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!
Category: Happiness
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.
Creating Calm: Mindful 8 Poems Inspired by Maine
Since I know August is the calm before the Back-to-School storm, I thought I’d select some of my favorite Maine photographs and write Mindful 8 poems to accompany them. As I wrote them, I was struck by how peaceful I became. I concentrated on nature and tried to distill the essence of its beauty with spare words. This is becoming an important practice for me, and it also helps to alleviate writer’s block.
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.
Inner Peace at the Garden Shop
While trying to recover and relax, I took a short journey to a local garden shop. I love this place; it always brings me solace. I forgot to take my camera with me, so I took pictures with my little flip phone. I just snapped images that appealed to me. I love that they arrange pots and flowers by color. It was such a good way to unwind without worrying about my tummy troubles. There are rows and rows of flowering plants outside, and rows and rows of garden pots inside.
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.
The Road to Summer
My mind has been on high alert, making yet another “to-do” list. However, a springtime cold slowed me down this week and forced me to sit, sleep, and wonder. June snuck up on me; all of a sudden it arrived. With only two more weeks of school ahead of me, I’m looking forward to getting outside into the air, the green, the blue of nature. I am thirsting for time on my own to roam the woods and shorelines from Maine to Miami. Most of my colleagues and our student body are also weary of indoor school days and are anticipating the freedom that June brings: our own pace, our own activities, our own adventures. This sense of freedom is part of the school cycle that I have been part of since I was four years old.
