Genius Freak

The Teachers Write assignment for Monday was to write 12 lines of verse with a particular rhyme scheme. I am going to forego the disclaimers I forbid my students from making, the two main ones being "This sucks," and "I'm not good at poetry." I usually think those things when I write poetry, but I won't say them. These lines are inspired by powerful conversation I recently had with a best friend of mine. In the safety of her kindness, I was able to visit places in my heart that I have gone to in years. I was undecided about posting them. But her great bravery has inspired smaller braveries in me. No title yet The trunk of memory is dusted off Unlocked by trust, the lid held open wide. His ghost, unscarred and beautiful, in peace Asks for attention, not to be denied. For decades packed away where light is scarce; The darkness, sanctuary from the pain. To break it open seemed to much to bear, But in the hands of love, I can...

I came across a blog posting about a virtual writing summer camp for teachers. It's called Teachers Write.  My interest was piqued, but so was my fear of failure.  I wanted to give it a shot.  But two things were holding me back: my perpetual inability to dedicate time to doing the writing I want to do, and my fear that everything I write sucks. (Looking at that sentence now, clearly one of those things in the parent of the other.) I have recently made a very good friend whose daily braveries inspired me to sign up for Teachers Write, despite my own dearth of bravery in the writing arena. She also inspired me to take the extra step of posting some of the writing I do here.  Because if my aim is to be brave, I have to take some chances. The first task was a short introductory post with some background and goals for the program, and something we have noticed about our students as writers. Another first week task was to make a list of things I wonder about. Her...

NJWA presentation

As a teacher of  high school juniors and seniors, I often find myself engaged in conversations about their futures.  Some of them are very sure of what they want to do with their lives.  But more commonly their voices are infused with confusion, sometimes bordering on panic, when they say, "How can I know what I want to do?  I'm only 17?"  Even though I knew in high school that I wanted to be a teacher, I understand the question.  They are exposed to relatively few real world experiences in high school.  They want to know "What will I use this for?"  As their English teacher, I want them to know that they will use reading and writing everywhere, no matter their career path.   I also want them to see that their English teacher doesn't just teach them about other people's writing, and make them write essays galore just for the joy of grading them. I want them to know I write, and I struggle with the same things about it they do.  Th...

This is, in part, a response to te@chthought's Reflective Teaching 30-Day Blogging Challenge (which I am beginning somewhat belatedly, and probably won't manage to do consecutively).  The first topic: "Write your goals for the year.  Be as specific or abstract as you'd like to be." I shared this in person with the real intended audience. To my students: Every year around April, I start thinking about how I am going to do things differently the next year.  Some things stay the same - there have been blogs and journals and OPs for about a decade now, but every year - sometimes every marking period - they get tweaked a bit.  I try to live out Maya Angelou’s words “When you know better, you do better.” So starting in April, and then through May, and June, and July I thought about what it is that I want you to walk away with when you leave 235 at the end of this year.  I thought back over my own education, and the teachers who had an impact on me. ...

"After two years in this class, I finally get it!" (It wasn't two years in the same course.  It has been two consecutive years of AP English.  But for most of us, it does often feel like one long (and wonderful) class together.) My heart leaped up more than a little as I heard that exclamation from across the room where I was returning another student's essay. "What is it you finally get?" "Writing! My essays! How to make them better! I have been trying to get a 6 on an essay for two years.  And I finally did it! Now I want to get another one!" (Generally, I avoid exclamation marks, but given the level of excitement accompanying these staccato declarations, even more exclamation marks may be called for.) There was so much about this student reflected in this short exchange: -A desire to succeed, to grow, to reach the next level of development -Grit and perseverance - two years (even two school years) is a long time to keep at somet...

As I was planning out a unit in reading non-fiction text for my juniors in AP English Language and Composition, I decided it was time to go to the Transcendentalists.  Not everyone's favorites, I know, but close to my heart (the inspiration for the title of this blog), and the source of some of the most well-known lines in all of American literature. One of those lines, from the "Conclusion" of Thoreau's  Walden, famously reminds us that he   "went to the woods because [he] wished to live deliberately." As I read it this time around, I was also reminded that the "teach deliberately" mantra I have been repeating to myself this year echoes that passage I have read so many times. Continuing my preparations, I came across this line from the "Sounds" chapter of Walden , and knew it was the thought-foundation on which I would build a project for my students: "Follow your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh...