{solsc} 3/31 #sol17 She Never Earned a One

She's a senior who worked hard, listened to her coach, and came to every rehearsal she signed up for.

She never received a coveted Division 1 at District Speech Contest to move on to state competition.

She never whined about it,
never complained,
never gave less than her best.



She never earned that one, but what she gained in four years is immeasurable.

As a freshman, she was quiet...really quiet. Sometimes I could hardly hear her speak. There were no facial expressions, no gestures. She couldn't look up at the audience. Her pieces were not very dynamic, to say the least.

But she tried. And she came back the next year. And tried Group Improvisation, an event so far outside her wheelhouse, I couldn't believe she came back for the second night. But she did.

And she got better.

As a junior, she tried again in both group and individual events, Again, she was quiet, but not as quiet. And more dynamic. She listened to what I had to say and tried to incorporate it into her pieces.

And she got better.

This is her last year in speech. With cheer and dance, she came to me and said she didn't think she would be involved in Large Group this year, but she had some ideas for Individual.

When she finished her Literary Program the night of her first rehearsal, I was blown away.
She looked me in the eye, read with confidence and enthusiasm. There were facial expressions and gestures. It was fluid, there was vocal variety. It was the best I had ever heard her.

I couldn't help but remember that shy, quiet freshman who stood before me for years ago. It reminded me why I coach speech. It's not the ratings. It's not the All-State nominations. It's building confidence in my students as they get ready to face the world.

She may never earned that one, but what she gained in four years is immeasurable.

{solsc} 2/31 #sol17 The Power of Positive Peer Pressure

Since January I've been part of a new writing group. A small group of us from the Iowa Council of Teachers of English have a Facebook page where we can share writing with each other.  We share blog posts, but also other pieces of writing that might otherwise never see the light of day. It's been great to have a new group to share writing with.

It's because of this group I was excited to start the March challenge this year--more excited than the last couple of years.  So I started gently nudging others to join me this year. Honestly, in the last few days, I pretty much took over the page sharing everything I could about March.

I knew they would be reluctant, nervous, and skeptical. I persisted. And last night as I was visiting a few blogs, notifications came in from several of them that they had written and posted. "Positive peer pressure" was mentioned :)

Anyway, I want to give a shout out this morning to these ladies. We all remember what our first year of slicing was like--would anyone even read our posts? Were we "doing" it right? What the heck is a slice anyway? Check out their blogs today and say hi!

Nikki Smith

Kari Straube

Melissa Haupsteen

Haley Moehlis

Lauren Petri

{solsc} 1/31 #sol17 Chloe Writes: Why You Shouldn't Write in March

Chloe here. I'm taking over today before Mom writes. I just have one thing to talk about today--that stupid March blogging thingamajig.

Oh, Geez. Here she goes again! Every year she has to whine about this.

DON'T DO IT.

For years my mom has written during March. I really don't care about the first year. I wasn't even born yet. But let me tell you about the last few of years. By the time I get done, you will understand why you shouldn't  even begin to write.....

Please. Don't listen to her.

First, do you realize you have to write every day??? Every day for a month. You have to find a time to write, you know. When are you going to do that?  Probably during the time you should be taking your cute little furry sons and daughters for a walk or playing with them.

Actually, I write with my students at school during Creative Writing 

or in the morning before  I go to school.

Second, you have to think of something to write about Every. Single. Day.  Think about that.  Unless you have a cute, furry, intelligent fur baby like me, you probably aren't that interesting. Just what will you write about?

I started a Pinterest board with writing ideas. 

Click here for the link. 

I found last year that this really helped. Also, don't be 

afraid to copy the style of a post you like. Slicers 

don't mind imitation!

Third, the stress. You'll always be thinking about what you are going to write next. Then you'll worry about when you are going to post. And is your post good enough to even share?  Trust me. Your mental health can't take writing for a month. Cuddle your fur baby instead.  That will keep your stress level under control.

Whoa, Chloe! No stress.  And we all write posts that aren't the best.

The important thing is we are writing. Sharing our story. 

Slicers  understand we can't always write a masterpiece!

And then, of course, you aren't done with the writing of a post. You have to COMMENT on other people's posts! Really. You are supposed to go and read what other people write and tell them how good they did. 

Now she's just being ridiculous. Yes. You should read and comment on other posts.

But it's not that big of a deal.

It's one of my favorite parts of the March challenge.

I started in 2011 and made great blogging friends. They are the first 

people  I visit each day.  And then, I try someone new.  It's fun and relaxing.

Whatever, Mom.  It's a silly challenge. I know you won't give it up,  'cause you always tell me "If you're going to be a teacher of writers, you have to write."  I don't even know what that means. You don't have to have fur to be a mom to a fur baby, why do you have to write to teach it?  Crazy.

Well, that's it for today. Don't listen to Chloe. The Slice of Life Challenge 

is fun, exercises your writing muscles, and you'll make some new friends.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play with my spoiled dog!

{solsc} #sol17 0/31 Are You Ready???

A restlessness wove its way through me.
I didn't recognize it.
What found it's way into my heart and soul?

And then I remembered.

It's almost March.
Time to reflect. Time to share stories.
Time to write.

And so, I readied myself.  I set up all my posts. I checked my Pinterest board for ideas. Chloe wrote the first post.
 
                                                      See you tomorrow.

Celebration

I did it again...let time get away from me.  I haven't written in a couple of weeks. I didn't mean to--really! It's just that time of year.

February is brutal when it comes to time.

I'm up early this morning for another speech contest. Individual events this time. It's the next to last contest I'll ever coach.

But here's what I celebrated in the last couple of weeks

• Great performances from my kids at our last contest. 
• Senior boys acting group who were honored with an All-State selection
• An instructional coach I love in my room
• A friend who comes to check on me during a mini-meltdown (inevitable in February)
• Being so busy there's no time to "count down" to the end
• My school kids who also get that these are days to remember and celebrate
• Longer days so that it isn't dark out when I leave school
• Valentine flowers
• Snowblowers
• Snow days
• Speech contest is only an hour late today after the blizzard of yesterday
• A co-coach this year who helps make sure everything gets done
• Ruth and writing group and their Facebook live event! It was so fun to see them all.

OK. It's all I've got today.  I'll be back next week and will try to write a real post!

Little Celebrations

Sometimes
It's little things that drag us
down
Like a nasty email from a disgruntled student
but
we rise above it, and that is worth a celebration

Sometimes
We need to remember more students like us than
hate us
and they show us that love
every
single
day
in our classrooms

Sometimes
visits from former students come at
the right time
to remind us we have
shared
goodness with the world

Sometimes
It's the little things that make a
Celebration Post...
Chloe snoring peacefully on the couch
A new connection with an old student
All-State selections (but that's kind of a big one)
Student giggles
Texts from grandkids asking which book should be read
Laughs with friends
Puppy pictures shared
Love returned

Celebrate

Celebrating Underestimation

This has been a good week.  I could write a long list of everything I celebrate. And that's the thing I found about celebrating--the more you do it, the easier it is to find things that bring you joy. There have also been a couple of "how can I give this up?" moments, but I believe those are for reminding me I am leaving while at my best, and that's exactly how I want to do it.

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

As always when teaching Fahrenheit 451 in College Prep Lit, we discuss  education. Yesterday, I started with this quote as a thinking prompt.  The conversation was fast and furious. They started with standardized testing, moved on to upper level math, class rank, grade points, and teachers. My instructional coach and I have been working on deeper discussion in this class during both semesters and this class blew me away.  And the best part is--I underestimated them :)

This is a boy-heavy class. And most of them are reading haters. They put off the "too cool for school" vibe. The girls, in general, are more serious but quiet. And there are 19 of them. Last semester I had 10.  All but two have been with me before.

I thought I would get superficial answers. I thought I would get simple answers. I thought the discussion would last about five minutes.  

Boy, did I underestimate them.

We never did get to the book.

Several kids also have Creative Writing with me the next period. They were still talking. And writing about it.

I don't know how my coach kept up with tracking discussion. When I saw her later, she was still shaking her head. During the large group part of discussion, there were 51 contributions. 51! And I had kids telling me they had things to say, but couldn't get into the discussion!  We'll figure out how to make that work next week.

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

This week's DISCOVER: Never underestimate the passion of people when given the opportunity to share their voice.