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Monthly Archives: June 2017
Baked in a Beautiful Pie
“But people forgive each other. It’s like a dance.”
“I wish I knew how to do that dance,” Adri said.
“Oh,” Lily shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that you can’t do it. I think you’re thinking the whole thing is a lose-lose. Like, what if someone actually likes you? That causes all sorts of problems. Then each time you see them, you have to try and keep them. And then even if you manage that, you lose. You end up losing. Even if you go through all the work of accepting someone and occasionally looking like a fool in front of them and then figuring out if they can accept you and you can forgive each other for everything you screw up, you lose them eventually.”
Then Tell the Wind & Fire Where to Stop
I worked with a math teacher who would often say when things weren’t going to be easy or fun, “Well, it won’t be boring.” The past two years have been far from boring. Since 2015, the US political scene has, at times, resembled a three-ring circus, at other times a boys’ club, and at other times a oligarchy. Local politics have become a microcosm of the national and international stage. I have turned to reading to escape. And then some of my favorite books have begun to appear eerily prescient, so I’ve turned back to politics to try to escape. I’ve watched Hilary Clinton be referred to as a nasty woman. I’ve listened to Mitch McConnell explain why Elizabeth Warren was silenced at Jeff Sessions nomination hearing. I’ve watched Kamala Harris get “scolded” for not being courteous enough to a witness. And when I needed an escape from politics and reading wasn’t cutting it, I found solace in my literacy training. My degree and research has caused me to look at words and actions and examine how these things shape identity and help build agency.
Posted in Read the World
Tagged as: Voice
Book Yente
“If we as teachers truly want to support teens as readers, we must develop broad, deep, personalized book knowledge” (Buehler 2016 p. 73).
“Dr. Schmidt took my daughter who would only read because she had to, got to know her, figured out what she might like, and spent months going through book after book after book until she found the type of book that my daughter liked. She reads four to five books every week now and is an exceptional student because of Dr. Schmidt” (Davis, FRSD BOE Meeting 6/12/17).
“Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match/find me a find/catch me a catch” (Harnick 1964).
Posted in Independent Reading/SSR/Reader's Workshop, Teacher Tips
Tagged as: Book Clubs, Reading Workshop, YA Lit, YA Literature
Life in the Now
Let’s face it, middle school is hard. Not necessarily academically—although for some kids that is true. But it’s hard because of the place it is: the middle. Students aren’t little kids even though things like recess and stickers and “potty humor” still tickle them. They aren’t true teenagers focused on college and careers. They are literally stuck in the middle. Socially, they’re trying to figure out who to be. Physically, I might have a 6’4” boy sitting next to a 4’9” boy. Some of my girls may look like they’re nine and others 19. Middle school is hard for my students. When I tell most adults what I do, they take a step back and say how awful middle school is, usually because they’re reflecting on their time in that space.
And that’s what happens when you assume…
I recently sat with some department colleagues discussing curriculum. The conversation turned to teaching shared texts and requiring independent novels. I was surprised to hear my colleagues struggled to get students to read a choice book at the same time a shared text (whole-class novel or lit circles) was being read. They were surprised to hear that my students read both. My colleagues said there was no way their kids would do both. I replied, “But mine do, so what am I doing differently?” My students were no more the avid reader than theirs. They weren’t any brighter or any more in love with ELA than theirs. We sat around a group of desks pondering that question, and no one had an answer. We threw some ideas around but really came up short.
Posted in Independent Reading/SSR/Reader's Workshop, Teacher Tips
Tagged as: Independent Reading, Reading Workshop