Ugh. Still struggling. Sorry to keep whining. Makes one appreciate his health even more. Limped through the day yesterday. Was not myself, and I hate that feeling with the kids. Even my son, who is in my class, commented, “Yeah, Dad, I could tell you weren’t yourself today.”
Well, won’t fully be myself today either. But I’ll give it my all, even if my all is less than I’d like. Of course, the kids have been very empathetic and supportive, and I appreciate that. Glad I have them to carry me when I can’t keep up.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…cultivating community with Kindness Cards.
…growing with grammar.
…considering societal and personal values.
…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.
Happy Wednesday, all. Sorry for the lame posts this week.
Still under the weather today, but I am gonna brave it and head to school. Too much to do, and the days are passing too quickly. I did get a lot of rest yesterday, and I do feel less bad. So, off to work I go. Heigh-Ho!
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…growing with grammar.
…presenting CRE analyses of a Gen Z in the workforce article.
…reflecting on last week’s question, “How does the world view you?”
…continuing our viewing of a documentary on the American Dream.
Some days it’s more pronounced than others. Some days it’s more than I believe I can handle. Some days it strikes me as almost comedic–too crazy to be real, too real to be crazy. And on those days, I just lean into my students and embrace the crazy that is teaching.
If it were a lunar mission, Houston would be on high alert, scrambling to coordinate all the variables for a successful landing. It would take a control room full of the best and brightest to pull off such a feat. But there is no comm link to any such lifeline. There’s just me, my kids, and a veritable shot at the moon. Our own lunacy landing.
Of course, I offer “lunacy” more whimsically than disparagingly. For while there are days when it really is too much, for the most part, I love our crazy, complicated mission to the moon.
But also, of course, though I play with words here, there is a serious side to the mission with problems arising that are bigger than I can handle as each kid brings their own struggles along on the trip, and it feels as if we’re spinning through space, precariously patched together with little more than tape and staples. No Houston to call. No control room full of the best and brightest to help us adjust our course. No. Just us. And that is what we rely on: us. And though our landings are sometimes clunky, awkward, and even hard, we touch down each day, already planning our next mission, hoping to get it better tomorrow.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…accessing and sharing information with a jigsaw activity.
…analyzing arguments for claims, reasons, and evidence.
…reflecting on our Question of the Week (QoW: How does the world see you?)
They didn’t really believe me. I could see it in their eyes. And why would they? After all, with the exception of a friend or two and a few familiar faces, they were among strangers, even I was a stranger, who was standing in front of them telling them we would become–claiming that we were–a community as I shared their second most important role (see below) a the outset of our journey.
Role #2: Valued Community Member. This is your second most important role. At present, many of us are not well-acquainted, but we are in this together either way. And as we will spend a lot of time together both struggling and celebrating over the days to come, my hope is that we establish a community that is rich in relationships and in excess of empathy. We are a community.
That was over ninety days ago. Things have changed at semester with the shuffling of schedules, and change is hard. Change is strange. The kids told me so. “I miss our old class.” “There are too many strangers in the room.” “I am nervous again about sharing during Smiles and Frowns; I don’t know these people.”
“But you will,” I tell them, reminding them that they had the same worries all those days ago when we first started our time together. “You–we–will build new bonds and create new connections. We will become a community again. We are a community.“
And they believe me. I can see it in their eyes. And why wouldn’t they? I delivered on my promise then, and I believe they trust that I will deliver on my promise now. Of course, I couldn’t do it without Smiles and Frowns. So, maybe, then, it’s not so much they trust me as much as they trust Smiles and Frowns, as much as they trust themselves, for it is they not I who’ve really created the connections. I am just along for the ride. And what a ride it’s been.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…growing with grammar.
…seeking to understand others’ views with SOAPSTone.
I have long held to the belief that there’s folly in the “each-generation-is-worse” line of thinking. My parents were worse than than their parents, who were worse than theirs, and the list goes on. Of course, then, it goes without saying that I am worse than my parents, and now my own kids (Generation Z) are the “current worst.” But wait, another generation is coming. And like the generations before, in a world of constant change, they will reign as the new worst of the worse. I don’t buy it. Never have.
As a teacher, I often hear the remark, “Kids these days.” But also, as a teacher, my experiences have taught me that kids are kids. That doesn’t change. But days, they do change, and as we adapted to “our days,” these kids are just adapting to their days, which are drastically different from our own, which will be decidedly different from their own children’s days.
As one who has devoted now twenty-four years of my life working with “kids these days,” I have found hope in each as they make their way through their days, through their worlds. And I feel no less hope for the Gen Z kids who fill my desks right now. In fact, I want to help turn that hope into reality this spring with our “Broken to Better Project,” challenging the kids in these next eighty-eight days to find what’s broken in their inherited world and make it better. Of course, what this generation accomplishes remains to be seen, but I have high hopes for them to if not solve problems, then to mend what’s broken by coming together where past generations have struggled: between. As our generations further retreat to their “certain ends,” I plan to challenge my kids to find better between the ends.
As such, we will set the stage with this Essential Question:
How can we come together to build a better tomorrow?
This week our work will begin with this Guiding Question:
How does the world view me?
I want the kids to consider how the world views their generation. Next week, I will ask them how they view the world. But first, this week, we will begin by looking at Gen Z’s place in the world. Today, we will begin by watching Moses Lake High School teacher Kimber Lybbert’s TEDx Talk that took place right here in Spokane, “Dear Grown-ups…Sincerely, Gen Z.”
I stumbled across this last weekend as I was looking for some Gen Z resources. I am thrilled I found it. I am thrilled it was in Spokane. I am more thrilled it was by a fellow Washington teacher. But I am most thrilled that Kimber painted a perfect picture with her words. I am truly inspired by what she shares about this generation, about “these kids,” whom I have come to know and love. These kids. These kids will change the world.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting for the first time in our new semester classes with Smiles and Frowns.
…growing with grammar.
…considering our place in the world as “these kids.”
…viewing and analyzing “Dear Grown-ups…Sincerely, Gen Z.”
