Keeping Focus
This was a week of ups and downs. Today I am not willing to dwell on the things that were upsetting or irritating. Instead, I'm celebrating a couple small successes I'd like to remember.
This is my chosen motto for November. I need to remember to be diligent on where I put my time and attention. This week I found myself getting off-track needlessly, and it didn't produce good results.
However, there were some good moments as well.
A True Writer
Every now and then a student shows up in my creative writing class who really has the chops. This year it is a girl named Monroe -- a 6th grader. When most students are turning in clumps of nonsensical stories with nary a hint of punctuation, Monroe presented me with an 8-page story perfectly written and nearly perfectly punctuated. In addition, the story included a girl who was actually an alien. Monroe found an "alien translator" online, and included it in her story. Look in the middle of this block of text:
I told Monroe I hope she will come back to creative writing class in the rest of her years at CLMS and share more of her awesome writing skills. A real inspiration, that girl!
Letters
My reading classes are continuing with The Bridge Home, the Global Read Aloud, and three classes are pen pals with classes in Indianapolis. The students were to write letters to introduce themselves, describe some things they like to do, and then talk about their favorite character in the book.
In my 8th period I have a 7th grader I'll call Theresa. She is extremely quiet, takes her time with her work, and in general is a wallflower in class. When I gave the writing assignment out, I told them they could handwrite or type. Most kids typed their letter.
But not Theresa. She wrote nearly a full page (some kids barely got 5 sentences, even with typing.) She came up to me, saying how much her hand hurt from writing, but very excited to share her letter. In fact, she was bubbling over so much she started telling me what she wrote rather than letting me read it. She told all about her family, pets, and the family business -- a nail salon. Her excitement over writing a letter to a totally unknown person floored me. I now know her mode is writing. She is probably not going to be one to speak out. But put a pencil in her hand, give her a topic she is passionate about, and wow! I'm looking forward to the day she (and the rest of the classes) receive letters back. For a generation that knows little about this kind of communication, it is a delicious surprise.
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