being me

An Ode to the Lost

Warning, this has nothing to do with education and everything to do with that which makes us humans.  It has to do with what shapes us, those life experiences that continue to haunt and fold our lives even long after they happened.  It may be too personal for some, but I share the story nonetheless so that others may feel less alone.

Yesterday, you would have been a year.  I am the only that knows that as others have moved on, away from the tragedy that is a pregnancy lost.  That child of ours, a year full of firsts again, of sleepless nights, of crying fits, of moments captured by cameras and film.  A year we never got.

And so I grieve privately.  The world would not have known that yesterday was the day we should have welcomed you one year ago, celebrated the miracle that would have been you.  I carried on, smiled over all of the blessings I do have, and I hugged Thea just a little bit more, knowing what a fine sister she would have been.  They say that losing a child is the most awful thing that can happen to you.  I never lost a child but I have lost the dream that becomes a child.  And yet the grief you feel over a miscarriage numbs you, changes you, while the world turns and continues.  It is so private, so hidden, particularly when it happens early, that you do not know what to do with your raw emotions, who to share it with, who to cry with.  And so us mothers to be, who lose the baby, move on as if nothing happened.  As if those days where we remember mean nothing special.  As if our grief has melted away along with the memory of what could have been.

And yet, I carry it with me.  I no longer cry, but I wonder what you would have been.  I wonder what our family would feel like?  How much more love there would be in this home?  We are doing fine, life treats us with kindness, and yet, I wonder about you.  Those dreams of you and what to do with them.  Yesterday you would have been a year, and instead there is nothing.  So this is to all those should-be mothers out there who have not forgotten, you are not alone, we remember together.
Be the change, being a teacher, education reform

An Easy Statement

You know what is easy to say? That our education system is broken. It is also easy to say that it is because of standardized tests, because of politicians, too much red tape and clueless administrators. We need more money, we need smaller class sizes, more time, more enthusiasm. I could go on listing all of the things we need.

And yet, at some point we must own up to our own responsibility. At some point we must change our statements and no longer just say that the system is broken. At some point we must say, I am part of the solution. That perhaps not everything in the system is broken but that there are flaws and we can do something about it.

Saying the system is broken is too easy. It removes responsibility. Take the responsibility, be the change, and then spread the word.

being a teacher, being me, blogging

Blogging Gave Me an Audience and Then Some

I never was a writer until I began to blog.  Perhaps I was a poet or at least I liked to call myself one as I dredged through hour upon hour of teenage self loathing in my journal.  I never was a writer though, just someone who liked to write but didn’t know where to do it or what to even write about.  Then one day I blogged.  My husband told me to, said it would be good for me and I trusted him so I thought why not?  Little did he know how big of an effect blogging would have on our lives and on our family.

To blog is to bare ones soul, to have a conversation with the world; a conversation where anyone can become  a critic and anyone can become an inspiration.  I quickly realized you have to have thick skin to blog honestly.  And yet, blogging has allowed me to create friendships and work relationships with people globally.  Blogging has allowed me to send seeds of inspiration into the world and I have been lucky enough to be told that I have inspired others.  We choose how we represent ourselves to the world, and I represent myself through blogging.  I am not always right.  I am not always coherent.  I am not always positive even though I strive to be.  But I am always honest.  I want my blog to be a true reflection of the world I live in, the classroom I get to call home, and the incredible children that get to be part of my family.  So through my blog I invite others in to our world.  I invite others to see how a classroom can function with respect, love and honest communication.  I invite others to be the change, to be positive, and to give those children a voice.  I am no longer shouting to an empty room; blogging has given me an audience.  I am no longer alone, there are others out there like me.  What a relief.

This blog is in response to the Rockstar Meme on How Blogging Changed My World – thank you for the inspiration.

I now invite these 5 people to share their journey and their story as I feel it is an important one:
Josh Stumpenhorst 
Matthew Ray
Chris Wejr
Greta Sandler
Katie Hellerman

being a teacher, Student-centered

I Can Change the World

Yes, it’s true, we are small but we are not insignificant.  I may not be able to change the world, but I can change my classroom.  I can change my philosophy, I can change myself. 

So when I look around my room and I see those faces, I know they deserve the very best of me.  I know they deserve a room where there is no punishment, where there are no inane rewards in place.  They deserve to live life outside of school free from pointless homework and they deserve to know their progress and their goals. 

So through my change I change their school experience.  I change their minds that learning is static, boring, or pointless.  I change their perspective that teachers are out to get them.  I change myself so that I can help them go on their path.  Though we may think we cannot change the world, we can through our students.  The change starts within ourselves.

Uncategorized

I Am Not Sorry

As an educator, it seems I spend a lot of time apologizing. I apologize for trying new things. I apologize for speaking my mind. I apologize for seeming too busy to help, too frazzled to form sentences sometimes.  I apologize for doings things differently, or for going out on a limb. I apologize for being a union member, or for fighting for my kids. Just the last couple of weeks I have even been apologizing for being a finalist in the Great American Teach Off because some people may be upset at the recognition. All that time spent worrying and wondering if someone is upset with me, always ready with an I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

So I am going to stop apologizing and just try that for a while because the truth is I am not always sorry.

I am not sorry for trying new things to spark the imagination of my children.

I am not sorry for listening to them and changing our learning to keep them engaged, involved and excited.

I am not sorry for standing up for my kids and getting them the help they need.

I am not sorry for trying to be innovative and for spreading the ideas.

I am not sorry for my passion and my deep belief that together we can be the change.

I am not sorry for my mother believing in me enough to submit me for a contest where someone realized that having a student-centered classroom, with no punishment, no rewards, limited homework and student driven grades is an innovative thing.

So this educator is standing up for herself and for my kids. There are many things to be sorry, but changing one’s educational philosophy to something better is not one of them.  While I remain passionate, I also retain my humility.  I am not the only change agent.  I am not the only passion cultivator.  But I am ones of the ones saying I am sorry for changing things anymore.   Join me.