During the first week of October, I continue to make strong connections with our students. It seems that there is sometimes an overwhelming sense of stress woven through our days at school. The pace picks up, world news seeps in, and there is a general sense that all is not right with the world. I want to keep school as a haven for the children, so I make sure I reach out and check in with them when I can.
Category: Champions
Safe, Seen, and Heard: Why I Teach for the Stories
I look forward to September because I anticipate school starting and connecting with students. As a learning specialist, my number one job isn't teaching a curriculum—it’s building trust. I know that connection is key. So, from day one, I seek to build connections that make them feel safe, seen, and heard. We have over two hundred students in our elementary school, and I try to remember each and every name. The tool I use to help me remember is to connect their names with their stories. When a student tells me a story about herself, I can more easily remember her name. These stories become the connective glue of the relationship I build with them and their parents.
September Nourishment
I’m still adjusting to getting up early, cooler mornings, and the rapid pace of the school day. There is no time to slow down. I run until I’m exhausted, but there must be a better way. My younger colleagues look to me for sage advice. How do I put work/life balance into practice? My answer: very haphazardly. I sporadically start my days with meditation, yoga, and a mid-morning cup of tea alone in my cozy office. But in reality, an endless, growing to-do list keeps me frantically trying to check things off, feeling more and more like Sisyphus. One day that giant boulder is sure to crush me, and I cannot let that happen!
Strengthening School Community
The beginning of school is tricky to navigate for both students and teachers, and for students with a learning difference, moving through a new school day can be stressful. I keep that top of mind when I interact with children. I stop, pause, and listen to them. I troubleshoot problems with them. I encourage them to take risks and keep on going.
Connection: Only One You!
Now, while I may not work with all of them directly, I do make sure I know their names and find out a little bit about each one of them. This means that my brain is on overdrive in September, and I have to remind myself to slow down and really connect – connect with faculty, students, and their parents. This means meeting with faculty and parents to discuss the best support paths for many students. This also means connecting with students. I spend the first few weeks of school inviting myself into classrooms, reacquainting myself with our students and getting to know new ones.
Empowering Girls Through Poetry
This week, the girls and I return to poetry for a respite. We are still revising our fantasy stories, but needed a little spark of energy. Since the school where I teach is a school for girls, in fact it is the oldest girls’ school in New Jersey, I am keenly aware of the need for raising confident and resilient girls.
Sparking Vivid Language and Poetry with Visual Prompts
Because students often struggle to create vivid imagery out of thin air, they frequently fall back on clichés or stare blankly at a white page. However, using a concrete visual prompt, such as a photograph of a girl splashing under a backyard sprinkler, can instantly unlock their imagination. This image helps student to tap into their own memories, stretch their vocabulary, and express themselves through poetry.
Finding Fútbol and Fireworks
I have never been a sports fan, not really. There was a time in high school when I cheered on our football team on Friday nights. And I was an avid basketball fan for a short time in college, but I am not the type to tailgate and have a team to follow, whether that be football, baseball, basketball, or hockey. However, this summer changed all that. At first, I wasn’t even sure what FIFA was and thought soccer was something kids played in the park. A few short weeks in June and July, and I’m now an avid fútbol fan.
Revolutionary Spirit: Poet, Phillis Wheatley
This week, as we look forward to the 250th birthday of America, I want to reflect on an unlikely Revolutionary heroine, Phillis Wheatley. Her history is remarkable. Born in West Africa in 1753, she was brought on a slave ship, The Phillis, for which she was named. She was sold to the Wheatley family of Boston, who raised and educated her. Phillis learned English, Latin, and Greek and wrote her first poem at the age of fourteen. She published a collection of poetry called Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral in 1773, making her the first enslaved person to publish a book.
Poetry: A Journey Through Grief and Joy
When he asks me what I’ve been up to, I rattle something about putting my attention to poetry this summer. And Henry says, “I don’t know who said it, but someone said, poetry is like someone running at you with a knife in a dark hallway.” That stopped me in my tracks. He was right. Good poetry stuns, surprises with sharp clarity. It is an idea I will take with me this summer, as I turn my attention from teaching to writing.
