When Your Brain Hurts at a PD 3/31

The first Tuesday of each month, we have professional development sessions. In one of our sessions today, we had to complete a self-assessment of our classroom management. I am all for reflections and self-assessments for my students and myself.

However, trying to read the packet in a room full of teachers who are talking becomes difficult for this old brain. I was having to think too much, and the talking was a distraction. I was actually thinking, "How in the world are they answering these questions with all this noise? How could they even think?"

I inconspicuously (one of our roots this week!) pressed my fingers against my ears and tried to really focus on these three sentences:

1. I provide frequent, specific, and immediate contingent acknowledgement for following classroom expectations.
2. I use multiple systems to acknowledge expected behavior (teacher reaction, individual and group contingencies).
3. I use differential reinforcement to acknowledge effort, successive approximations, and behavioral improvement.

What in the world did all this mean? How am I supposed to rate this when I don't understand it? At the end of the day, too many big words and too many distractions left me with this thought," Just mark it low, and make it a goal!"

And that's just what I did!

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Dear Students SOL #14

 Dear Students,

I walked down the hall today and saw this sign on our Student of the Week board. It made me sad because it is not the first time I have seen it this year. But it also made me reflect on my role as your reading teacher.

You were in first grade when we left for Spring Break and never came back. Much has happened since then. Students have changed; teachers have changed. 

I have noticed that we don't have the reading and writing stamina that we once had. Distractions have increased, and our motivation has decreased.

It is not just you; it is also me.

If you had me as a teacher a few years ago, you would have seen me excited about books. You would have heard me talk about books almost every single day. You and I would have conversations about the books you were reading.

I would have recommended more books, given you more time in class to read, and sat down with you reader to reader.

And I would never have seen this sign. 

I have eight more weeks with you, and I hope to find that reading teacher I once was and know I can become again. I have stacks of books waiting this week for me to pick them up, read them, and share them with all of you. 

Spring Break, here I come!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eck

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

A Saturday Morning Blessing

Moving my way down the aisle at the grocery store, I see a family trying to corral a toddler. As she climbs on top of the stocked cases of pop, her mom grabs her, tickling her. Dad looks at me and moves on. Then turns around and says, "You were one of my teachers."

Of course, he is a grown man and looks nothing like a 4th grader, so I say, "Ok, you are going to have to tell me who you are because you have obviously changed since I had you in school."

He tells me his name, and my face lights up. When I ask him if this is his family, he introduces me and tells me what he is doing. My heart flips and flops as I look at him with so much admiration. He is in the army and stationed in Georgia, due to get out next summer. He will have a degree in criminology and wants to come back here and work on the sheriff's department. His wife is working on her master's degree in social work. 

This is a student who came from some very hard places. He saw things as a child that no child should ever see. His mother was a meth addict and was in and out jail so many times. He was exposed to domestic violence and was eventually raised by his grandfather. He was one of those students who you just prayed would somehow break away from those chains. He struggled in school, but he knew school was the safest place he could be.

I wished him luck and thanked him for stopping and saying something to me.

Leaving the store that day, my heart was smiling. Those are the success stories we as teachers love to hear and what makes teaching have a purpose beyond the ABCs and the 1,2,3s.

What a Saturday morning blessing!

  

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating a space to share a small corner of my world.

My Teaching Life's Chapter Titles

I have been reading Inkwell:  Simple Writing Practices to Restore Your Soul by Anne Elrod Whitney. She writes and explains how writing practices can be a powerful tool to spiritual self-care. 

Although the book has you write about God's presence in your life, she clearly explains that "this book is for people of any faith, including people of no faith."

I am finding that it really is about self-reflection and looking deeper into the stories that surround us and the stories from which we are made.

One of the writing exercises is to imagine your life as a book with chapters. What would be the chapters be so far and what would be the title of each chapter? Create a table of contents by looking at your life as a series of stories and name the chapter titles.

Since I almost 60, I didn't want to write my life titles (that would be too daunting!). I thought I would try writing titles about my teaching life stories along with a one-sentence summary. These are like mini-slices and have the potential to become full ones.

1. You Mean I Have to Follow a Basal--My first year I taught 5th grade reading with a basal, and my students and I hated every minute of it.
2. The Book Whisperer--I read Donalyn Miller's book and my teaching life was changed forever.
3. All By Myself--I became one of those teachers who didn't do what everyone else did, which can be very lonely at times.
4. Disillusioned by Administration--I found out my principal, whom I respected and loved working for, made some bad decisions that negatively impacted our entire school and eventually was the reason why I left.
5. A New Home--I became a middle school ELA teacher and have never regretted making this move. 
6. You Believe in Me--My new principal was a teacher I worked with my first year of teaching, and he and the assistant principal still support my growth as a teacher.
7. Still Learning--I began presenting at conferences and joined online professional learning communities, and my teaching life changed once again.

Anne writes the next part is the hardest:  What might the next chapters be? And she is right. Being almost 60, I am beginning to wonder where I'm headed in my own teaching life. I still enjoy learning alongside my students and colleagues, but I know a stigma surrounds older teachers, especially in the eyes of students.

I brainstormed a list of next chapters, and these chapters weigh heavily on my mind.

• Do I Still Have It
• Still Lovin' It
• Reading, Writing, and Retirement

This exercise has been a deep reflection, and I want to think about this idea in my personal life. I hope you give it a try and let me know your life's chapter titles.

After participating in the Slice of Life March Challenge by Two Writing Teachers, I am continuing to write my stories with other teacher-writers as we share a slice of life on Tuesdays.

Pivot #SOL23

Pivot. 

Does this word take you back to 2020? Bring back memories? Make you shudder? 

This was the buzz word during the pandemic because it seems like every time we began to figure something out, we had to change what we were doing. Every time we became adept at juggling multiple balls in the air, we dropped one.

That was pivoting.

On Wednesday, that word came rushing to the forefront. 

We began our argumentative writing unit, and students were to begin researching. I was gone today and Friday, so I introduced the writing assignment on Wednesday, and my plans were made.

And then the Internet went out after two periods of the day. Teachers who were working online were scrambling trying to find ways to pivot.

My sub plans looked like a plate of scrambled eggs with two periods doing Wednesday's plans, four periods doing Friday's plans today, and then flipping that for tomorrow. 

All because of a slight disruption that made me pivot once again!

 

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

No More Libraries #SOL23

Sometimes I hear about decisions in different school systems that are made that leave me scratching my head. I know that teachers don't always know why the decisions are made or what factors beyond teacher control are a part of the decision. And I get that. 

Someone told me today about a decision that leaves me feeling very sad. Some schools are eliminating their librarians and school libraries. I heard that one principal allegedly said, "Libraries are becoming a thing of the past."

As a middle school reading teacher who has about 60% of her students not at proficiency and who has students who do not enjoy reading and who works who butt off to change that, I shudder at the thought of not having school libraries and librarians.

Are teachers wrong to question this decision? Should they be concerned? But most importantly, can they do anything about it?

 

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

Getting My Brave On #SOL23

When I look at my teaching career, I see many fingerprints of others embedded in my practices. Kelly Gallager, Penny Kittle, Ruth Ayres, and Donalyn Miller just to name a few.

But Donalyn Miller was the first. After my first year of teaching, I read The Book Whisperer and my teaching was forever changed. She affirmed what I believed as a young teacher and gave me the strength and knowledge to do something that no one else was doing or even believed was the right way to do things.

The first time I saw Donalyn in person was at the All Write conference in Warsaw, Indiana back in 2014. I am an introvert, so I was too intimidated to go and meet her. I then saw her present at NCTE in Houston and Baltimore. Again, I was not brave enough to introduce myself.

Social media has changed my teaching and has opened the door to many opportunities. It has helped me to come out of my shell a little when presented with opportunities to meet people in person.

Finally, last night this happened...it only took 10 years!

 

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

Life Equation #SOL23

   1 presentation - 4 days  =  lots of stress

not finished yet                     

I have had several deadlines this month...and yes I know it's only the 7th! This life equation is all the slice I have today as I continue to finish my slides for a presentation this weekend at Notre Dame!

 

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

A Time for Reflection

Reflection is a big part of my teaching life. I try to show my students the importance of reflection and how we can use that reflection to make changes in our learning, our growing, and our life.

We have two weeks left in our school year, so my students completed a year-end reflection on Friday. The questions range from reflecting on their own reading and writing life to ways I can make our classroom better to what was their favorite book. I use their answers to make adjustments to my own teaching practices and improvements to my classroom library.

As I was reading through their responses this morning, one in particular made me pause. If I had to describe this student, I would say she is rather shy, doesn't talk much, and doesn't like attention, which makes getting to her know a little difficult. It was during our narrative unit back in the fall where I felt like I really met her for the first time.

Her narrative had elements of writing that are difficult to teach, especially to 6th graders. Her vocabulary is well-advanced for her age and her voice shined in this piece. The first words I wrote on her feedback sheet were:

"You are a writer!"

As we continued to write throughout the year, I could see her confidence growing. I could see her standing just a little bit taller when she came to class. I could see her smiling. 

But I didn't realize the full impact until I read her reflection.

In one response she wrote, "I loved her positivism to my writing, which made me feel good about how much effort I put into the essays."

And in another, "I haven't liked writing that much until only last semester, which after first semester and writing a personal narrative essay, I found out of my new passion."

The power of words. A simple statement of acknowledgment that says, "I see you" can make all the difference.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

Life's Contrasts and Contradictions

 

I recently introduced my middle schoolers to the Notice and Note Signposts from Kylene Beers and Bob Probst. When teaching the contrasts and contradiction lesson, we read “Thank You, Ma’m” by Langston Hughes, a short story about a young boy who tries to steal a pocketbook from a woman walking home from work one evening. It’s a story about making bad decisions and earning trust from unlikely people.

We read a small piece, found the signpost, and had engaging discussions. Towards the end of the short story, I read aloud the line, “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already know.” 

We talked about how Mrs. Jones admitted to Roger that she had made mistakes in her past.  Made decisions that maybe she wasn’t too proud of.

My students seemed to be stuck on this part because they were so surprised that the woman admitted to doing wrong to the boy - the boy she had just caught trying to steal from her.

One student asked, “Why did she tell him that? Isn’t she trying to teach a lesson about how stealing is wrong? Isn’t she sending him the wrong message by telling him that she has done bad things, too?’

I have thought about this discussion for days now. Maybe it is because recently I had a former student make a bad decision. It was a decision that caused her great embarrassment and disappointment not only in herself but also from her teammates and her family.  It also kept her from achieving goals that she had set for herself. 

It is a decision I am sure, if she were able to hit a rewind button, would not have played out as it did. I am sure my former student sees her bad decision as the “contrast and contradiction” to success. Maybe that is also what my students saw in the story of Roger and Mrs. Jones and wondered why she told on herself.

What would happen if we became more like Mrs. Jones and admitted our failures and bad decisions but also shared how we learned from them? What lessons could our students learn from us? 

Maybe we need to let students know bad decisions and failure are not “contrasts and contradictions” to success, but instead, they become the experience.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

A Simple Thank You

Seven years ago, I left the elementary school where I had been an aide and a substitute teacher, and where I began my career as a 4th-grade teacher. It was also where both of my children went to school, so I spent many hours as a volunteer in their classrooms working with students and helping teachers.

I was comfortable there. And there is something to be said about comfort. However, when the opportunity came to teach language arts and to share my passion about reading at the middle school, I knew I had to make that move.

Yesterday, I received an email from a parent of a current student who was one of my colleagues from that school. 

She thanked me. 

The email seemed like a simple thank you. But for me, it was much more than that.

She thanked me for introducing him to new books and creating wonderful experiences for him to learn and grow. 

Changing schools was a difficult decision for me because I was leaving supportive colleagues who had also become friends. 

But her email was the exact reason why I left. 

Instead of showing 25 students each year the joy and power of books, I now share it with 100 (or more) students each year. Reading emails like this one is what keeps me going. Knowing that I have had an impact on a student's reading life brings me joy. 

And isn't finding joy what teaching is all about?

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #SOSmagic

A School Year Reflection #SOSMagic

I finished up my 14th school year last Friday. It was a year like no other, yet it went so much better than what any of imagined. Back in August we were "mantra-ing"--just give us two weeks. We wanted two weeks to introduce ourselves to our new students and establish some sort of relationship before we went virtual, which we just knew was going to happen.

Well, it didn't.

We were face-to-face the entire time (minus 7 days the first of the year plus snow days). Believe it or not, some new due-to-COVID practices we actually found out we liked and will continue next year. These include later and staggered start times, clear backpacks, and one-way hallways.

I am looking forward to summer so that I can reflect, relax, and rejuvenate. And I do not feel bad for wanting those things. This year took its toll on everyone, and there is no room for guilt.

I went in to school yesterday to pack up the rest of my room for summer cleaning. Although the room looks very similar, I am in awe of it’s contrast to last year.

Last year I had a time limit to get in and get out;

this year I lingered with my thoughts and memories.

Last year was full of sadness and fear of the unknown;

this year was full of hope and excitement about what all we accomplished.

Last year was void of goodbyes;

this year was full of pictures and hugs and fun memories.

Last year I walked out with tears;

this year I walked out with a smile!

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #SOSmagic

A Purpose Bigger than Test Scores #SOL21

 

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

"You must have a purpose in your program that is bigger than winning" - John Wooden

This quote by legendary coach, John Wooden, has me thinking. We are about to embark on what I call testing season. Our faculty meetings have been required training for administering the test and watching videos of procedures. Students have taken practice tests, and teachers have read required manuals.

Although there has been very little talk about the testing season in classrooms and hallways, there is a feeling in the air. We sense it lingering.

I am one who believes that if I teach my students how to write effectively and read critically, then I have done my job. (Or at least part of it because there is much more to it.) I don't do test prep, and I really don't stress over it.

Wooden's words will be in my mind as we navigate through these last eight weeks of school because I know I have a purpose in my classroom that is bigger than test scores.

A Grading Conundrum #SOL21

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

Have you ever wondered if you graded an essay twice within days of each other, would you give it the same score? I have often thought about it. 

Today actually.

Over my spring break, I graded 90 essays. Each class period's rubrics were completed, the rubric score converted and put into the grade book, and the papers carefully paperclipped together. 

Or so I thought.

I finished grading on Thursday and found that I had two papers from first period that weren't in with the rest of the class' stack. Thinking that seemed odd, I went in search of the other rubrics.

What a conundrum. 

I have looked everywhere. In my house. In my classroom. In my teacher bag. I even looked in file folders that I had out, thinking I might have accidentally slipped them in there. But no. They are nowhere to be found.

Would I score the essay the same? I guess I will find out later today. 

Is it time to stop my social media break? #SOL21

 

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

I used to love Twitter! I loved connecting with like-minded teachers and sharing books and teaching ideas. But over the past year, social media has left a bad taste in my mouth. It began to drag me down so I have taken many social media breaks, hoping that it would change when I returned. Well, for the most part, it didn't. 

As I was thinking about what to plan for April and watching the start of March Madness and watching the newest Penny and Kelly video, I thought I would try a poetry bracket where we would read different poems, vote on them, and determine a winner. We begin our two weeks of state testing in April, and I thought this would be fun to do during that time.

But I really had no idea where to start or how to begin.

In the past, I would automatically put something out on Twitter. But I've been avoiding Twitter because it hadn't been serving me as a teacher as it had in the past. What was I going to do? I needed some ideas, some teachers who have had success with this project.

Late last night I decided to take another dive into the Twittersphere, and I was pleasantly surprised at the response. Before I went to bed, I had three teachers willing to share what they had done in the past and several who had shared poems they have used in their classrooms or ones they enjoyed. I even woke up to more this morning. I am so thankful for the generosity of teachers who are willing to share with others. That is what I enjoyed about social media before, especially Twitter.

I don't know that I am ready to be fully committed to Twitter again, but at least our relationship is starting to mend - thanks to a few teachers.

Now, to start sifting through poems and creating that bracket!

Here is the link to the Penny/Kelly video about the poetry brackets.

Donalyn Miller and a Pivot #SOL21

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

Pivot. 

Does this word make you cringe? It seems to be a current buzzword that may have a negative connotation attached to it. Many teachers have had to pivot this past year in ways we never thought we could and in ways we didn't want to. 

If I think back to my early teaching years, I remember a pivot. It was the summer before my second year of teaching, and The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller was published. I wasn't on social media at the time, so I honestly do not know how I heard about the book. But I devoured it and soaked in her every word.

In my first year of teaching, I taught reading the way I was taught - the way I thought I was "supposed" to teach. We read a story from the anthology every week and completed the accompanying worksheets. I hated it, and so did my students. 

I knew this way of teaching wasn't working. I knew better ways of teaching were out there. I knew I needed a change. A pivot.

That summer I read The Book Whisperer, and I slowly added her ideas to my classroom. I saw student engagement shift. I saw motivation to read increase. I saw my passion for teaching grow.

This book showed me "that's the way we've always done it" is not always the right way to do it. This book gave me permission to make the changes I needed to make for my students and for me. This book validated my beliefs. This book was the pivot that turned my teaching in a new direction. This book saved me. 

And I have not looked back.

Donalyn recently posted about the anniversary of the book on Facebook. She states, "Twelve years ago today, I became a published author when The Book Whisperer was released. I never imagined how my personal and professional life would change."

Me neither, Donalyn. Me neither.

Happy 12th anniversary! And thank you for helping so many teachers find the positive in the pivot.

One Lucky Teacher #SOL21

 

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

When I began this challenge, I made a promise to myself that I would not write a post about the pandemic or anything related to COVID. Last year's challenge seemed to be consumed with pandemic life, and it was not stealing any of this year's slices. 

I know it has not been an easy year for many teachers, the stress level has reached an all-time high, and teachers are not getting the respect they deserve. I am sorry if you have experienced any (or all) of these, and I do not mean for this post to take those experiences lightly. 

But for me, things have gone extremely well this school year. Reflecting on this Saint Patrick's Day, I realize how lucky I am as a teacher, so today I share 17 reasons why--even if I am breaking my no-writing-about-the-pandemic promise.

1. I am lucky to have an administration that was ready with a re-entry plan by mid-summer.
2. I am lucky they had teacher input during the entire process.
3. I am lucky to have a principal who knew we didn't expect him to have all the answers because we simply did not know all the questions.
4. I am lucky to have walked into my classroom on August 4th and to teach my 90 students face-to-face.
5. I am lucky we prayed to stay in school for at least two weeks and here we are 140 school days later.
6. I am lucky to have a custodial staff who works diligently to make sure our school is sanitized and safe.
7. I am lucky to have students who do everything we ask of them to keep all of us safe.
8. I am lucky to have the technology to reach quarantined students.
9. I am lucky to have had no COVID transmission at school.
10. I am lucky to have a district-wide positivity rate of less than 5% for the entire school year.
11. I am lucky to have parents who kept their kids home when they needed to.
12. I am lucky to have a team of teachers who support one another.
13. I am lucky to be able to eat lunch every day with teachers in my wing out in the commons area.
14. I am lucky to have a school nurse who keeps track of all things COVID.
15. I am lucky to share books with students.
16. I am lucky to write side by side with my students.
17. I am one lucky teacher.

Test Prep and Pep #SOL19

I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge.  

March seems to be that time of year when doubt begins to creep in. We begin to question whether we have done enough, been enough. Yes, it is that time when what we have done gets put under a microscope under the disguise of standardized state testing. It has become part of the educational central nervous system, a system in which many believe that all else functions.

Friday, our State Superintendent of Education puts out a weekly newsletter. In this newsletter was a video about "test prep and pep." Finding the title intriguing, I clicked on it and was quite pleased by its message.

I believe that it honestly put test prep and pep where it belongs, as a natural part of teaching and learning - not front and center. It explained how test prep and pep "places undue attention on testing and damages the cycle of teaching, learning, and assessment." They further explain how this leads to additional anxiety and stress on students and encourages schools not to do these types of activities.

I have never been a fan of test prep and pep. I believe that if I teach my students to be strong, strategic, and critical readers and writers throughout the year, then I am teaching them to be prepared for the test, any test. I try to explain to my students that I do not teach them something because it will "be on a test." I teach them something because they need these skills to be literate human beings and to be part of our society.

Now I just wish they would put out a video on how testing shouldn't be used to evaluate teachers.

Baby steps!

What's saving your teaching life right now?

This week has been one of those weeks that seems like it had an extra day (or two).  One day we even found ourselves asking if there was a full moon.

It was also one of those weeks when I found myself repeating, "I can't do this anymore...I can't do this any more."

I'm tired, and I feel defeated.

And I have no answers on how to fix it.

Then today as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, I clicked on a tweet from Tricia Ebarvia about blogging in her classroom.  She linked to a post on the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog. This post tells about how Barbara Brown Taylor, the author of Leaving Church, was asked to speak on the question, "Tell us what is saving your life right now?"  I began thinking about my teaching life.

Many times it is easy to name what is killing our teaching lives.

For me this week, it was disrespectful students, crazy schedules, being spread too thin, and behavior issues. This was the root of my negativity at the end of Friday as a group of us sat at the end of the hall, thankful that the weekend had finally arrived.

But do we ever stop to think about what is saving our teaching lives?

That same day, after the hall became clear of students, we began talking about our weekend plans. I looked down the hall and saw someone walking toward us.

Although I couldn't clearly see him from that distance, I knew who this was. I would recognize that walk anywhere. I hollered out, "Is that you, Dante?"

"Yep, it's me, Mrs. Eck." he replied with a big ole smile on his face.

It was a former student, and I stood up gave him a big hug.  Dante and I have a history, a rocky history.  He is one of the students I had as a 4th grader and as a 6th grader after I moved to the middle school. He is one that has a special place in my heart.  It has been awhile since I have seen him, and he has changed, he has grown, and he has become a young man. We talked for several minutes, and as he hugged me goodbye, he told me how much he missed me.

I walked into a colleague's room and tried to hold myself together.  We were both holding back tears as we acknowledged the power of that epiphany.  How did he know I needed that moment?

We all have a Dante, a student who reminds us of why we became teachers and why we keep coming back, even after we have had a bad week.  As teachers, we know that relationships matter.  They matter every day, but sometimes they matter even more when we, as teachers, need them the most.

Right now, it is students like Dante who are saving my teaching life.

What's saving your teaching life right now?

...alone

I've been thinking about friends lately. 

Not my friends. 

But my students' friends.

Or the ones who have none. My heart is heavy.

I have three students who are friends. They are rather unique as individuals, yet have similar stories. They carry different colored suitcases, yet have similar baggage. Two of the students no longer attend our school.

And I'm worried about the one because he hasn't been the same since they left him...

alone.

I sit in a parent conference and share their child's progress and how well their child is doing academically. The parents are concerned because their child has no friends.

Never invited to birthday parties or sleepovers.

A tear slips out, and the mother asks, "Do you see him...

alone.

I walk into the cafeteria.

No matter how hard we stress that no one eats alone, I see a student sitting at a table with others, yet not talking, laughing, or leaning in to share a secret with someone. She is with others, but still...

alone.

Middle school is difficult enough without sharing it with friends.  These are the kids who break my heart.

I can teach writing skills.  I can motivate readers. I can be a positive and highly effective teacher each and every day.

But I can't teach how to not be...

alone.

It is in these moments when I feel helpless, when I feel I don't do enough. Why are these kids the ones who need us the most but are the first ones to shut the door?

These are the kids who remind me of why I teach and why I'll return again on Monday.