I'm trying my hand at "spine poems." I also need to work on my photography skills... but I have typed them in case they are hard to read. :) Enjoy--and think about this for April: Poetry Month!
This I believe-- take joy: the true secret of writing.
Poetry speaks to children for the good of the earth and sun, a place for wonder-- seeing the blue between, pyrotechnics on the page. Word weavings, wondrous words! Don't forget to share!
Old friend from far away promise me don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff you can create an exceptional life help thanks wow
When we were very young wonder last child in the woods tiny beautiful things wonder struck
....And with a light touch igniting a passion for reading revisit, reflect, retell talk about understanding lasting impressions READING POWER
What's after assessment?
Holding on to GOOD IDEAS
in a time of BAD ONES
The death and life of the great American school system-- What the Dickens? The tiger rising... Prey Puppet Power
In a career spanning more than 25 years and a lifetime (at least since the age of five) spent studying and/or working in colleges and schools, I find much on which to reflect when comparing school today to school in the 1970s, '80s, '90s, and even early 2000's (prior to No Child Left Behind). Though not sentimental for "how school was" when I was growing up, recent "reforms" seem to have removed much of progress we had made through educational research. So, to me, "the good old days" were not days of yore, when I was young. They were the days somewhere between then and now, days prior to corporate America's attempted (and still progressing) takeover of our public schools because they see an opportunity for profit... and line the coffers of politicians' re-election campaigns. The Good Old Days, to me, were when the welfare and learning of the whole child were valued over any test score. Days when students could overcome a "bad test" or even a few "bad years" and still expect to go to college, earn scholarships, and become productive citizens.
The Good Old Days of Teaching
Sometimes I
remember
the good
old days
of teaching
Days when
educators
trusted
as
specialists,
best practices were
research-based,
promoted teaching excellence,
developmentally
appropriate,
geared for students'
powerful learning success
valued
more than test scores.
Days when students
thrived
as learners
student-centered constructivist workshops
promoted real reading,
real
writing, and real science
geared for
children's
experiential learning, efficacy
valued
more than
test scores.
Days when
teachers and students
celebrated
as scholars
many forms
of expression
promoted deep engagement
minute-by-minute,
authentic,
holistic opportunities
geared for
young people's
interest,
concerns, questions
valued
more than
test scores.
I still
can't imagine
anything better than that.
Based on Ralph Fletcher's poem:
The Good Old Days
Sometimes I remember
the good old days.
Riding bikes on summer vacation with Dad,
wondering if my legs would ever be as strong as his.
Pedaling fast to feel the fresh White Mountains breeze on my face
and slow to hear Dad's directions and careful warnings.
Natalie Lloyd'sA
Snicker of Magic, comes highly recommended by everyone I
know who has read it. The main character, Felicity, sees words all around
her: on her shoes, swirling around her sister's head, in her teacher's
glossy black hair, on the fabric of Rosie Walker's dress, in the dust and
dirt and feathers being swept around a door... Lloyd's choice of name for
her main character, "Felicity," is so fitting:
Felicity
fəˈlisətē/
noun
1.
intense happiness.
2.
the ability to find appropriate expression for one's
thoughts.
Words can bring us both happiness and
the ability to appropriately express our thoughts: felicity. Felicity Street even runs along the south side of one of our elementary schools--maybe this is no coincidence!
Lorna
Byrne, a real-life, modern-day mystic,
writes about seeing and communicating with angels all around for as long as she
can recall. One of her books is even titled Angels
in My Hair. Lorna sees angels everywhere,
providing her with information and wonders about our lives and souls, much the
way Felicity sees words.
Both Felicity and Lorna believe in
the message of love and hope from words—from the light within us--and angels.
Felicity even feels that the mountains want her to stay in Stoneberry, a
magical place that gives her hope. She sends wishful words into the
universe, "Keep us safe. Keep us here. Hold us tight." This message seems to flow through in our daily work with children. Lorna says that angels hear these wishes and want to guide and help; and all we need to do is ask. This is much like a teacher--only with us, you don't even have to ask!
A third connection I am making is to
a couple of books that I recently read: This I
Believe and This I
Believe II in which people from all walks of
life profess life’s lessons in which they believe (hold true) in 500 words (or
less).
Across all of these texts, the theme
resonates, dancing through the air like heat lightning on a warm summer night:
BELIEVE.
be·lieve
verb\bə-ˈlēv\
: to accept or regard (something) as true
: to accept the truth of what is said by (someone)
: to have (a specified opinion)
Both Felicity and Lorna believe in
the message of love and hope from words--and angels. Near the beginning of A
Snicker of Magic, Felicity sees the word, “Believe,” while
driving into her new town in an old van with her mother and sister. She says,
“At exactly that moment, I saw my first word of the day:
Believe
The letters were made of melted sunshine. They dripped down the window glass, warm and
tingly against our faces. Believe
is a powerful word to see and say. But that morning, I felt it. And feeling it was best of all. I knew something wonderful was about to happen
to me. I didn’t know what, or why, or
how. But I believed.”
Lorna describes why she
believes (and why we should, too) in angels.
"The angels are here to help us to remember that we have a soul – that we are more than flesh and blood."
In my daily life, I think
about believing… and angels… and it is easy to see angels everywhere at home,
at work/school, and even on the street or in the grocery store. As a literacy
coach, I am thinking about the daily “magic” and miracles worked by angels of
all sorts in public schools.
First, let’s agree on a fitting definition of “angel” when describing
teachers—I have highlighted definition #2 as my choice for this essay:
an·gel
noun\ˈān-jəl\
: a spiritual being that serves especially as a
messenger from God or as a guardian of human beings
: a
person who is very good, kind, beautiful, etc., with exemplary conduct or
virtue
Every single day,
I work among teachers who are, indeed, earth angels who believe in their work.
In each walk down a hallway, each step into classrooms, or even in
places like cafeterias or playgrounds, the virtuosity of these angels is
readily observed, their light shining with generosity of spirit through loving
actions, guiding little ones to all that is good and beautiful. What words would you see swirling in the
air, sweetly wafting? Perhaps:
Tolerance
Faith
Understanding
Despite inundating mandates from ignorant, pompous
politicians, these angels show up to teach each day. They Believe… not in the capricious,
mind-numbing absurdities, ironically termed “reforms.”
No. They Believe…
in their abilities to truly educate the whole child, rising
above these hurdles. Even without the
ludicrous demands imposed by politicians, teachers have hard jobs: increasing class sizes, students who lack
background experiences to support them as learners, children who feel hungry
for food, love, and hope. Students whose hearts, like Felicity's in Snicker of Magic, beg: Help me Hold me Hear me Please Teachers seek to
fill them with love of learning but also truth and love for life—building optimism,
resilience, and dreams. Over the years, if we are lucky, the miracles of our hard work pay off in something that looks like magic: at the age of 18 or so, we see young citizens, ready to thoughtfully join the world, solving problems, caring for humanity. Lingering in
this space are the words:
Trust in hard work
Illuminate
Nurture
Not only is
teaching a hard job, it is complex.
Students come to us having different learning levels, but also differing
learning styles. A learner who is:
Visual(spatial):
Prefers using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
Aural(auditory-musical): Prefers
using sound and music.
Verbal(linguistic): Prefers using words, both in speech
and writing.
Physical (kinesthetic):Prefers using your body, hands and
sense of touch.
Logical(mathematical):Prefers using logic, reasoning and
systems.
Social(interpersonal):Prefers to learn in groups or with
other people.
Solitary(intrapersonal):Prefers to work alone and use
self-study.
Naturalist (smart about nature):Prefers nurturing and relating information to
one’s natural surroundings.
Existential (spiritual): Prefers to relate now learning to one’s spiritual
or religious beliefs/existence
Teachers
are truly “professional decision-makers,” as it is estimated that teachers make
an average of 1,500 educational decisions during each school DAY. And through it all, they teach magic: how to transform black swiggles on a piece of paper and into letters and numbers, sounds, words, thoughts, ideas, and stories. And long after their years in school are over, they will continue to read, write, calculate, and consider the world politically and scientifically. By some miracle, our work is everlasting in our students, making us omnipresent; but, of course, we will have moved on, as well--magically abiding with each person, but invisible.
Ever-present words
entwining teachers’ and students’ lives, like ribbon on the most lovely gift imaginable:
AMAZING
wise
Clever
Not included in
that 1,500 count are the decisions that go above and beyond the school day. Outside of school time, additional
educational decisions are made as teachers:
vwrite copious lesson plans, unit plans, and
study curriculum;
vorganize classroom and learning resources;
vgenerate report cards and write comments for
individual students;
vassess/grade student work;
vcollaborate about student achievement;
vstudy data;
vparticipate in professional study groups,
leadership teams, reading teams, and school resource teams for RtI;
vindependently research/read;
vtutor students;
vparticipate in parent meetings including P/T conferences
and PTO meetings;
vattend school board meetings;
vfacilitate open houses,
vwork the school carnivals and dinners,
vhelp with book fairs, fundraisers, etc.
Circling,
spiraling around the teacher’s heart and mind as they tirelessly work night after night, weekend after weekend...
Humanitarian
Devoted
Loyal
Returning to
the notion of working magic, even miracles, teachers might make it
look easy. But when you appreciate a teacher
who is all of these things to your child (and more), know that s/he has been
able to do so because of a personal investment, borne of love for humankind—and,
if you look closely, you might see these words woven in the air as she prepares for class, dinner for her family, does the laundry, all the while thinking of her students:
Good
Kind
Beautiful
Felicity
fəˈlisətē/
noun
1.
intense happiness.
2.
the ability to find appropriate expression for one's thoughts.
The magic and miracles created by
real-life earth angels is happening in most classrooms in my school district
and across America. Look for the beauty
in teachers’ intentions, understand who they are and why they show up for work
every single day. You, too, will...
Believe.
Believe in magic found in the daily work and dedication of hardworking
teachers, in your local public schools, and in the miracles brought about in a democracy of equally educated human beings--EVERYONE, of every race, religion, national origin, or socio-economic status. Public schools can truly be a magical place that gives us hope for tomorrow and, indeed, the very future of our planet. In the words of Felicity,
