The Sunrise Story

Questions: What should I write today? What does success look like to me? Why are does everything move so fast? Why does life seem endlessly busy with all of our modern conveniences? How do we fix this? What book is your favorite? How are there people who don't read? Why are we sad and stressed and overwhelmed? How do I stay healthy when everything is dangerous? What information do I trust? How do I make things better? What do I do now? Questions & Answers: What should I write today? This. What does success look like to me? A life filled with JOY and LOVE. Why are does everything move so fast? Breathe and take it all in. How is life busier with all of our modern conveniences? More to manage, more to do. How do we fix this?  Be mindful. What book are you reading now? The Sun is Also a Star. How are there people who don't read? This I will never understand. Why are we sad and stressed and overwhelmed? Everyone has a story. How...

On this rainy Saturday morning, I celebrate my student writers who have found their voices and share them with the world. They inspire me. They make me smile. They are worth celebrating! Here is a "rant" written by Jenna. Some of my sixth graders love to write rants about things that are frustrating to them. They LOVE sharing their rants! Adhithi is new to our classroom and she wrote this beautiful poem about scars. This is one that's stayed with me. Powerful! Sophie's notebook pages always make me smile! It's like I can see the evidence of her thinking ON the page! Remember those rants? Laurie is the student who started writing and sharing rants. I asked her to write a "How To" about ranting and this is what she shared with me yesterday. I offer it to you here. She has found her voice and I love how she encourages others to find their own!    We love watching "Kid President" videos. The genius b...

The title is from my favorite Anne Lamott book, "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" . I first read this book in the mid-nineties when it was first published. This book, along with "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg, served as my writing bible when I was in graduate school. This was the first time I remember thinking, "I love writing." And wondering, "Could I be a writer?"  Her story, her words...changed my life. As she wrote, I read and read. I shared. I listened. It was a relationship between me and the story. Her storytelling is brilliant, funny, real, and powerful. I can't stay away, so when I heard that she was speaking thirty miles away from me, I HAD to go.  Tickets purchased. Directions scouted. Plans made. I attended alone. It's how one should always meet a hero. The drive, though only thirty miles, took almost two hours...DC traffic! I could hardly wait! The venue was beautiful. I grabbed...

April is poetry month. I love poetry, even though I've had a troubled past with poetry in school. The words never showed me the same meaning that they showed to everyone else. Instead of celebrating my creativity and original viewpoint, instead of asking me how I came to that conclusion, I was told that I was wrong. This professor told me, "That's not what the poet meant." She wrote it on papers. I felt like I was never able to really get it. That feeling of ineptitude continues to live deep inside of me, even though my love for poetry is stronger. Sometimes, I feel like a fraud when it comes to poetry. I fear being told how wrong I am. It's like that professor was trying to come between me and poetry, instead of creating a true love for us. I was there and willing to do the work. This professor taught me a valuable lesson. Building the passion and love for reading and writing is my most important job as a teacher. When students love books and words, ...