after 3 days of conferences with parents
sharing stories of each child’s gifts
i’m all talked out
but really loved the conversations.
—
“we are all gifted, that is our inheritance.”
-ethel waters
—
photo credit: bbc earth
Nov4
Category Archives: teach
Sep9
beginning.
the little ones came to school
most for the first time ever
filling our room with emotion and energy
a few minutes into our day
one had me write
an urgent note to her mom
that read:
“bring the car!”
we’re all tired and mostly all happy
tomorrow we begin again.
—
“be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”
-meister eckhart
Jun8
a wish for my students on their last day.
“there is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything.
negative people find their walls.
so never apologize for your enthusiasm.
never.ever.ever.
-ryan adams
may you all live like this forever. and ever. and ever.
love, your teacher
(who lives like this too)
Mar16
something special.
not my class or horse, but a tiny bit similar if you squint your eyes.
the quote below perfectly sums up my vocation.
—
“if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. that’s a heck of a day.
you do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”
-jim valvano
—
weareteachers.com (1950s vintage)
Mar9
the end in mind.
on the first of three days
of parent-teacher conferences
at the end of just our second family meeting
one of us
(names are unimportant)
closed the conference
with a friendly goodbye –
“have a great weekend!”
only to
glance up
noticing
it was actually
tuesday at 10:02am.
almost there….
—
“begin with the end in mind.”
-stephen covey
Feb28
teaching the young on a monday.
—
i’m ready for you, kinder!
—
art credit: gary larson, the far side
Jan26
the genius of each.
as i worked on report cards over the last week
putting together my notes
gathering my thoughts
sharing my stories
telling their stories
i was reminded
that each child
has
their own gifts
their own challenges
yet each shares
without fail
a curiosity
a sense of wonder about the world
a desire to learn
and does so
in their own way.
—
“Do not train children to learn by force and harshness,
but direct them to it by what amuses their minds,
so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy
the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
-Plato
—
image credit: Radhusets Julkalender 2012 – Arte del libro, Arte dell’illusrazione
Sep17
most unusual day.
today is the first day back at school
i imagine the kinder calmly gliding into nature with me
all possibilities are on the table
could be more like the picture below
most likely will fall somewhere in between.
“today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.”
-william arthur ward
—
photo credits: vintage pinterest, gamma-keystone london
Aug24
goodnight, good sir.
RIP to *Sir Ken Robinson, an eloquent and indefatigable defender of the role of the arts and creativity in education. His TED talks made him world-famous—his presentation called “Do schools kill creativity?” remains the most popular TED talk of all time, and he wrote widely, including major books on creativity in 2001 and 2015. Robinson was knighted in 2003 for his distinguished career in service to the arts. He was a staunch critic of standardized tests and compliance-based classrooms, and an unapologetic champion of every kind of creative endeavor—from theater, to music, film, painting, dance, and everything in between. He died peacefully yesterday at the age of 70, after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by his family. His voice will be greatly missed. – Edutopia
“the answer is not to standardize education,
but to personalize and customize it to the needs of each child and community.
there is no alternative. there never was.”
-Sir Ken Robinson, (one of my heroes in the field of education)
*Sir Ken Robinson was an author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies.
—
credits: edutopia, pbs.org
Apr10
thirty minutes.
each of our faculty members
were allowed to go into their room alone for 30 minutes
during that time we could take
whatever we imagined we might need
to teach school — for the rest of the year.
walking into my building, it was silent
i saw the ‘welcome back to the sun’ and ‘happy spring’ artwork
my class had created for the hall
expecting to be back soon after our spring break
walking into my classroom
it was sad
left as it was back in mid-march
memories, things undone, things i wish i could still do with my class
cards, and art, and notes, and pictures, and colors, and books
30 minutes to decide what to take
i filled my bags with toys and books and art and puppets
anything i thought might make my kinder feel a sense of comfort
as i teach them from afar and show them familiar things
it was hard to close the door on the year
knowing i will stay connected to each of them
but also knowing
something will be lost
in not spending my school days
sharing a room with them.
—
“time flies over us,
but leaves its shadow behind. “
-nathaniel hawthorne
I didn't have my glasses on.... 