Great Moment

Today was a day I will remember.

I am posting today, on Two Writing Teachers, about Barry Lane and the session of his that I attended on Saturday. Be sure to check it out at 8:00 tonight. As I wrote this piece last night I was thinking how neat it would be to interview Barry and find out more about his new book that is coming out this May. I'd love to review it and use some of his ideas. I decided last night I would call his organization on Monday morning.

My kids were off to the gym for PE this morning and I was finally collecting my thoughts for the day. I made the call. A very nice voice on the phone listened to my introduction and request to get an advanced copy of the book and possibly interview Barry. Her response shocked me a bit:
"Well, I think Barry is right here. Let me get him for you."
WHAAAAT?

I quickly wrote down my name on paper and why I was calling while I was on hold in case I totally froze up when he came on the phone. There was no need to fret, talking to Barry was like talking to an old friend. It was great. While I was talking to him my principal walked in my room to set up a meeting with me, noticing I was on the phone, he backed out slowly. He could tell I was excited and focused at the same time.

Later when I went to my principal's office he said, "I could tell you were talking to some writing person again!" I had to laugh. He knows where my passion lies.

After the phone call and meeting with my principal I quickly went down the hall to my best buddy to tell her the news. We got giddy together. Then I called my mom and texted my husband. Isn't it funny how everybody has people they look up to? I think Barry Lane is on my list of rock stars!

"Tell Your Story. If You Don't, Who Will?" ~Colby Sharp

Here is a little take away from the MRA conference I attended yesterday. I went to a session with Colby Sharp, Linda Urban, Katherine Applegate and Lisa McMann. Their message was to write, take risks and not to be afraid of failing. Not everything you write will be or needs to be groundbreaking. Stop trying to be perfect and make a mistake right away so the writing stays real.

This made me think of one of my notebooks. When I got it and started writing in it I wanted it to stay perfect. Then I made a mistake on the first page. I decided at that moment it didn't matter. However, my initial feelings were this notebook will stay beautiful. Then I realized beauty wasn't going to mean flawless.

The session was very inspiring and on my drive home last night this is what swirled in my head:

"Writing notebooks are a playground and safe." Linda Urban
"Don't be discouraged, you're making a difference every single minute." Lisa McMann
"Everything you do matters." Katherine Applegate

The session ended with a statement from Colby Sharp that teachers are awesome. He encouraged teachers to, "Tell your story. If you don't, who will?" I couldn't agree more. Blogging and talking with others about what we are doing in our classrooms is the only way to shift the eyes of those looking down on teachers these days.

So, get yourself a notebook, make it a playground where you can kick dirt around and it's okay. Write about your frustrations in education these days and then write about what you are doing to change kids lives. Write about what you do to make a difference every single minute. Write what matters, because in the end it's the people. What we do to shape them matters more than any shifting eyes or judgmental glances. Your students matter, you matter and so does your story.

Let's Face It!

When I go to conferences I get the, "Are you Chalk-A-Bration Betsy?" Mind you, this doesn't happen often and I think the first person to do this was Franki Sibberson (who to this day introduces me to people this way). But when it does, it is the coolest feeling. Today someone said, "Chalk-A-Bration is a movement." Really, I thought? A Movement? I guess it kind of is. A movement putting a focus on poetry. To build community. To share a piece of ourselves with the world in a positive way. A way that makes people smile. I was thinking about this a lot today and it made me happy. I didn't ever think Chalk-A-Bration would be much of anything. I thought it would be something I did on my own and maybe someone else would join in occasionally. Although, the winter months have been tough, I sense a lot of participants in the near future. I felt like some of the people I met today were itching to get their chalk out and get started. So exciting. I can hardly wait for March 31st!

My To-Do List

It's quiet except for the plane flying over head and the loud banging of the door down the hall, okay, maybe not so quiet. The mini-fridge just kicked on and now there is a noisy hum too. I'm in my hotel room winding down from the day and preparing for tomorrow (MRA Conference). I am sitting here trying to decide what I want to do with the next two hours I have before bed. I need to go to the bookstore. I could do that right now. I need to read slices and comment. I need to finish this slice. Those all sound like good things. I should probably eat something and stop to buy a water somewhere.
Oh boy, now I hear a baby crying.
I'm beginning to worry about what kind of night sleep I'm going to get.
Then again, I am a sound sleeper usually and it is the end of a long week. I shouldn't need to worry.
Okay, what else do I need to do? Oh, right. I need to make a "plan B" session plan in case I get to a session and it is full. I need to find a place to eat breakfast. Hopefully there is a Panera close by. I was going to say, call my husband to tell him I've arrived safely, but he just called me, so I can check that off!
I think that should do it. Off I go!

What about...

It happened again. Another snow day. This is the second one this week. We have professional development tomorrow so that means no students. That means I saw my students for two days this week and won't have seen them for five when we return on Monday. Half my conferences need to be rescheduled. I couldn't get to my school to even work on my own there yesterday because no roads had been plowed. Then there was today. I knew school was cancelled. I had gotten the call last night. I wondered:
What should I do today? Go to school? Do I really want to take the kids there? I won't actually get anything done or I will just have to plant them in front of a screen to keep them occupied so I can clean a space on my desk. Worth it? No, not really.
I could clean my house! Well, maybe a little anyway.
I could get my things packed and around for my trip this weekend to MRA. Eh, maybe later.
I could sit on my computer and blindly look at the screen to think about my post for Monday or my overview for a conference this summer that is due, like probably yesterday. Oh, it can wait.
I could read my new book. UM, WINNER!
That's really all I felt like doing. I wanted to read and write just for myself today. Not for a post or a lesson or anybody. Just for fun. Read letters from poets, (my new book from yesterday's post, Seeing the Blue in Between). Listen to their advice. Try things out and write. I sprinkled in some other things. A little cleaning here and a shamrock shake for my kids there along with a little bathroom scrubbing and dishy washing. I do really need to get to some other things today. At least for now it felt good to do something for myself instead of meeting some other demand or deadline.

New Book!

I got a new book in the mail today! Seeing the Blue in Between compiled by Paul B. Janeczko.
I'm almost halfway through it and really enjoy how quickly it reads. It is a book of advice and inspiration for young poets on their writing journey. There are 32 letters, written to the reader, throughout the book written by acclaimed poets who share a bit of their own poetry journey or tell young poets to be brave and write on. Each shares advice and then a poem or three follows. There are a lot of things I like about the book so far but my favorite is hearing the different voices from each poet. They each have a unique way of sharing this hopeful poetic message. They talk about their youth, their failures and moments of wonder. They share where they themselves find poems and how to look for them. I wish I had this book about twenty some years ago when I was a teen. It would have been nice to hear advice from these poets. I might have carried on with writing as a kid instead of stopping.

A Conference Night Poem

I'm sitting across from her.
She's tired, she's run down,
she's had enough and here I sit.
I sit with concern
as I see each crease in her eye
deepen with fatique and worry.
I care.
I wish for her.
I wish for her son.
I wish it were different.
She's tired.
She's done.
At a loss.
A sparkling tear, almost runs down
but she breathes and I grin
and we begin again.
But there are so many qualities he has going for him.
He has such a big heart.
We care for him and his success.
But it's hard
and though I'm tired
I might be run down
I am not done
and I will never stop
and I will be here everyday
showing up
for him
for you
and I will wish it
to be different.