Skip to main content

School is epic!

A few days ago, I walked into a conversation between my 9 year old, Ian, and my 6 year old, Emily.  

 "School is EPIC, Ian!"
"Emily, I know that.  That's not what I'm talking about!"

 I also do not know what they were talking about, but I was astounded by how it was not even questioned that school is an incredible place to be!  They were so casual, and it was obvious that school could be nothing other than cool.

 They do go to a remarkable school, Degan Elementary.  They can't wait for Eagle Shuffle and Club Fridays, and they adore their teachers.  Adore them.

 So what happens when they advance to high school?  Will my babies lose that love?  Will school decline in epicness?  The thought makes me sad.  But I see it.  I see it in my juniors who are distracted by the drama of life - the real kind like working to help the family survive or caring for an ill parent or worrying about their own health.  I see my tutoring kids who feel destroyed by the thought that they just may have to take that test again.  And again.  And maybe again.  I want to fight that sadness and struggle.  I want to see my students smile.  I want them to feel valued.  I want them to find their confidence as readers, writers, and as people, and I want them to know that school is a place that can support them and encourage them.

 I want them to know that school is still epic.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 31, 2017 at 9:08 AM

    Steve, it has been so long. Where are you?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Witnessing Growth

I'm still feeling it. Aching limbs. Dreamy, wistful staring. Frequent Twitter checking for inspiration. Frantic starting of too many books. Jotting of one more new classroom idea.  It's the NCTE hangover.  I was extremely fortunate enough to attend the National Council of Teachers of English conference in St. Louis this year. It was my third conference and first time to present. I was anxious and nervous, excited and, to be honest, a little bit sweaty, and it was the coolest experience!  The books! The authors! The electric energy of thousands of giddy English teachers! Those teachers are the ones who made presenting a dream, smiling up at me and nodding as I told my stories and shared my students' experiences.  But that wasn't the best thing that happened. The best thing was my friends. This year, I traveled with five colleagues, five amazingly intelligent, hilarious, witty women. We fit together nicely; two awaken before the roosters, two at a "normal...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's Friday, Friday!

Last Friday, I drove home wiped. Drained. Empty yet full. It was a day like no other, and I hope to relish in it for a while. First period began with our Friday dance party. Yes, you read that right. The 1600 hall at Hebron High School begins Fridays with Rebecca Black's YouTube classic "Friday"! We sing, we dance, we embarass students as they enter class. We have so much fun! And while those kids may hang their heads as they pass, they also get a tiny chuckle out of their teachers being fools and letting loose. It's good they see us this way. During class, the dreaded moment arrived. A student I taught as a sophomore and had the pleasure of teaching again as a junior withdrew. He'd warned me it was coming. I tried hard to persuade him not go to, even offering to call home and pass on that persuasion, but no. It was happening. Moments before his departure, he handed me a letter I'd assigned a week earlier and asked me to read it while he was still there...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Fish Tale

Last weekend, I went fishing with my dad. I packed the kids in my silver mommy van, waded through the 5 o'clock Friday traffic, and arrived at Lake Fork in time to meet Dad coming off the water. He'd found the "honey hole" and snagged two - one over six pounds, the other over seven! He knew where to take us the following day. Saturday, he took out Ian, my ten year old, first at six AM. Ian going out for his first official early morning bass fishing with Pops is enough to melt my daddy's girl heart, and as expected, they had a blast. After they came in for lunch, Emily, my seven year old, and I crawled into the boat with Ian and my dad, and we returned to Lake Fork, the Big Bass Capital of Texas for another round.  Initially, we cruised around in the hot Texas October sun. We found solace in the shade of an old bridge. We "wet a hook" as Dad would say but, sadly, with no luck. Then, evening hit. Fishing frenzy time. Dad returned to the "honey h...
4 comments
Read more