disposal. Some would struggle and struggle, getting very frustrated because they thought everyone else knew the answer and they should too. I didn't grade these puzzles. I gave them five points for trying and moved on. Why did I give them five points? Because I thought if I gave them work to do, it should get points.

This approach was right and wrong.

• I was right to want students to use their brains and think. 
• I was right in wanting to challenge them. 
• I was right in wanting them to solve problems on their own.

I was just wrong in my approach.

It seems everything I've done in my education career has led me to competency based education.  CBE measures learning, not time. Just because you sat through a semester of a class, does not mean you learned anything, no matter what grade it says you received on your report card. In CBE,  it doesn't matter how long you take, but you must master all the skills of a course before you move on.  Not just standards either. For example, you are in pilot school. You get an A in take-offs, an A in flight time, but a D in landings. Are people going to want to fly with you?  

In classes now, students work through a progression in the curriculum. It's possible to get a good grade in a class even though you may do really poorly in one section of the course.  But do you really know your stuff?  Can you prove it?

In speech, I want students to communicate effectively.  In order to get to that point, we practice by speaking in front of class frequently, but I also teach them how to write strong, interesting introductions and conclusions. I teach them how to organize the body of a speech. We work on eye contact, standing still, and speaking with enthusiasm.  It all leads to that competency of communicating effectively. 

Just because a student can write a beautiful speech does not mean he/she is an effective communicator. If they stand in front of the class and speak so quietly that no one hears them, or speak in a monotone so that everyone tunes them out, they are not communicating effectively. Communicating, yes. Effectively. No.

So my brain is in overdrive this week, thinking how we need to change what we do. Pittsfield was very open with us how they went about things when they began this transformation. Will we do exactly what they did? No. We aren't them. We'll go back to the collaborative and share what we learned and they will want to set up a model for the state. And that's OK too, as long as everyone remembers to develop their plans for their students, their community, their staff. Because this isn't a cookie cutter transformation plan. It won't have a handbook with step by step rules for CBE. 

This will be messy, chaotic, dirty change. 

And it needs to happen.

24/31 Totally Unacceptable

I blew up today.

At a kid, with more anger issues than I have ever dealt with. He didn't have an assignment done that he had plenty of class time to do. And then, when he wasn't ready on Friday, I gave him over the weekend. Today, he still wasn't ready. The consequence was that he was to stay with me after school and get it done. He knew that Friday. Today, I got all the excuses why he couldn't. Today, I got all the ways he was going to get around the system. Today, I blew up.

I said the one thing I shouldn't have said.

I screamed, "I'm done."

At least I was in the office where other students couldn't hear me.

I can't remember being more unprofessional in my life. I'm embarrassed about it.  I'm sad about it. I'm still frustrated. Blowing up did no good whatsoever. And it certainly didn't help the student.

Was I right to be frustrated.
Yes.

Have I given this student everything he needs, every opportunity to get the work done.
Yes.

Should I have reacted like I did.
Absolutely not.
It was totally unacceptable.

I apologized to several people, the student first and foremost.

But I can never take back those words, even if I didn't mean them.

Because I am most certainly not done….

4/31 I Still Don't Get It

Join the fun of the March Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers

I am a Twitter edchat addict. I admit it. I actively participate in several and I lurk around the corners of several others.

I try to be very open minded whether participating or lurking. It's hard to really understand context sometimes in 140 characters. But a tweet yesterday made me stop and write this post.

A high school English teacher tweeted that she didn't know how to teach writing.

I had to digest that.

I still don't get it.

A high school English teacher.

Doesn't know how to teach writing.

I immediately suggested Penny Kittle's Write Beside Them and Kelly Gallagher's Write This Way. These two books have transformed my Creative Writing Classroom.

And of course, this slicing community has spoiled me. Everybody writes!

I'm trying to understand. I'm trying to keep an open mind.

But I still don't get it.

Learning Doesn't Have To Stop

Here's the best thing about being in a 1to1 environment

Learning Doesn't Have to Stop!

Take a minute.

Think about it.

No snow days. Or cold days. No heat days. Or fog days. (We've had them all!)

Start up the computer, send out a message, and class is in session.

Learning Doesn't Have to Stop!

In creative writing, all they need is on the website (or will be once I finish this post). With schoology and remind101,  it's easy to communicate with students.  

And then there is email.

Learning Doesn't Have to Stop!

For quite a bit of this day, I've been communicating with one of my senior Creative Writing 2 students. I read her blog posts and did a website check. She's doing an amazing job. A requirement of the class is that students blog three times a week. She is using weebly to house her work, but she was putting all posts on a standard page.

I emailed her that on weebly there is a blog page. I told her I would show her tomorrow how to set it up.

Here's her response

And so, we have communicated all day about her work. I read and commented online, I sent her templates to create magazine layouts for her informational piece, and we've discussed the drawbacks of the firewall on the student computers.

Learning Didn't Stop

Gotta love a snow day.....

A little something to brighten a cold winter day.....

 

I Just Kept Smiling

Like this idea? Head over to Ruth's blog and read some more. Better yet, share your own celebrations there, or on Facebook or tweet it out using the hashtag #celebrationlu  No matter what, celebrate what you do!

Monday, 7:45am I am met at the door by a student. 
She just finished reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Now she wants to know if Alex dies at the end of the book. I just smiled.

"You'll have to read the next book to find out."
"Mrs. Day...." in that whiny voice only teenage girls can have.

Every time I saw her, she begged for the answer. I just kept smiling. She googled a summary of Pandemonium to see if she could find her answer. No luck. I just kept smiling.

She came to class 7th hour.

"Where's that book?"

I point to where it's at and she goes over to get it.

"I'm going to read the last pages and see!"

She flips through the book, looking for her answer. She doesn't find it.

"I'm just going to read the whole thing tonight to find out."

"What if the second book doesn't tell you either?"

"Mrs. Day!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, after our 10 minute reading time:

"Mrs. Day! Are you kidding me about the end of this book?"
I just smiled.

Freshmen boys aren't my biggest group of enthusiastic readers. Some will play lots of games to make me think they are reading, but they fake read a lot.

But this boy, this one, he found a book he loved. Gym Candy by Carl Deuker  This is a no fail book for my high school boys. I've never had one not like it. They like all his other books too, but this is the gateway book.

And now that this one read the book, it will find it's way into more hands. And more boys will say, "Are you kidding me about the end of this book?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All week.
The bi-quarterly meeting of PA (Procrastinators Anonymous) meets bi-quarterly in our high school The large group meetings take place in Roomie's classroom. The Retake Queen, as I like to think of her, allows students to reassess their learning constantly. If they don't score well enough on an assessment, they can retake it. There are procedures to follow, but they can bring up their grade. And that is a wonderful thing.

And we don't believe in zeroes. What do those show? Nothing. Zeroes are easy. But for us, zeroes are a placeholder until you get the work done. So, we are always on kids to get the work made up. Don't let those zeroes stand in the way of showing what you've learned.

It does, however, make for an interesting week right before midterms or the end of the quarter. The smell of panic is in the air. Early mornings, prep periods, class periods, after school.
The Procrastinators arrive. Anxious. Knowing they waited too long. Hoping for the best.

And we just smile.

Time to CELEBRATE

JOY. My One Little Word for 2013. 

"Nothing without JOY". 

I have focused this year on finding the little bits of joy that often times go unnoticed and unappreciated. I found that the more I focused on the things that bring me JOY, the less I focused on the negativity. Not that I don't have negative moments, or have negative people in my life, I just choose not to focus on them. So, happily, I join in Ruth's CELEBRATE this week (and thanks for the shout out, Ruth). 

This is the front of our high school. Isn't it amazing? These are window shades. From the outside you see this great CELEBRATION of our high school and our amazing students. From the inside, you see nothing. These shades block the sun and glare that come in the windows. 

Drama class. Exercise ball has been a hit with kids

Creative Writing: All students like to use the rocking chair when writing

Creative Writing

The way we read...

Comfy places for kids to work.  Do they sometimes get off track. Yup. Do they sometimes mess around? Yup. But all in all, giving students places to work that are comfortable and easy going has been the best thing I have done in my classroom. There's also a bench, lots of pillows and a rug. Students know that they can sit where they want as long as they work. If there are too many off-task behaviors, they get grounded. No one wants to be grounded!

Helping a student plan out a personal narrative

The best part of these comfy places--support from both my principal and my superintendent. There are many new types of desks and chairs coming to our building because they know that desks in straight rows are not always the best way to learn and collaborate in the 21st century.

Well, that's it for this week. See you all next Saturday for a CELEBRATION of our week!

To My Kindred Spirits

This blog post is the result of several conversations I've had on Twitter the last three days (#iaedchat, #flipclass and #tlap started them all) and a surprise gift in the mail yesterday. All of these events made me realized how lucky I am to have surrounded myself with some of the best minds in education.

Join many wonderful teachers of writers at
TwoWritingTeachers
every Tuesday for more Slice of Life posts

It wasn't that long ago that I felt like a cheesy sit-com teacher because I always tried to see the best in my students, I wanted the best for my students, and I gave my best to my students. Aside from a few like minded teachers,  real life didn't seem that way. I wondered if I cared too much. It was hard work to stay positive and do what I knew in my heart was best for my kids.

And then, I met all of you--my blogging buddies and Twitter tweeps.

My PLN--another "cheesy" term, according to some. Made me an "overachiever" to others (and why is that a bad thing?).

But

The more I listen, the more I learn, the more I engage,
the more I see that the "real teachers" are just like me.

You see the best in your students.
You want the best for your students.
You give the best to your students.
You are cheesy and gushy over how much you love your job and your kids.

You give virtual high fives to celebrate and  hugs when they are needed.
You share your hopes and fears and yes, even lesson plans.
You understand the struggles because you are going through them too.
You cheer at the successes because who doesn't need a standing ovation once in awhile.

So, to all of you, a simple thank-you. The conversations I experience on a daily basis are the things that inspire me to improve. My life is so much richer because of all of you--my kindred spirits.

A Reminder

Here it is, almost August, and it seems wherever I look, there are reminders about school....

This past Saturday, my husband and I spent the day at his family reunion. He has four siblings and they all have kids and most of the kids have kids, so even though not everyone could make it, that's a lot of people.

And dogs, did I mention dogs?

Anyway,

Our youngest son was able to make it for awhile with his youngest son, Max. Max is two and a half and since he could move, he's been a climber.

Max loved the playground at the park. It was one of those all in ones with three slides, a bridge, ladders, and steps. Perfect for a boy who loves to climb. 

And of course, Max wanted to try everything the big kids did, quickly learning which things he could climb and which gave him "owies" when he fell ( three times!). The rope ladder seemed to be his favorite, although at first he needed a little support. So side by side they went up the ladder, as he watched what his cousin was doing. And don't all of us need a little support when we learn something new? Isn't it nice to have someone at our side to show us how to do something and encourage us as we go through the process?

The top step was a little long, especially the first few times, so a helping hand at the top was a great thing. I loved that the girls clapped and said, "Good job, Max!" when he got to the top. And we need that too, don't we? We need someone who appreciates our efforts and knows how hard we worked to learn that new thing.

Soon, Max was racing up that ladder all by himself. And then the prize for making it up the ladder....

The Twisty Slide! The end goal. The end must be worth the climb! Because who's going to put in all that effort in learning if the end result isn't worth it? 

So, as I begin planning lessons, I need to remember to give those new students lots of support as they start a new school year, and write and read alongside them to show them how it's done. I need to give them a helping hand when they need it and celebrate when they accomplish their goals. And, above all, it's got to be worth the effort!

Mind Flip

June 5th. Last day. And as hard as I am working to stay in the present, to give my current students my best until the very last day, once in awhile, my mind wanders into next year and imagines how things could be.

So I've got a notebook that goes everywhere with me where I can jot down those ideas that appear to me at odd times (like 3:00am). It helps. I write them down in as much detail as I can and then get back to what I'm supposed to be doing.

For example, next year we will be a 1 to 1 school district. Every student, yes even the kindergartners, will have access to a device. K-5 will have ipads and 6-12 will have 11 inch MacBook Airs. This is a HUGE commitment by our district and I want to use them effectively, not just a toy in the classroom.

In creative writing, we use computers every day now, but next year I have a few ideas since students will always have their computer. I want them to have digital portfolios and blogs. I've been thinking about this for awhile now. I love Blogger, but am not sure I want to use it for a portfolio. Weebly is a free website creator that also has a blog feature. I'm leaning in that direction right now. It seems like it might be more versatile for what I envision. Students could blog a few times a week. They could share published pieces on their site. We could create writing idea pages, mechanics help pages. They could even have a draft page if they wanted.

But, I'm just not sure. Anyone out there have digital portfolios? What do you use?

Little Bits of JOY

Last week was a tough one in our community. So it's been important for me to find my JOY in the last few days. I need the reminder that life is good.





1. Amidst the tears, there was laughter. Nothing made me feel better than hearing a group of students laughing and crying while sharing memories of friend. I know they were devastated, but it was good to hear them laugh. There was also laughter after school with the little giggles of a colleagues young sons, untouched by the tragedy in the high school. Happy giggles rang out from her room one afternoon after school and it just made me smile.

2. I love my husband for many reasons, but last week it was for his understanding and compassion. From the time the phone call came on Sunday afternoon, he made sure I was OK, whether it was a hug, a shared tear or taking me out to dinner one night, he made sure I was handling the situation.

3. Personal Day. I had requested the day off a couple of weeks ago so that we could open the cabin. I was beginning to wonder if it was worth taking it off. Our cabin is three hours away in they have had A LOT of snow in APRIL. Including last Monday. But the week warmed up and off we went. It was a gorgeous weekend. That itself was worthy of JOY.

4. Once we unloaded the car, I actually took off and went to the local high school. My school and the one in the town where our cabin is at are working on some collaborative projects (and believe it or not, I didn't have anything to do with it). I emailed the teacher I am working with and asked if I could visit her classroom for the afternoon (thanks again Christy for getting me thinking about this.) It was a great afternoon observing someone else and we've made some plans for next school year.

5. Grandkids came to stay Friday night. I received lots of love and hugs from them all weekend. Plus giggles were all around me.

The oldest two decided it must be time to swim, so they of course had to try it. Yes, it was cold, but they are kids after my heart. I did the same thing when I was little. How else do you learn when the lake is too cold?




We did a little golfing, threw a whole lot of rocks in the lake, cuddled, told stories, read books, sang silly songs, visited with friends, played with Chloe and Bella, grilled hot dogs, and fell asleep exhausted each night.

It was a wonderful weekend.

Boys Write

Someone else's student teacher sat in my room today and observed my classroom. And you know how it is when anyone observes your classroom. You second guess yourself. The little critic in my head kept talking

Am I explaining this enough?
Do they understand what I want?
Is this going well?
Are they really trying?
Oh my God, they're talking again!

But the student teacher and I talked about what I did in class. And the things I know deep down, but never articulate, came out.

Boys. Writing.

They've got to talk about it. I know, it seems like the girls would be the ones to talk about it. The girls listen, watch, and write.

The boys. They talk. They joke. They laugh. They argue. They're loud.

It looks like they are wasting time and just messing around.

But

Something happens in that time. Ideas form. Words are written.

And by Friday they will have pretty decent drafts. By next Friday, they will have some amazing things written.

And so when you walk into my Creative Writing class and see that the girls are reading mentor texts and, oh so carefully, writing practice drafts. When you look and see the boys giving each other crap, arguing the rules of LARPING (don't ask), and laughing about their latest escapade, don't assume that they aren't getting anything done. Wait until you read what they write!

Author's Hearts and Secret Poets

Every semester I have my Creative Writing students write their "Writing Autobiography". They write an essay explaining their feelings about writing---whether  they like it, loathe it, tolerate it or are secret poets.  The essays help me get to know them and their writing. I can plan mini-lessons and big lessons. I find out who to nag at and who to let simmer. I know who needs help coming up with writing ideas and who will find their own. Here's what this semester's classes have to say. I think they speak to all writing teachers...

I have a few like KC, who told me, "Well, to tell you the truth, I love to write. I will write all the time. Well pretty much any time I have a chance. You could say I’m a secret poet."  Don't you love those words, "secret poet".  She will do well this semester. 

And then I have VH. I wrote back to her and said I can hardly wait to read what she has to write. "Since second grade I’ve known I had an author’s heart, and I’ve grown up with writing built into the very foundation of my being." She most definitely has an "author's heart". You should read her quickwrites--magic. VH will make me believe in the power of writing throughout the semester. She will be the one I read when I begin to wonder if I am teaching them anything at all about writing. Because, you see, I read many more essays that sounded like these:

"The most enjoyable thing about writing to me is when you don’t have to do it. The things I did write outside of school and the ones i did inside of school were nothing alike. The ones outside of school had many mistakes but it was interesting to read. The ones i did write inside of school were dull to read and didn’t have many mistakes."

"I have never been very fond of writing. It has never really attached to me like math, science, and history. It is like a parasite to me, it feeds off of me but I don’t get anything out of the deal. I don’t know if it is the grammar or punctuation in writing, but it just does not like me.

"Overall, I enjoy writing, but since most of the writing I do is in school, I don’t really enjoy it as much. If we get to write about what we want, I could possibly really enjoy this class."

A very common theme in the essays was that many of my students DO write outside of school. And they like it. They find it a great way to express themselves. These students also have the heart of an author and are secret poets, they just don't think that the writing they do has any place in school. 

My job this semester is to prove to them that their stories matter.