Why I Teach

"He went to bed and took his book with him! I just about fell out of my chair!"

"He had his nose in that book all weekend! I've never seen him so interested in a book!"

"She came home and said she was going to read the next 2 chapters because it was her favorite chapter book ever. She has NEVER offered to read a book on her own before!"

These are just a few of the comments I've received from parents in the last few weeks.  

I had to admonish one of my kids for reading while we were working on another subject the other day. This happen to be the same child who pretended to read the first 4 weeks of school and had the potential to be "that" student.  The one who makes you want to go work at Wal-mart (not that there's anything wrong with that.) The boy that wouldn't do anything but draw all over his papers and disrupt others. Getting onto him for reading? Best day ever.

So why were these parents in such awe? What made there kids want to read? Magic fairy reading dust. And maybe some other stuff I did in class.  Whatever it was, I hope it never runs out.

Fifty Shades of Censorship

Last week on FaceBook my sister posted an article titled, Fifty Shades of the Common Core. The article is about the use of the book Dreaming in Cuban in a high school classroom. Knowing I'd have an opinion, but probably not realizing I'd write my own book in response, she tagged me and asked or me to speak up.

Here's what followed:

My sister (not posting her comments as I haven't asked permission to show her name here) responded that I had some good points, and went on to say "But the porn in the section showed is still a bit much for me to handle being in a school library."

Even though I know her heart and her concerns come from a good place, this comment hurt, and here's why -- if one person wants a book out of the library, and pushes hard enough, it can definitely happen. In fact, in this case, it did. On the same day my sister shared the original article, I found an article from The Huffington Post explaining that Dreaming in Cuba was pulled from Sierra Vista School in Arizona after a parent complained about the "pornographic" nature of the book.

Banned Book Week

While my sister agreed that the book probably doesn't deserve to be banned completely, she wondered if it might still be acceptable to ban it from school libraries, since most parents probably wouldn't want their kids reading it. She argued that since we don't allow things like Hustler in schools, why is it any different when it's "just" in written form? Where is the line?

I think it's dangerous to see one section of text from one page in a book and determine the book's literary value from that tiny glance within those pages. If a work has literary value, cultural significance, or otherwise important contributions to offer the reader, who am I to judge it as unacceptable for a library collection? But her points are valid. Parents are concerned about the material being put in front of their children, so where is the balance?

I still want the other side of the story. Where is the teacher's voice in this discussion? I'm definitely curious to know what s/he has to say. Or any teacher or librarian of young adults. I hope you'll speak up in the comments and add to this conversation.

Let Them Be Boys!

In the past few years I've found myself rewriting, resending, and basically just resharing the following post. Since it's information I'm asked about so often, it suddenly dawned on me (I'm fast, that way) that it was worth blogging about.

I have a heart for helping boys find their voice in a world that tends to prefer they leave the rough and tumble at the door. Yes, by world I mean school - because when you're eight, nine, ten, or even older, school is your world. It's difficult for boys to become strong writers if they never have the opportunity to become strong readers. And many boys struggle to find a place as a reader, because their desire for blood, guts, vampires, and fart jokes is seen as unacceptable for school.

When we tell a child that their reading or writing choice is unacceptable, we may as well point at them and say, "You sir, are unacceptable."

I think that's when we lose many boys that so desperately need to be found.

For me, the important thing about boys is remembering they need to feel like they have a place and a say. Often, we let our own thoughts on what is appropriate dictate their reading and writing style, and it shuts them down.

They want to read Captain Underpants? Cool. Only will read Sports Illustrated for Kids? Good enough for me. Reading Stephen King? Eek, that terrifies me but if it’s working for them, more power to them! Refusing to even glance at anything that's not a comic book or graphic novel? Awesome. What better place to get excited about reading than a book filled with amazing illustrations, built-in scaffolding devices, and nonstop action? 

Let them know they have a choice – even if it seems completely backwards, and things will change. Comic books, blogs, magazines, picture books; if it has words and they’re not cussing or otherwise profane or harmful to anyone – let those boys read.

Some places for help:

Guys Read is an amazing website for books and other resources that boys will love. It has never failed me.

Any of the actual “Guys Read” books – each is a collection of short stories written by male authors with the intent of being interesting for boys. Also, this book by the same authors, all about what it means to be a boy.

Ralph Fletcher is another "can't miss" author for boys, and for teachers. Definitely check out Boy Writers and Spider Boy, for starters.

Any blog post by The Nerdy Book Club gang. This book-savvy blog is a mashup of posts on reading and includes several noteworthy book recommendations, written by teachers, librarians, and authors  -- basically anyone with a passion for reading and getting kids excited about reading. Follow this link to a search of all their posts on graphic novels.

And if you can get your hands on The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, it is so worth your time. It's one of those books that make you rethink your current practices, and we all need that from time to time.

When in doubt, just let them read. How can you go wrong when they happily have their nose in a book?

Join the Creech-a-Thon!

You guys. I am doing my best not to completely geek out over this one, but trust me – it’s awesome!

First, if you haven’t read Love That Dog (with your class or for yourself!), you’re missing out. It’s short, sweet, sad, empowering, and just lovely for teaching figurative language, inferring & predicting, poetry, and more.

Second, kids LOVE her stuff. Seriously, it’s a little crazy. Put a copy of Granny Torrelli Makes Soup in their hands.

Last, did I tell you last year she actually commented on one of my student’s blog posts? All I did was tweet that I had a student writing poetry inspired by Love That Dog… she saw the tweet, went to the post, and commented to the girl, “Love that poem!”

Talk about igniting a love for reading and writing!

Anyway, if kids sign up for her reading pledge in September, they could win all 16 of her books, including a signed hardcover of her newest, The Boy on the Porch!

You can follow this link to see the pledge page – hope you will consider sharing this with your readers! For more stellar Creech stuff, be sure to follow her on Twitter @ciaobellacreech.

The Differences That Matter

Magic is happening in the Ninja Writer's classroom this year.

It's week 10, and we're about halfway through our read aloud of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I fell in love with this book over the summer, so I was thrilled when I found out it was the Global Read Aloud choice for 2012. Both my classes are simply eating it up -- daily as I read, my students are scribbling notes and drawing sketches while they think about what is happening in the text.

This morning as I read, a hand shot up and before I could even respond, a small voice piped up from a boy sitting in the back of the group gathered around me, "I just noticed that word has more than one meaning!"

He was talking about the word "trunk." The story had just referenced Ruby, the baby elephant, using her trunk. We paused for a minute to discuss the many variations of the word, and everyone seemed excited -- both because of what happened in the story (I won't ruin it for you!) and because someone had noticed something significant. We've been talking a lot about multiple word meanings, and the importance of understanding which meaning is right in the context of the reading.

After we finished our reading for today, I showed my students how to use the "Someone...Wanted...But...So...Then" method for summarizing a piece of text. More hands shot up.

"I noticed a preposition!"
"I noticed you used a FANBOY (conjunction) to join those two ideas together!"
"I just used a metaphor from the story to explain the problem in this chapter!"

And on and on it went.

Needless to say, this teacher was beaming from ear to ear.

This year has been difficult for me. Most of the ideas and teaching methods I've brought along with me to my new school aren't generally accepted here. I spent the first several weeks hiding in my room behind a closed door hoping nobody would notice my rebel teaching style. When it was noticed, it was questioned, and even scoffed at as "too much work." Eventually, I realized I was causing more stress by holding to my vow of silence.

So I spoke up. First, in a timid, shaky voice. But each time I spoke up, I grew a little less timid and lot more bold. Eventually, I put my foot down. I will not follow nonsense instruction (thank you, Nancy Atwell). More recently, questions are being asked, but in a different way. Teachers are curious about the blogging, the brain research, the books I've been reading. It made me realize that there is a lot more than stress-reduction that happens when you stand up for what you believe.

I keep following my heart, listening to my wise friend and unknowing mentor, Jenny, and plowing hopefully forward. Surely, I tell myself, surely... this is the right way.

Last week my students took their first 9 week unit exams. Three stories, one selection of paired poems to compare, and one stand alone poem. 32 questions.

My students are (in my opinion) oddly grouped. My morning class consists of students that struggle to read anywhere near grade level. Reading is hard for them. But oh my goodness, they work hard; they are so eager to learn, to improve. Of the 19 students in that class, well over half receive some sort of modification or special services. Half of those need almost constant one on one attention to complete their work. Because of this, most of them haven't had much of an opportunity for peer work or small group collaboration before this year. We've spent much of our first weeks together just learning how to have conversations, how to make eye contact, and how to use what we know about how our brains work to help us learn. Due to cutbacks in the budget, none of them receive as much help as they really need. I stand in the gap as best I can.

My afternoon class has several students in the gifted and talented program. Those that aren't in that program are still typically high-achieving students. This is my squirrely class. High-kinesthetic need, low ability to attend to their behavior. We're working on metacognition and having an intrinsic locus of control. But they are also hard workers, and want to learn -- they soak up everything I throw at them, and surprise me daily with their insight.

The fact that these students are separated makes things more difficult for them. The students that really struggle don't have peers to learn from. The students that are excelling don't often have the opportunity to teach what they know. I feel we're missing out on some huge learning opportunities.

Today we received the data from last week's exam. Our guys have the highest reading scores in the district. When I arrived here, I was told to be prepared to "work my butt off" because of the high number of special needs students in our grade level this year. I was told to stick to the district  directives for instruction. I was told many things.

I did what many of us do. I chose what worked for me, for my students, and for our unique needs. I tossed out the rest. I gave (and will continue to give) my students ample time to read and write each day. I try to stay out of their way as they learn, and I guide them in the direction we need to go.

So far, I think we're doing just fine. And I'm glad to have some data to keep the naysayers at bay. I know that reading makes a difference. Choice makes a difference. A positive, happy influence makes a difference. Children that know how their brain works, how they learn best, and how to use that information -- that makes a difference. These are the differences that matter. As my friends with Human Systems Dynamics would say -- these are the differences that make a difference.