Leaving St. Louis
I've been away attending the National Writing Project annual meeting and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference. What a week it's been. I met one of my teaching heroes. I met an author. I met an astronaut. I met strangers who became friends. I met teachers who care deeply about their classrooms. I met pre-service teacher educators who share my passion for supporting our next generation of classroom teachers.
There are many thoughts I leave with to take back and mull over. Some are writing related and some are life related and aren't those interwoven anyway? I traveled with my writing family. I love this family we've built. I don't think you could put four more different people together yet it works. We complement each other and we forgive each other and we laugh at each other. We share inside jokes and deep secrets and we feel safe doing so. We are open to each other's shortcomings and celebrate each other's strengths. There is such an ease when I'm with them. This is the family that allows me to be vulnerable in my life and in my writing. Kylene Beers reminded me this week that the hardest part of teaching writing to our students is being vulnerable in front of them. My family allows that for me. I am so lucky to have them. I could write an entire blog for each of them detailing what they've added to my life and telling you of their accomplishments and skills. They love education. They love teaching. They love students. They get it.
While I was in St. Louis I sought out a 5k to run. I found two. I talked two of my family members into going to an evening glow run. So, Saturday I got up early and ran a 5k at 8:00 a.m. I showered and attended the conference. At 8 p.m. Saturday evening we joined a bunch of college students for a glow run complete with glow sticks. My family members got a bit lost in the dark park but that turned out to be a good thing because it meant they were waiting at the finish line for me and I can't tell you how it made me smile to see those two goofballs cheering me on. And, I'm pretty sure that's the first time I won my age division because I'm pretty sure I was the oldest one there. The race was sponsored by a student organization devoted to Music Therapy and we learned about their work and visited with students and somehow survived the damp cold that we weren't used to one bit.
My final session today before departing was about empathy in the classroom and how to build and develop a caring community. It was a great way to end the experience. Through connecting with my writing family, connecting with other educators, connecting with my running community, and connecting with a student organization I was able to marry those experiences with the topic of the session's speakers. Life is about connecting. We all need to feel connected. Writing can be a vehicle for connection and writing can be a method for examining different perspectives and different personal histories. This then allows all of us to understand and appreciate those around us. It allows us to reach out to those we may not have otherwise. Writing is promise and possibility in our classrooms.
I head home writing at 30,000 feet with a suitcase full of books, a heart full of memories, and a head full of ideas for things I can't wait to share with my students. I am blessed beyond measure.
There are many thoughts I leave with to take back and mull over. Some are writing related and some are life related and aren't those interwoven anyway? I traveled with my writing family. I love this family we've built. I don't think you could put four more different people together yet it works. We complement each other and we forgive each other and we laugh at each other. We share inside jokes and deep secrets and we feel safe doing so. We are open to each other's shortcomings and celebrate each other's strengths. There is such an ease when I'm with them. This is the family that allows me to be vulnerable in my life and in my writing. Kylene Beers reminded me this week that the hardest part of teaching writing to our students is being vulnerable in front of them. My family allows that for me. I am so lucky to have them. I could write an entire blog for each of them detailing what they've added to my life and telling you of their accomplishments and skills. They love education. They love teaching. They love students. They get it.
While I was in St. Louis I sought out a 5k to run. I found two. I talked two of my family members into going to an evening glow run. So, Saturday I got up early and ran a 5k at 8:00 a.m. I showered and attended the conference. At 8 p.m. Saturday evening we joined a bunch of college students for a glow run complete with glow sticks. My family members got a bit lost in the dark park but that turned out to be a good thing because it meant they were waiting at the finish line for me and I can't tell you how it made me smile to see those two goofballs cheering me on. And, I'm pretty sure that's the first time I won my age division because I'm pretty sure I was the oldest one there. The race was sponsored by a student organization devoted to Music Therapy and we learned about their work and visited with students and somehow survived the damp cold that we weren't used to one bit.
My final session today before departing was about empathy in the classroom and how to build and develop a caring community. It was a great way to end the experience. Through connecting with my writing family, connecting with other educators, connecting with my running community, and connecting with a student organization I was able to marry those experiences with the topic of the session's speakers. Life is about connecting. We all need to feel connected. Writing can be a vehicle for connection and writing can be a method for examining different perspectives and different personal histories. This then allows all of us to understand and appreciate those around us. It allows us to reach out to those we may not have otherwise. Writing is promise and possibility in our classrooms.
I head home writing at 30,000 feet with a suitcase full of books, a heart full of memories, and a head full of ideas for things I can't wait to share with my students. I am blessed beyond measure.
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