Feeling Lucky

There are times when I realize just how good my life is. Sure, I could use a little less stress, a little more money, the metabolism of a twelve year old....
But I have enough of what I need, and more than enough, too.  Take my job, for instance. I love what I do.  I was asked recently by a colleague if I really liked my job.  I thought for a moment, then answered decisively, yes.  This colleague was having some struggles, facing a daunting work load, uncertain job security, and troublesome students, and he didn't even know if he had chosen the right career.
Now, I'm lucky. I came into teaching later in life, after experiencing the business sector, and I knew that I needed to find a calling, not just a career. So when I made the transition into education at 30 years old, it was a conscious choice to accept the hard work, the low pay, and often thankless clientele, because I was trading up in the fulfillment category.  But the truth is, there is much joy in Mudville, even when schools are striking out with budget cuts, layoffs, scandals, and government scrutiny.
When you work with good people who love what they do and share their passion with you, the enthusiasm is contagious. Same for creativity.  One person's great idea for how to deliver a math lesson in a more exciting way can lead to your own idea for how to teach a grammar concept with pizazz. And sharing ideas leads to sharing jokes, and stories, and struggles.  Which leads to a feeling of being a part of team, a community. 
These last few days, I was even more fortunate. Not only did I get to spend intense quality time sharing ideas with colleagues from my own school, I got to learn from experts and peers about new, innovative, mind-bending ways of teaching and using technology in the classroom. And I got to do it while a substitute took over my class for two whole days, and I was free to absorb as much of this ed-tech culture as I could handle. But wait, there's more! I got to act like a regular adult, taking an hour for a leisurely lunch to chat about what I'd learned with others over a plated meal.  I got to sit in the student's seat, listening, learning, taking copious notes, while someone else's feet got tired and voice got hoarse from standing and presenting all day. 
And all of this was made possible because, even in this time of belt-tightening, sometimes there are people in charge of things who actually see what has value and find money to invest in it, and that is what my principal did. 
So I feel very lucky, on this Luck-o-the-Irish March 17th, as I return home from a valuable conference, where amazing ideas were sparked and shared, and look forward to a day of rest tomorrow so my brain can recover from overload, before I meet my students again on Monday, full of ideas, energy, and appreciation for my lot in life.
Speaking of lots, someone bought me a lottery ticket yesterday as part of a pool.  I don't know yet if we have won.  When I said I have enough of what I need, I didn't mean I would turn down a little pot of gold if one happened to pop up in my way!

Blogging while blogging

Is this a surreal moment? I am sitting in a conference session on how to use blogging for education.... So I am thinking of my blog, and here I am, blogging about it. Hmmmm....

The two little words that make your knees go weak

Public speaking.
Right up there with spiders, snakes, heights, and wedgies.
Some of you probably got a knot in your stomach just reading those two little words.
So when I assign presentations to my students, I know what kind of reactions I will get:  "Oh, no!" "Groan..." and occasionally, miraculously, "Alright!"
What I did not expect, however, was that a very composed young lady, an A student, would come to me to express, in a rare display of total trust, that she has great anxiety for speaking in public.
I was surprised by this admission, especially because she is so competent in everything she does, and she had come after school just to sign up in advance for her presentation slot.
So when she confessed her fears, I decided to respond in kind.  I described my recent experience of speaking in front of the school board, the superintendents, and over 100 teachers from all across the district. I described the severe dry mouth, like I'd spent the day walking the Mojave, and the stomach ache that crept up like a slowly twisting wrench.
Her reaction? "I can't imagine you being nervous, Ms. Martin."
I don't know whether that compliment felt better to me, or the sigh of relief she breathed as she laughed a little when I said, "So you see, everyone gets nervous, but your audience doesn't ever have to know. You'll do just fine."
And then her smile, genuine relief relaxing her face as she thanked me.
Being able to ease a young scholar's anxiety and maybe help her to use the power of her words in public someday, that is the best thanks of all.

Read Across America Day in my classroom, 2012

Some days in teaching it is easier to remember why we do it, why it is worth it.  Like today.  Seeing 14-year-olds sit, enraptured,  listening to picture books being read to them by parents, other teachers, librarians.  Their quiet goodness, their childlike desire to be told a good story.  It almost makes up for the days when I overhear words that would shame an adult coming from those young mouths, or days when it seems nothing in my curriculum can compete with Justin Bieber-inducing giggle fits.
One of those picture books was the story of a cat who goes in search of the meaning of her name, Wabi Sabi.  Along the way, we as readers experience wabi sabi in the illustrations - collages made of torn paper, dry leaves, pieces of photos, and matted fur - and in the haiku that are woven throughout the narrative.  Wabi sabi: a sense of beauty in nature, in imperfection, in simplicity and humility, in warmth, and comfort.
Today in my class, all those impulsive, awkward, hormonal 7th and 8th graders were wabi sabi to me.

Haiku for the Facebook Era

The glow of a screen
Keeps us company at night.
"Like" stands in for "Hello."