We live in such divided times. Many people have  stripped the color from nuanced thinking and choose to think in black and white. They see what they want to see and resist ambiguity or broad-minded thinking. Our schools are not immune from this simplicity-seeking approach. We are constantly under scrutiny from the public and are somewhat of a Rorschach test for societies’ perceptions.

Teachers are frequently seen as heroes or villains. Often by the same people!

Teachers are heroes when they give up their lives to save their students’ under attack. But teachers are villains if they belong to the big-bad-union.

Teachers are givers if they selflessly stock their classrooms with books and supplies.    But teachers are takers if they dare ask for enough money to live on from tax payers.

Teachers are outstanding if their students’ test scores exceed the state average.                    Teachers are failures if their students’ success isn’t reflected by numeric indicators.

I could go on with examples, but you get the point.  Whatever ills society faces, it is often teachers who are expected to fix them. Or bear the burden of failure. Why don’t schools do this? Why did the school fail to address that? It can be incredibly disheartening. Especially during weeks like this one.

School shootings suck the breath out of us teachers. Shock and horror cannot begin to describe our reactions. Our empathy for those sister schools runs deep in our bones. We immediately imagine ourselves in the shoes of those teachers and feel their panic and devastation. We look at our students with such protective fierceness. We hug our own children tighter. We wonder, what we would do? How would we react? How would we and our students survive? It was a brutal week in so many ways.

So imagine my disgust when I see this trending on Twitter…

How quickly we shift from teacher as hero, to teacher as villain in our zeitgeist. ONE DAY after teachers laid down their lives. ONE DAY after teachers across this country witnessed yet another tragedy in our nation’s schools. ONE DAY!

And so as I villainously begin my February break, I reflect on my week as a teacher:

I didn’t spend my Valentine’s evening with my loving husband. I spent it at a school board meeting pitching a new reading and writing curriculum that I believe will enrich the lives our children, and was recognized for the two-year long journey to become a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.

I participated in a Choice Day at one of my schools where each teacher volunteered their time and talents to teach students ‘extra-curriculars’ from yoga, to drumming, to crafting survival bracelets, and much more in between. A fellow teacher and I led groups of students on a snowshoeing expedition through the woods behind the school. None of these kids had ever been on snowshoes and their reactions were priceless.

I invited teachers in my district to add to a collective poem entitled “I LOVE TEACHING” and was moved by the passion and dedication for children expressed in their words.

I spent an afternoon with the incredible teachers in my district learning how to make science more exciting and engaging for our students so they could begin to be more curious about the world around them. So they could understand the importance of science and facts to question, understand, and make sense of the world.

I curated a collection of books from my local library to digest over vacation so that I can better match books and readers and share my passion for reading with them.

So I go into this break with a roller coaster of emotions knowing I can only control what I do as a teacher, and not how others will perceive me. I know we are vilified by many and always will be. I am heartbroken by the school tragedy in Parkland, Florida. But I take heart in knowing what I do makes a difference, and I am inspired when I see teachers lifting one another up.  Teachers will always be my heroes.

What’s On My Book Radar?

Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds

Wow, this book was a page turner and not just because of its action-adventure mythos of Spider-Man, but because Jason Reynold’s created an intriguing life story for our hero-Miles Morales. Miles is a 16 year old black and Puerto Rican boy from Brooklyn, whose family has a troubled past. His parents are sacrificing a lot to send him to a prestigious school and break the cycle of crime and poverty. (Oh, and he’s also Spider-Man.) We learn the story of how this came to be and the uncle who was at the center of that tragic story.

We also meet his history teacher who espouses racists beliefs and preaches that slavery was a good thing. This gets Miles riled up and we learn there is an even more nefarious story beyond the classroom conflicts. With the help of his best friend, Ganke, Miles grapples with life as a teen: crushing on a girl, meeting a cousin in prison he didn’t know he had, avoiding expulsion after being set up…while simultaneously taking on an ancient organization of white supremacists who are using incarceration as the new slavery. Seriously-this book will grab you and not let go. Jason Reynold’s is amazing. Ages 12+

When I first started my teaching career (many, many years ago) I was lucky enough to have some veteran teachers who were always willing to collaborate with me. We didn’t have coaches or mentors then, so I relied on the generosity of my colleagues to share resources, bounce ideas, and work with me.  The World Wide Web wasn’t yet available to me to tap into for TpT, Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook. My circle of collaboration was pretty small, but it was all I knew and it sustained me.

Today my circle is ever-increasing-far beyond the walls of our school or our district. Much of that has to do with the use of social media platforms on the internet to help me follow and connect with others whose thinking I admire. Through Twitter chats I build my PLN (professional/personal learning network) by following those authors, teachers, and researchers who challenge or lift my thinking. I have also joined Voxer this year and I can be a part of groups who discuss a variety of topics and interests. Many teachers do this. It’s a simple way to stay in touch with what is current.

You can be as active or as passive as you wish with these conversations. They are welcoming places for introverts and extroverts alike.  You can read through archived chats or try to join in live. Choose your level of comfort, your topic of interest,  and participate.

One of the best things that have come out of these connections has been the personal and professional relationships I have been able to forge with others all across the country. These relationships have led me on my journey as a writer for Stenhouse Publishers, as a presenter at NCTE and ILA, and other workshops and conferences. It is wild when you work with someone for months to create a presentation and you meet in person for the first time just before your session! That wasn’t a possibility when I first started teaching.

I would encourage anyone who wants to grow professionally to reach out to those in your PLN (and build up your PLN) and look for opportunities to collaborate. Maybe your classes can connect via Skype or a blog. Maybe you want to share resources and ideas. Maybe you want to work on a professional project together.

I’ve got projects/presentations/proposals coming up with educators from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Ohio, Michigan…it’s incredible. You might be surprised how open others are to these types of collaborations. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.  There’s nothing to lose and so much to gain.

What’s On My Book Radar

THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK by Celia C. Perez

The first rule of punk is … Be yourself. That’s what Maria Luisa (aka Malu) is trying to do. Her mom has moved her halfway across the country to take a job in Chicago, so she leaves behind her dad to start a new school and make new friends. Unfortunately she runs up against the school’s queen bee who considers her a misfit- a “coconut “. So Malu creates a literal band of misfits who fight for the right to express themselves. I love the expressive aspects of this book, infusing Hispanic music, food, and creative zines (do it yourself magazines) with Malu’s love of punk culture. Can’t wait to try making my own zines!

Tis the season for resolutions and goal setting.  I have noticed on Goodreads that my friends have set goals for the number of books they want to read in 2018. I myself take the Goodreads Reading Challenge each year as one of my New Year’s Resolutions.

But this year I want to do more to honor the creators of all the books I enjoy so dearly. We know they don’t mysteriously show up in our bookstores, libraries, and beside tables-someone took the stories in their heads and crafted them into words that publishers printed into books. Many of of us often post reviews on Goodreads, comments on social media, and occasionally an Amazon review. This helps these authors we love by expanding their potential audience and getting their books into the hands of our young readers.

It takes time and talent to be an author. It also takes courage.  Putting your ideas out into the world is not easy. Rejections, critiques, and judgements are not for the faint of heart. Knowing that my favorite books came to life because their writers persevered, creates some seriously good feels for those audacious authors.

So I encourage everyone who loves reading and loves books to resolve to show a little love for the authors who make it all possible.  (I know many of you already do, so consider yourself the chorus I am singing to) .

Finish a book you love?

• Tweet about it-post a picture and tag the author
• Instagram or Facebook it in the same way
• Add it to Goodreads with a quick review
• Go to Amazon (even if you don’t shop there) and post a review-this seriously helps generate buzz for books that independent booksellers notice, too.
• Message your local library or bookseller and encourage them to acquire it.
• Get it in the hands of every student (if it’s kidlit) or friend that you can.

Sharing your book love is the best way to thank those authors who enrich our lives. Any of these actions would take less than 5 minutes.  I already do many of these things, but not as consistently as I’d like.  I’m going to resolve to do one or two responses each time I read a book I love.

I’m also going to hashtag it #KidLitLove so that I can search back for books during the year. I’d love it if you used the tag, too.

Here’s to a great year of reading in 2018. Thank you to everyone who makes that happen!

What’s On My Book Radar?

Patina by Jason Reynolds

Patina is the 2nd book in Jason Reynold’s TRACK series and it is as fantastic as the first (Ghost). Patina and her sister Maddy are being raised by their uncle Tony and Aunt Emily (Momly) after their father dies and their mother has lost her legs to diabetes. She is enrolled in a fancy charter school where she is the token “raisin in the milk” but finds her place as one of the fastest runners on the Defenders track team. Running is the outlet “Patty” needs to show herself and others that she can be brave and strong. Reynolds has an incredible way of shining a light on the trauma and tragedy of so many lives without invoking pity or shame. This is a must-read series for middle grade/middle school readers who don’t need to wait for others to define what success is.

It’s no secret that I am on a bandwagon to encourage teachers of writing to be teachers who write—regularly.  There’s really no professional development or course you can take to help you become a better writing teacher than to be a writer yourself.

Generally I find there are two reasons teachers are reluctant to write, and I think they are legitimate obstacles-but not impossible barriers.

1. Time- We often find ourselves pulled in dozens of directions with responsibilities. I get that. New Years is often an opportunity to reflect on and prioritize our values to help us create resolutions. There’s a ton of research on the benefits of writing (beyond making you a more effective writing teacher) that might help convince you to find 10 minutes a day to stop and jot. These benefits below don’t apply only to novelists, but to anyone who uses writing to capture and explore thoughts, feelings, and events.  Would 10 minutes of writing each day be worth scoring these perks?

2. Confidence- Ask most teachers if they are readers and they can spout off stacks of titles they have read in the past year. Ask them if they are writers and the most common response is some variation of “not a very good one”.  TRUE, it is easier to consume (read) than produce (write) for almost everyone, but it is also true that the only way to get better at something is by doing it- A LOT.

I hope those who lack confidence in their ability to write have greater empathy for their students who are reluctant writers.  We all share the same fears. We wonder, “What if it’s not good enough?” But ask yourself, “Good enough for whom?” You don’t have to write for any audience other than yourself if you choose.  I encourage you to consider that it is our vulnerability that inspires our empathy and compassion.  Being a writer (especially an insecure one) can make you kinder through this awareness.

Even amazing writers like E.B. White doubted their abilities. We are in great company with our insecurities. Maybe 2018 is the year you muster a little more courage than you thought you possessed. Maybe this will be the year you fly. Start small. If you don’t write…try it.  If you write a little…write a little more. If you only write for yourself… expand your audience.

You can get some support at the fantastic website TEACH WRITE . Started by Jennifer Laffin, a teacher and National Writing Project consultant who knows first-hand how difficult writing can be for teachers and students.  Here you’ll find resources for helping you to develop a daily writing habit, tips for classroom instruction, and a blog to connect teachers of writing. You can follow on Twitter with #TeachWrite for more tips and chats.

I’ve also created a blog for teachers to share pieces of writing with an audience of other teachers called JUST A MOMENT  Please take a moment to read through the posts here. Leave a comment for some of these teachers who had the courage to share. Appreciate the courage it took each in expanding their audience. Lift one another up and honor the daring spirit of those who took a risk. Maybe this will be the year you join them and share a moment through your writing.  I’d love to publish it when you are ready.

Just click the CONTACT tab on the website if you have any questions or are thinking of sharing.

Here’s to a new year of stories waiting to be lived and shared. May you resolve to capture some of them in writing so that this time next year they’ll be waiting to be reread and remembered.

You have the wings. Don’t be afraid to fly!

What’s On My Book Radar

Mystery of the Bear Cub

by Tamra Wight illustrated by Carl DiRocco

If you haven’t come across the Cooper and Packrat mystery series, you are in for a huge treat!  Author Tamra Wight was the owner of Poland Springs Campground in Maine and was inspired by life at the campground to create this incredible series. She is also an educator so this spotlight fits perfectly with my “teacher as writer” blog theme! Each book involves a mystery around an indigenous Maine animal. Each chapter begins with fascinating facts about that animal as we follow three friends (Cooper, Packrat, and Roy) who always seem to encounter some mysterious events at the campground.  This series is perfect for middle grade readers and I was so excited for this most recent edition. Kids can try to solve the mystery, but they are also learning about the environment, endangered species, interesting facts about animals, as well as the challenges kids face in their daily lives with family and friends.  It really has it all and is written in such an engaging style. I cannot recommend this series enough. You may want to start at the beginning, but each makes a great stand alone book!