When We Make Reading a Competition

Unlike most of my family members, I am not a competitive person.  Competition does not motivate me, nor does it make me attempt anything with more effort. However, I know the same cannot be said by others, even some of my students. It seems like intrinsic motivation is becoming more difficult to find in my classroom.

I ask why? Why do my students expect something in return for their educational progress? Why isn't learning something new worth their time and effort?

With the first grading period recently ending for many of us, I began to see prizes or rewards or incentives being doled out for reading. I saw the results of reading becoming a competition.

I know that competition motivates some students. But when reading becomes a competition, we do not create lifelong readers. We create students who get to go eat lunch with the principal or go on a special field trip or get a pizza.

When reading becomes a competition, our students have their eyes on the prize, not the lifelong rewards of being a reader.

When reading becomes a competition, we create winners and losers.

And when it comes to reading, no one should ever be labeled a loser.

When we hear experts in the field say that volume matters, and then we hear teachers who make reading a competition say, "But look how much they are reading" how do we defend that? Because in some convoluted way, they are correct - students are reading.

Yes, we want students to read voluminously. Yes, we know a relationship exists between reading volume and reading achievement. But when we attach reading volume to a competition, no one wins.

For many well-meaning teachers, this is the way they have learned to motivate readers. I don't blame them for their efforts.

If you are a reader of my blog, or a Twitter follower, then I know we have many of the same values and ideas. Let's try to encourage these teachers to try something different. Let them know that...

When we talk about books, we create intrigue and curiosity.

When we live and share a reading life, we show students how reading can change us.

When we share the joy of reading, students have a better chance of becoming lifelong readers.

And isn't THAT the ultimate prize?

What's In Your Backpack?

There are times when I read a book, it makes me think. It makes me cry. It makes me wonder. It makes me want to do something.

Then there are times I read a book while other thoughts in my life are pushing through, and somehow the two things become connected and become life-changing.

I recently read Through the Cracks by Patti Bell. This book tells the story of a young girl in the late 1990's who suffered abuse from her father, a doctor, and her stepmother, a nurse. The abuse was reported by the girl's teacher. But nothing was done.

When the parents began to feel threatened, they would move.  And move again, making it difficult for the state to track them.

Sadly, the abuse continued with their second child and ended in murder.  The abuse, which came from medical professionals who had taken an oath to protect and take care of people, was so horrific, I can't even begin to tell about it.

The book tells the story of the teacher's suspicions; the reports she made, which were ignored by the very system that was supposed to protect children; and the testimony and events of the murder trial.  It tells the story of the sweet little girl who fell through the cracks.

The story began in my own hometown.

Tonight, on the eve of my 12th year of teaching, this story continues to haunt me.  As I see commercials and advertisements for school supplies, I can't help but wonder what is really in my students' backpacks.  Yes, they come with supplies, but they also carry in those same backpacks abuse, poverty, homelessness, loss, and responsibilities too heavy for young people.

After reading this book, I wonder if I have ever missed a sign. Would I see the signs? Have I had a student who was living the same life of these poor girls in this book?  We, as teachers, have such an important responsibility. We not only are responsible for their learning, but so much more.

I have thought a lot about Mrs. Bell and the relationship she had with Danielle, the oldest child and the first to be abused. I truly believe it was this relationship that saved her life.  She knew something was wrong. Mrs. Bell saw what was in Danielle's "backpack" and acted on her instincts. Sadly, it was not enough to save Danielle's sister.

As my students arrive this year and as we begin our year of learning together, I know this book and these two girls will continue to linger in my mind.  Their stories will challenge me to look inside my students' backpacks.  And maybe, just maybe, challenge me to lighten their load.

Lessons from the Student Seat ~ Length Requirements

Almost a year ago, I became a student again. At that time, I had no idea how sitting in the student seat would impact my teaching. It wasn't because I was a learner once again because I continually think and learn in order to improve my teaching. I think all good teachers should do this.

But it was about placing myself in my students' shoes and being where they are. It was about doing the hard part.  And there are many hard parts to being a student. In these next few blog posts, I hope to share with you lessons I have learned about being a teacher while sitting in the student seat.


As I began my first assignment, I quickly questioned whether I had made the wrong decision.  Was I crazy? Could I really do this?  Learning again in this capacity was something new.  It was uncomfortable. It was down right hard.

I decided the only way to tackle this challenge was to just jump in. I began the first assignment, began to read the material in order to show my competency, and began to write the paper.

It wasn't long before this question camp up, "I wonder how long this needs to be?" I almost laughed out loud because how many times have we heard this question from our own students? It could be the number of words in a sentence, the number of sentences in a paragraph, or the number of paragraphs in a piece...but they always ask!

I began to think about my quick, though not effective, response to this question.  Many times I would answer with exasperation, "It needs to be as long as it takes to tell your story" or "However long it takes for you to get your ideas across."

Those responses that I have given my students over and over again were not comforting me now as a student. Not only do my students ask the length question, but I asked it too.  But why do we ask it?

The fear of the unknown.  For each of my classes, I had a template in which to write my paper. I knew the structure, but I was still unsure of what I was doing. I was writing about an unfamiliar topic - curriculum theories, and that was scary. When our students begin a piece of writing, many times they have no idea of  where it is going. Some may feel the need to just write while others need to follow a certain set of guidelines for a particular genre or an assignment. Even when we read mentor texts, have a template, or see the structure or the length of a piece of writing, the fear of the unknown still exists.

The fear of being wrong. In my graduate class, I was writing for a grade or to show my competency in this area. Of course I wanted to pass! The fear of the unknown is coupled with the fear of being wrong. We want to get it right or to get a good grade or to pass the class. For my middle school students and the emphasis on grades, getting it right is a legitimate fear.

Because I have been sitting in the student seat again, I have reflected on why we ask this question. Yes, we have kids who want to know the length so they can write the bare minimum and not put in any extra work. I am not completely naive!  But for some, it could be the fear of the unknown and the fear of being wrong.

For me, the length of the writing gave me a known value and a goal to reach - the first assignment was to be 12-15 pages. There was comfort in  knowing that it needed to be a certain length. It made me feel like if I hit a certain length, I was on track. This length also gave me the security that it was right because I knew at least one of the expectations.

This doesn't mean that I will begin giving my students a required length, but I will think differently about how I answer the question. As we begin to write next year, I want my students to know that writing takes us in many different directions, and there is no set path on how to get there.

Using more guiding questions such as "Where do you want this piece to go?"  "Is there more you want to say?"  "Will your reader understand your message?" will hopefully eliminate the need for "How long does this have to be?"

Where Have All the Readers Gone? #sol18

Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we share a slice of life every single day in the month of March.

Last week our high school newspaper shared this survey.

This is alarming.

This is scary.

This is so, so wrong.

As someone who is a literacy advocate and who promotes independent reading, I am confounded. I don't see how this (no matter how unscientific and unreliable the results may be) can be acceptable to any English teacher.

This survey led me to reflect on my own beliefs about independent reading and how those beliefs affect my students. It also makes me wonder where have all the readers gone?

I believe...

• if we talk about books, students will read
• if we have well-stocked classroom libraries, students will read
• if we place independent reading at the center of our classrooms, students will read
• if we give students choice, students will read
• if we limit whole class novels, students will read
• if we make reading a social activity, students will read
• if we, as teachers, read what our students read, students will read

Usually, what we expect, is what we get. 

Opening Minds - A Teacher Study

A group of colleagues and I are reading and discussing Opening Minds by Peter Johnston.    This book is about how our words impact our students.  The purpose of this book study is to help us focus on growth mindset, and I am certain that it will.  But this first chapter gave me much to think about not only as a teacher, but also as a learner.

I believe that I have a professional responsibility to be the best teacher I can be.  I try hard not to criticize or judge those who accept the status quo, do not partake in professional development, or become stagnant in their teaching practices. That is their choice, and who am I to judge? (Ok, maybe I did judge a little there.)

Instead, I choose to share my learning and to encourage others to seek out opportunities to learn. Reading this first chapter made me think about opening my own mind as a teacher.

I believe I owe it to my students, my colleagues, and my profession to be a learner and to hone my craft as a teacher.

The book opens with a short vignette about a teacher who admits she has made a mistake. Johnston explains that by admitting mistakes, we level the "power difference between teacher and students" (pg. 3).

Students need to see that we are not perfect, and we should not desire an image of perfection.  But as I read further, my thinking turned inward.  How often are we, as teachers, allowed to make mistakes?  When we have a mark of not meeting expectations or ineffective on our evaluations, do we see this as an opportunity for growth?  Or do we see it as failure?  Do administrators allow us to make mistakes and turn them into learning opportunities?  Or do they see us ineffective?

Another take-away from this chapter is that if they(we) don't understand that making a mistake does not mean they(we) are "incompetent, stupid, or not a good person" then "they will not be able to risk taking on learning challenges for fear of making mistakes" (pg. 3).  How often do we, as teachers, risk taking on new learning challenges?  How many teachers even see themselves as learners?  How does this view impact our classrooms?  Our teaching?

If we don't see ourselves as learners and risk taking on learning challenges, how can we even begin to project and instill that image to our students?

I look forward to learning more in the chapters ahead.  If you have read Opening Minds, please feel free to share your thoughts.

Reflection

Digilit Sunday

Today I am participating in Digital Learning Sunday with Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche.  This week Margaret has encouraged us to write about reflection.

Today, September 11th, seems to be the perfect day for reflection.  I, as I am sure all of you, remember exactly what I was doing the day of the terrorist attack.  I was a stay-at-home mom at the time.  Megan was a 3rd grader, and Ethan was in pre-school. My sister-in-law was staying at my in-laws who lived next door.  She came running over, telling me to turn on the television.  And I was glued to it the rest of the day and into the night.

Our world has been forever changed.  During those next few days, months, and even years, many people reflected on our country's patriotism and our faith in each other, our country and our God.  Reflection came to the forefront through this tragedy.

As a teacher, reflection is as routine as planning lessons.  It is a part of the daily process.  As a writer, reflection is a common thread woven throughout my writing.  It's what I do.

These beginning weeks of school, I have come to realize that many of my students do not know what true reflection is.  Many of them can write opinions, can summarize text and answer text based questions, but writing how they are affected or what they learned through an experience or by reading a text, escapes some of them.  

I have to ask myself, is this a product of the testing culture?  Are we stifling students' ability to connect with a text? Are we giving them a chance to express emotions when reading a text or to write how this reading has affected them?  Are we asking them to think beyond the evidence?  Is prompt writing so ingrained in them, that reflection is foreign to them?

Or have we, as teachers, not taught them how to reflect and given them the opportunity to try it out.

These are questions I am reflecting on as I learn more about my students as writers.  But I don't want to wait for a tragedy to create reflective writers.

I assign an article of the week each week.  Part of the assignment is some type of writing, mostly standard-based. This week after reading and studying examples, they are to write a reflection paragraph (we are starting slow).  This will be their first one, so I have to keep in mind this piece is a benchmark and my goal is to see them grow as writers.

I plan to move into digital reflection through blogging, Padlet, and Google Slides.  Finding an outlet for reflection that meets their needs will be a key part in motivating them. 

I know I have lots of teaching and modeling to do, and I know they need lots of practice.  

I hope to use my own reflections from reading Katherine Bomer's new book, The Journey is Everything to help them become writers who better understand themselves, each other, and the world in which we live.  

To me, that is the essence of reflection.
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#TheEdCollabGathering

Digilit Sunday

I have participated just a few times in Digital Learning Sunday with Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche.  Today, Margaret has called those who participated in the #TheEdCollabGathering to share our reflections.

My school district has been grappling with professional development.  They are trying to find the best ways to engage teachers in topics we find relevant to our teaching. This is not an easy task.

I have always believed that we learn best from each other.  Teachers are busy, and we do not always have the time to share and collaborate with each other.  Teachers need the time to share ideas and what works in our own classrooms.  We need the time to learn from each other.

And that is exactly what I did on Saturday.  But not with the teachers from my own district.  It was with teachers from all over the country.

Saturday was a beautiful, yet very windy day, here in southern Indiana, but I spent the day glued to my computer and iPad, immersed in the PD provided by Christopher Lehman and the The Educator Collaborative. I have tried to summarize my learning to keep this blog post concise, but this was not easy because the learning was amazing.

Session #4 Let Them Read:  Independent Reading at the Secondary Level by Heather Rocco and Chatham teachers  The teachers in this English department made it a goal to place independent reading as a priority.  They shared how independent reading looks in their classroom through the why, the structure, the assessment and the community building.  My biggest take-away from this session is the importance of the whole department making independent reading a priority.  Yes, I will always place reading high in my classroom, but it is to no avail if teachers in the following years do not support it.

Session #7 - Crafting Details:  Teaching Students to Elaborate and Add Details with Roz Linder.  Roz has a new book out, The Big Book of Details, which teaches how to be specific when we tell students to "add more details."  She showed several craft moves such as "Right in the Middle" where students add details as appositive phrases.  I will be ordering this book very soon.  My biggest take-away is that we need to use explicit strategies when teaching students how to add details.

Session #12 - Choice as the Keystone in Secondary English Classes with Amy Rasmussen and Shana Karnes. I want to teach like these two teachers - a true workshop classroom.  This session felt like a conversation I would have with Amy and Shana after school in my classroom about choice, classroom libraries, and conferences with students.  My biggest take-away from this session is that compliance is not always engagement.  Choice must be a part of the culture in my classroom, and it is not too late in the school year to starting adding elements of choice.

Session #14 - Maximize Independent Writing Time by Creating Conferring Toolkits  with Two Writing Teachers  I lingered a little in this session, but I did not stay because it tugged at my elementary heart, and I am now a middle school teacher.  The needs of middle school writers are different, yet I still think I can create a middle school conferring toolbox.  

Closing Session - The Right Tool for the Job with Kate Roberts and Maggie Beattie Roberts  Kate and Maggie's new book is DIY Literacy which is all about using tools to help students.  My biggest take-away from this session is the demonstration notebook, and I immediately put a sketchbook on my Walmart list.  I see so many areas where this notebook can not only help me, but also help my students.  Kate and Maggie have started a new video series about these tools, and their first one features the demonstration notebooks.

At the beginning of their session, Kate said, "This day is a testament to our profession."  What other profession has over 10,000 people spending the day together to become better at what they do and to learn from each other?  

Today was PD at its best, and today makes me proud to be a teacher.

Celebrate Turn #21

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. 

Today I celebrate pencils.

Some of you may think this is an odd celebration.  I would too, if I hadn't heard Ruth's presentation at nErDcamp in Michigan this week.

I know I can never adequately summarize her presentation.  Because I was hanging on her every word, I did not take great notes.  So just let me tell you about my take-away from her session.

My teaching team has two different views on what to do when students come to class without a pencil.  Some think we are not teaching students to be responsible if we constantly give a pencil to students who come to class without one. Some teachers do not want to continuously replenish their stock of pencils because they have given students all of their supply.

Then others think, how are they supposed to do the work if they do not have a pencil.

I have always belonged to camp "give them a pencil."  Now after hearing Ruth's presentation, I still have the belief but with a different perspective.

Ruth explained that students' basic needs to be met before creativity, or specifically writing, can happen.  She showed a jar of colored pencils which represented  their many different stories, unique stories full of color which need to be written.

She then had us list behaviors we see when students do not want to write.  For example, staring out the window, fake writing, erasing everything they wrote because it was not perfect, and not having a pencil.  She wrote each one of these behaviors on a piece of tape and slowly began placing them on the jar so that we could no longer see their "stories."

Ruth then explained that these behaviors can represent an unmet need, a need we may never know about or a need we choose to ignore.

These behaviors cover up the stories which reside inside of them - the stories they may never write and we may never read.

If we can recognize this behavior, we can change our reaction.  

When we change our reaction, we give them hope.

Think about your reactions when a student does not have a pencil.  Maybe now you understand why...

Today I celebrate pencils.

Just for clarification...these are words from Ruth's presentation.  I in no way want to be given credit for them.  This post is validation and celebration that I am doing the right thing by giving students pencils.

What Kind of Teacher Am I?

This is a series of blog posts I hope to write over the summer to reflect on my first year as a 6th grade middle school language arts teacher.  Donalyn Miller said this week at nErDcampMI, teachers need to be reflective.  This is my attempt. 

I went to this UNconference with my teacher-friend, Kristen.  It was a six hour drive, so we had a lot of time for our own "car PD."  We talked about new ideas we wanted to add, changes we wanted to make, and basically tried to solve the world's educational problems.

During one of our conversations, we talked about the teachers who kids do not want to have.  I looked at her and said, "I don't ever want to be the teacher who kids don't want."

I have been thinking about this since our discussion.  I do not need to be the cool teacher.  I mean, I am 50+ years old for crying out loud.  Nobody's cool at 50 in the eyes of a middle schooler.

I do not have to be liked.  The world is full of people we do not like, but we all must learn to get along.

I began to think about what I want students to remember about me and the time they spent in my classroom.

She...

helped me when I was confused and 

celebrated when I finally understood

pushed me when I needed challenged and

smiled when I pushed myself 

respected me when my behavior didn't meet her expectation and

praised me when I did it right

avoided overusing the red pen and

gave me positive feedback when I wrote something well

understood when I didn't have time to read and

handed me a book that was "just for me" when I needed one

but most of all...

she cared about me when I felt no one else did

Does Your Classroom Show What You Value?

This is a series of blog posts I hope to write over the summer to reflect on my first year as a 6th grade middle school language arts teacher.  Teaching is hard.  Reflecting on teaching is even harder.  Reflecting points out my mistakes and flaws, but encourages change; it highlights my successes, yet motivates me to become better.

Does your classroom show what you value?

Last winter my principal came into my classroom with a consultant for our middle and high schools.  When my principal introduced us, he said, "Can you tell she likes books?"

He could not have paid me a higher compliment.  I want people to enter my classroom and immediately know what I value.  But what else does my classroom say about me?  

I value books and reading.  I have a rather large classroom library, and I display books everywhere.  I share my own reading life with my students by displaying books I have read and what I am currently reading on our classroom door.  Reading is who I am.

I value talk and collaboration.  I have my desks in pods or groups, not in rows.  I use turn and talk many times throughout my lessons and class discussions, and I think arranging my room this way invites talk.  This is important to me.

I value visible student thinking.  I use anchor charts, not store-bought educational charts, to build a literacy culture.  I use anchor charts to record the content and strategies I am teaching and the processes of student thinking.  Anchor charts keep current learning accessible to students and provide an anchor for new learning.  Because anchor charts are created by students, they have more ownership in their learning.  My anchor charts are my classroom wallpaper.

As I start to set up my classroom for next year, I want to look at it with new eyes.  I want to see if my classroom really shows what I value.  If I walked in your classroom, what would I see?  What do you value?

A Reflection on College and Career Ready

This is a series of blog posts I hope to write over the summer to reflect on my first year as a 6th grade middle school language arts teacher.  Teaching is hard.  Reflecting on teaching is even harder.  Reflecting points out my mistakes and flaws, but encourages change; it highlights my successes, but motivates me to become better.

I had a conversation with a former student this week.  To protect the student's identity, I will call him Dylan.  He was on his way to sign up for classes are our local college.  Prior to registration, he had to take a test which placed him in remedial classes.  These results insinuated that he was not "college and career ready."  He was not pleased, and neither was his mother.

He asked me, "I graduated from high school, why am I not in college level classes?"

To me this seemed like a logical question.  Because I know this student quite well, I know his work ethic is not the strongest.  I also know his lack of effort brought him to where he is now.  But this conversation also left me with many unanswered questions.

Who is to blame for this?  I would like to say it is all his, but I don't think the blame solely lies on him.

Are the parents to blame?  Did they push him to do his best?  Did they let him take the easy way out because it would be easier than fighting him?

Is the school to blame?  Can a student go four years to high school and not have any red flags surface?  Should teachers be obligated to contact the parents and say, "Hey, I don't think your child is giving his best."  Or, "I am worried your child may not be college or career ready."

Is our testing environment to blame?  Are we starting to see the damaging effects on the students in the "testing generation?"  Did he just say I have had enough testing, and I don't care any more?

Are colleges and universities to blame?  Are students being forced to take remedial classes so that colleges can make more money by requiring students to take more classes?

I don't know the answers, but I do know this experience has given me something to think about.  I now have a different view about the students who will be sitting in my classroom this August.  I know I will have many "Dylans" looking at me, waiting for me to help them as they start their middle school years.  They may only be 6th graders, but this is the beginning.  I have a huge responsibility.

The next few weeks I will be asking myself many questions, reflecting on changes I need to make in order to help my students think about being college and career ready.  

Maybe my first question should be, just what is college and career ready?  

Who's Responsible?

This is a series of blog posts I hope to write over the summer to reflect on my first year as a 6th grade middle school language arts teacher.  Teaching is hard.  Reflecting on teaching is even harder.  Reflecting points out my mistakes and flaws, but encourages change; it highlights my successes, but motivates me to become better.

I am in a quandary, a dilemma, a state of confusion.  Hopefully writing about it will help me to think through the situation and find some answers.

As a first year middle school language arts teacher, I felt adapting was fairly easy, with one exception - the lack of effort or the lack of responsibility of students completing assignments on time.  It was common to have 20-25 students out of 100 to have missing assignments or late work.  In other classes, that number was even higher.  Regardless of the subject area, it was a common problem throughout the entire grade level.

I have read many articles and blog posts about teachers teaching responsibility and about assessing the learning or growth.  Unfortunately, reading them has left me with more questions than answers.

I know some of my students will not go on to college, but will be searching for jobs right out high school.  Being responsible is important in the workplace.  If they cannot be responsible now, how will they be 8 to 10 years from now?  Will they arrive for work on time?  Will they complete a task given to them?  These questions concern me and cause me to reflect on how I handled late or missing work.

So, here are the questions I am wrangling with and trying to answer so that I do not find myself in the same situation as last year.

Should students be penalized for late work?  If so, what should the penalty or consequence be?

Is learning the only significant outcome of the assignment?

Is it fair to those students who turn in work on time to give full credit to students who consistently turn in work late?  Is it fair to allow extra time?

If I do accept late work, should there be a time limit for turning in late work?

Am I enabling irresponsibility for not setting higher expectations?

Is it my job to teach responsibility when parents fail to do so?

I would love to have your insight on this situation.  My colleagues and I are discussing possible solutions to our problem, but I am just unsure of the right answer.

How do you handle late or missing work?

My Year in Books

I will always remember 2014 as the year my reading life changed.  I have always been a reader, but this year was different.  After being introduced to Donalyn Miller, Colby Sharp, Mr. Schu and many others on Twitter, I think you can understand why.

Reading books the year they were published was never a priority for me.  But this year, I was determined to read the Newbery before the awards this winter.  I have never done this.  Heck, I never really paid much attention to when they were published.  I just read books that were in Scholastic or that I found at our library. Being on Twitter made me want to read them this year.  It became an obsession.  I guess book obsession makes me an official member of The Nerdy Book Club!

This year I read 32 middle grade novels published in 2014.  And yes, I think I have read the Newbery winner.  Here are my top picks in no particular order with the exception of this first one.

My first novel of 2014 was A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd.

I love this book!  If you could open my heart, you would still see lines etched from this book.  In my opinion, this book is just as deserving and beautifully written as others that are being discussed as Newbery worthy.  

"Lonely," I said.  "I see it all the time, mostly in school and in church and in malls and driving down the road.  Always the places where the most people are.  Isn't that weird?"

I never wanted to forget all the ways we were connected that day:  By our shadows and sunlight.  By pounding hearts and a starry maybe.

"Forgetting people you love is impossible.  It'd be like forgetting how to breathe."

I once referred the reading of this book to a first kiss.  It was magical, and one I will never forget.  I remember the time, the place and the stirring in my heart as I read it.

Now the rest of my top picks in no particular order.

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler

Auggie is a spunky character I won't soon forget.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

This book reminds me of my grandma - enough said without spoiling the story!

The Riverman by Aaron Starmer

This book left me with more questions than answers.  

I can't wait for The Whisper on March 17th.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Simply beautiful.

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana

Heartfiction - my favorite genre

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

For someone who doesn't like fantasy, I was enthralled with this book.

Crossover by Kwane Alexander

I love when books have a moment where you 

stop breathing and become part of the story.  

This book had one of those moments for me.

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Heartfiction, again my favorite genre, with an important story.

I still have several other books I need to read before the awards are announced.  The year 2014 was a great year for middle grade literature.  From what I am hearing from that list of people in the beginning of my post, 2015 looks like it will be another great year of reading.

Happy New Year and as always - Happy Reading!

Looking Back

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life. Read more slices or add you own here.

It is the time to look back and reflect on 2014.  It is hard to believe that another year has gone by.

My word for 2014 was REACH, and what a year of reaching it was for me.  This year brought many high points along with some very low ones.  

A special Christmas gift from my friend and colleague, Kristen.

I wrote here that I wanted to reach out to others, reach out of my comfort zone and reach out to make my life bigger.  And I did just that.

On a personal note, my children have reached that adult or almost an adult stage in life.  My son started a band and is beginning to reach out through his music.  My daughter will be student teaching in six days.  She is reaching that culmination point of her education.  My role as their mother has changed.  Still important but just different.  Reaching this point of parenthood has been filled with many emotions. 

I found out in January that Twitter was an extension of my arms, reaching out to teachers across the country.  The connections I have made through blogging and tweeting were celebrated in June when I went to AllWrite! and met Ruth, Elsie, Linda, Christy, Kim, MaryHelen, Jen, and Katherine. (I apologize if I missed anyone.  I can't find the picture!)  

I have grown as a teacher, a reader, a writer and as a person simply by reaching out into this community of friends.

Reaching out of my comfort zone is always a challenge.  Presenting PD's to colleagues was one the most difficult things I did as a teacher.  This type of PD is not well received here yet, but I tried to reach out and share my experiences.  I am still reaching because last night I tweeted to all of our schools that I want to have a Twitter party.  So many of them are missing out on so much.  I want to show them what Twitter can offer - no takers yet!

I also reached out and wrote two posts for the Nerdy Book Club.  That was scary because I admire and respect so many of the people involved in that endeavor.  They are my rock stars!  You can read those here and here.

Twice I had to reach deep and try to understand why people do the things they do. Two people who I respected, made some wrong decisions which hurt many people. Forgiving is hard.  I learned that when we put people up on pedestals, it makes it that much farther when they fall.  

This year I changed schools and grade levels.  Making this change was not something I had planned or even thought about.  I assumed I would teach 4th grade for the remainder of my teaching career.  After moving to 6th grade, I know this was the right decision.  I miss my teacher friends from my previous school, but being able to reach out and form relationships with "almost-teenagers" has been an incredible experience.  

I also started the Next Chapter Book Club here in my hometown.  Starting this club was something I had wanted to do for quite some time. It became a reality this year and has been such a blessing.  We are currently reading I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, and sharing my love of reading with them is reaching beyond boundaries. You can read about it here.  (I hope to share my group with you in a few weeks.)

Choosing one word to live by for the year also has ties of faith for me.  I wanted to reach out and become closer to God.  I have had mixed feelings on writing about that on this blog.  I wanted this blog to be more of my life as a teacher, a reader, and a writer.  Because of this and because of my desire to include my faith in my one little word, I have decide to start another blog.  I will include my Spiritual Journey Thursday posts with Holly Mueller and other new adventures.  The name of the new blog is tied in with my one little word for 2015.  I am so excited about this new adventure and will share it some time this week.

I still have one goal that I did not reach this year, but moving grade levels prohibited that.  Hopefully when I have a year of teaching middle school under my belt, I can still REACH out of my comfort zone while reaching others and making my life even bigger!  We will see.

If you are still thinking about choosing one word to guide you through the new year, you might want to check out my post from yesterday.  It has some thoughts from Jon Gordon's book.

Another year has gone by.  It was an exceptional year for me.  I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring.