To Leave or Not to Leave

Follow Your Heart?

Really?  This cliche always seemed enigmatic.  I teach because it's in my bones.  It's a part of me like breathing.  I never thought I had to look to my "heart" to decide what I wanted to do with my life.  I always knew.

I get it now.

Not long ago, I was given the opportunity to leave the classroom again.  It was a fabulous offer and I know that I would have loved it.  I would have loved my colleagues and the opportunity to work with teachers again at the district level.  I was flattered that a district outside of my own would want ME (of all people) to work with them.

I turned it down.

I know that some people would probably think that I am crazy. A higher level position, better benefits, no papers to grade...

Sigh.

I want to stay with kids.

It's sad sometimes that a lot of the most passionate classroom teachers end up leaving for other positions.  But I understand why.  Classroom teaching is exhausting.  Sometimes I want to die when I see the stack of papers to grade or when I realize that I will be spending my entire Saturday at school because I am not even close to being ready for the next week.

Also, working at a district level or higher allows us to impact children on a broader scale.  Sometimes we have a calling to work with education at a more global level.  I know this. 

But I love teaching kids.  I love being able to connect kids with books and authors.  I love helping kids develop agency.  I love watching them become empowered.  I love modeling for them that it's o.k. to be completely and utterly nerdy.

I can't do these things outside the classroom.  I mean, I could.  But it's just not the same.  We adults come with so much baggage.  (I know because I carry the baggage in my luggage cart, too.)  It's not nearly as fun to be a passionate and ridiculous dork in front of adults as it is with kids.

Last week, three of my former students came to see me again.  They are in college, they are amazing kids, and I would be lying if I said this didn't impact my decision to stay. Leaving the classroom would mean no more visits like this.  And yes, these kids are awesome, even though they make fun of how many Instagram followers I have.  (Thanks a lot, TW and CC.)

They let me know that I need more Instagram followers.

Sometimes I wonder why, in education, does it seem like we always must move up, up, up the professional ladder?  Why is staying in the classroom with children not something you do when you are successful?  I need to push back on that thinking.

This decision was hard.  I didn't sleep for a few nights, sure.  But I chose to follow that "heart" voice, wherever it may be coming from.  I chose the little people, who really aren't that much different than us adults.  In fact, maybe experience and size are our only differences?

So thanks, Heart.  Now that I know how you sound, I will listen for you.

I Thought I Knew

You would think that I would know my students, considering that we only have three more weeks of school.

You would think that I would know basic information, such as where they were born.  Or how long they have lived in the United States.

You would think.

I was wrong.

This week I learned that I have a student in my class whose grandfather is one of the most important Ministers in the Republic of Guinea, Africa.

I didn't know.

I had also assumed that this same child, an English Language Learner, was born in Guinea and had moved to the United States when he was 7 years old.

I was wrong.

This past Friday, when his grandfather visited our class (oh my gosh!), I learned that this wonderful student was actually born in the United States.  When he was 1 year old, his parents sent him BACK to Guinea so he could spend his formative years learning from his grandfather, learning French, and going to school in Guinea.  He returned to the U.S. when he was 7.

Wow.  Would I do the same with my own children?  Would I have the courage to send my child away to another country for seven years to be with my parents?

I am continually amazed at my students and the life experiences they have.  Watching my student translate for his grandfather while our class asked questions was the highlight of my month.  

How better for 9 year olds to learn about the French Colonization of Guinea, than from one of the Ministers of Guinea himself?

I need another year with these kids.  I really do.

And I look absolutely ridiculous in this shirt while next to these beautiful people.

Writing Prompts are like Video Games

My good friend Katie Wood Ray once taught me that writing to a prompt is not real writing.  It's test-taking writing.  And it should never be called "Writer's Workshop."  

Ok, so maybe it is just in my head that Katie Wood Ray and I are good friends...although I do have a few pictures with her.  I promise I don't stalk her!

Writer's Workshop guru Katie Wood Ray and I (geeking out) before her retirement from speaking.

What's not just in my head, however, is the reality that kids must write to a prompt on our state standardized assessment.  They must address all the questions asked in the prompt.  They must use correct capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.  They must stay on topic.  They must use "sparkly" vocabulary and describing words.  They are encouraged to write a lot and stay only on the lines provided.  They have 55 minutes to do this.  They are subsequently scored on a 6 point rubric.

My sweet third grade students were not looking forward to this.  We write a lot in our room.  Actually, some of my students are close to being obsessive writers and Writer's Workshop is their favorite time of day.  You know, the kind of writers that have to be reminded to "please put your writing away...I can see you trying to write while we are learning about fractions."  It's wonderful.

The issue is that these kids DETEST writing to a prompt.  Abolutely abhore it. 

The first time we practiced prompt writing, numerous kids were crying.  I was devastated and many students simply shut down.

So.  I went back to a book I read while I was a Literacy Coach.  Writing to a Prompt by Janet Angelillo has an entire section in her book about how writing to a prompt is really like playing a video game.

I brought an old PS3 controller into school one day and set it at the front of the room.  It caused a stir, but I refused to say anything about it until writing time.

When it was finally time to have the conversation with my students, they were completely perplexed  Um no...there is no way on this planet that writing to a prompt is like playing a video game.  How could I be so ridiculous?

Lo and behold, though, my students finally realized what I was trying to help them understand.  Here is the teaching chart we created:

It truly made all the difference.  

My students realized that yes, they do have some power in controlling the direction of their writing in a prompt.  And although they must follow the "rules" of the "game," they can use their imaginations to create and go in so many different directions.

We just recently finished the writing prompt portion of our state test.  And although my students were nervous, nobody cried.  

They knew that they were "playing a game" and that they had the power to win.

Tweets, Skype, and Pink Icing

"Always be yourself.  Unless you can be a vampire unicorn.  Then always be a vampire unicorn." - Drew Daywalt

This quote hangs on our classroom wall.  It's very popular in our third grade room, mostly because it came from Drew Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit.  (And also because vampire unicorns are the best.)

We love not only this picture book, but Mr. Daywalt himself.

Maybe love isn't the best word.

Adore would be more like it.

A few months ago, we reached out to Mr. Daywalt via Twitter because his book was having a huge impact on our Writing Workshop.  So many students were inspired by the format and the hilarious personification.  You can read about that experience here http://kingandkids.blogspot.com/2013/10/two-tweets-that-changed-everything.html

We recently were able to Skype with Mr. Daywalt on a very cold Thursday afternoon.  (And yes, we know it was 60 degrees in L.A. that day.  Thanks for sharing, Mr. Daywalt.) We were crazy excited and nervous.  After all, THIS was the author of one of our favorite books...and authors are rock stars!

Well.  Not only did Mr. Daywalt show us the actual box of crayons that inspired his book, but he also showed us each individual crayon from the box while discussing their personalities!  My students were in awe.  I was too.

He later answered our questions and encouraged us to keep writing and illustrating - but not necessarily to stay inside the lines.  We learned that pink is his favorite color.  It was perfect, as we are talking so much about stereotyping lately.  

Our Skype session motivated my students' writing and reading lives.  Definitely.

But more than that, talking with an author they love pushed their thinking even beyond their literate worlds.  Drew Daywalt likes pink?  He colors outside the lines?  He reads The Twits?  I could teach my students that it's ok to be different, but hearing it from a rock star makes it true.

The next day was my student Ivy's birthday and she brought in cupcakes to celebrate.  Unfortunately, there were only 12 Star Wars cupcakes. The rest were Elmo or Princess cupcakes with pink or green icing.  

"Mr. Daywalt's favorite color is pink," one boy said as he ate the pink icing.  "Yeah, it doesn't matter what color it is," said another.

Vampire unicorns forever.

Must Read in 2014

Alright, I'll do it.  Every year I know I have that To Be Read list on Goodreads, but I've never set a yearly goal for myself.  

Sure, I've immersed myself in #bookaday during the summer or during vacations from school.  But this will be new.  I must conquer that book stack that is taking over my house!

Thank you to Carrie Gelson for inviting me to participate in Must Read in 2014!  You can find information about #mustreadin2014 and links to other bloggers at: http://thereisabookforthat.com/2014/01/02/mustreadin2014/

Also, the book nerd community of Indianapolis has an awesome event happening on Twitter this year, too.  You can find it at #Read26Indy.  The goal is to read 26 books, of whatever genre or length, and post about the titles using the hashtag #Read26Indy.

Join us!

Here are my titles, in no particular order:

MG novels:

1. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu  Read Jan. 2014
2. The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell Read Jan. 2014
3. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
4. Hound Dog True by Linda Urban Read Feb. 2014

5. Cardboard by Doug TenNapel (Graphic novel) Read July 2014
6. The Hypnotists by Gordon Korman
7. The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt Read Feb. 2014
8. Doll Bones by Holly Black Read July 2014
9. Every Day After by Laura Golden
10. The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths Read March 2014
11. Comics Squad: Recess! by Jennifer Holm Read at #nErDcampMI, July 2014
12. Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner Read July 2014
13. Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder
14. Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake by Julie Sternberg Read Fall 2014
15. Coraline by Neil Gaiman Read April 2014
16. Wonkenstein by Obert Skye Read May 2014
17. Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
18. The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes Read Jan. 2014
19. A Tale Dark & Grimm #1 by Adam Gidwitz Read March 2014
20. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
21. Nightingale's Nest by Nikki Loftin
22. The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths Read Summer 2014
23. A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd Read April 2014
24. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff Read May 2014
25. How to Outrun a Crocodile When your Shoes are Untied by Jess Keating Read June 2014
26. Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff Read June 2014
27. Amulet, Vol. 1: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi Read July 2014
28. Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen Read June 2014

YA novels:

1. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth Read Jan. 2014
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Read Jan. 2014
4. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey Read Jan. 2014
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Read June 2014
6. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale Read Feb. 2014
7. This Side of Paradise by Steven Lane
8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Read May 2014 - in one morning.  That's how much I enjoyed this book!
9. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
10. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
11. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Read March 2014
12. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne Read July 2014
13. Paper Towns by John Green
14. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green Read July 2014


Adult novels:
1. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
3. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
4. Inferno by Dan Brown
5. Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
6. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Reread June 2014



What other books are in your To Be Read stack?  Please share!

I'm Ambivalent About Columbus Day

When I was twenty years old, I learned the truth about Columbus.  I was living in the Dominican Republic at the time.  I was living among the Dominicans, not as a missionary, but as a student.  A learner.  

I attended school.  I rode the guaguas.  I walked through the Colonial Zone and watched the cruise ships dock and explode with foreigners looking for trinkets.  I watched the beaches become roped off so the tourists could enjoy the waves by themselves.

I experienced what it was like to look different than an entire population of people.  I experienced being singled out because of my skin color or hair texture.  I felt the discomfort.  But yet, I loved the people, the culture, the food, the sweltering hot weather.

It was during my time there that I learned about the Taino native people.  I learned that the island was once called Hispaniola, and that an entire race of natives was annihilated by Columbus.  And, to this day, not one full-blooded Taino lives due to disease, murder, and mistreatment by the Spanish conquerers.

And then, just recently, I read this post about Columbus Day on The Oatmeal: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day 

I know it's my duty to teach my students about the real history of Columbus and what happened so long ago.  

So why do I feel ambivalent every year?  Because I feel like I might be committing heresy against the many history textbooks that still gloss over the history?  Because I don't want to anger my students' parents?  There is such a fine line between teaching the truth to eight year olds and completely traumatizing them.

This year we do not have school on Columbus Day due to Fall Break.  But I still plan to use Jane Yolen's wonderful book Encounter, which describes the events of the Spanish conquerers from the perspective of a Taino boy.

When I was living in Santo Domingo, the running water and electricity were often turned off in sections around the city.  Imagine my surprise when I learned of a museum in town called the Columbus Lighthouse.  It is shaped like the cross and at night, using thousands of watts of light, projects the image of the cross onto the sky.  (Rumor has it that it can be seen from neighboring Puerto Rico.)  It was an interesting feeling to be sweltering in my room at night, with no access to A/C or fans, but to see the lighted cross in the sky in honor of Columbus.

I will share some of what I know with my students.  And I will feel comfortable not knowing the answers to all of their questions.  And I will be satisfied knowing that they will not be twenty years old when they finally learn the truth.

Two Tweets that Changed Everything

In honor of Connected Educator Month...

8 year old Keagan loves The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.  He kept the book at his desk for days until finally, just recently, he told me about a book he wrote.

"I was inspired by Drew Daywalt," he announced.  "I wrote a book just like the Crayons book.  Wanna see?"

Of course I did.  The book is called "Highlighters," and it was organized in letter-format, just as Crayons is.  The highlighters in his book are hilarious and obnoxious.

Later that night, I realized that I am connected to Drew Daywalt on Twitter.  I reached out and told him about Keagan's book, hoping for a response.

Here is the communication that followed:

And here was his response:

The next day, I shared these two tweets with our class.  

Here were some of their responses:

"OMG!  HE WROTE US BACK!"
"THAT AUTHOR IS TALKING TO US!"
"KEAGAN, THAT IS SO AWESOME!"

(And keep in mind, this isn't the first time we've communicated with an author.)

Keagan was highly impacted by this.  He walked around for days holding both his book and Daywalt's book, telling anyone who would listen that he was inspired by an author, and that the author responded to his idea for a book.  

So validating.

My students were previously strong writers.  However, their writing identities and stamina for writing are stronger since using Twitter to connect with authors from around the globe.

Why?

Connecting on Twitter helps my students see authors as real people, instead of magical beings who have talents beyond what children can possess.  For example:

• Drew Daywalt tweets about how he sits at hotels and thinks and writes.  (We sit and think and write!)
• Mo Willems tweets doodles he makes while sitting at a restaurant for dinner.  (Hey, some of us doodle all the time!)
• Jon Klassen shares pictures on Instagram of animals and landscapes and parts of his artwork.  (Some of us love taking pictures of and drawing animals!)
• Linda Urban tweets about having to cut hundreds of words from her draft.  (Hey, we are always making revisions to our writing too!)

These writers feel closer to us because of Twitter.  More accessible.  And if real people can write and revise and publish, then surely, we third graders can too! 

Alas, I am not a perfect connected educator.  I know I don't follow as many people on Twitter as I should.  I don't participate in as many chats as I should. There are always so many more ways for me to be connected.  I'm working on it!  (And yes, I may get a bit starstruck when authors tweet us back, but that's beside the point.)  

In the end, I wonder if it's my students who eventually benefit as much, if not more, than I do.  

So thanks, Twitter.  And thanks, Mr. Daywalt.