I am angry.
I had an awesome day of professional learning yesterday and today, took so much of what I learned and pushed it into demonstration lessons. AND I was with great colleagues all day -- folks who give me energy because their passion for teacher development and bringing literacy joy to kids is contagious. But my heart is scribbled on with black crayon, my shoulders are tight, I'm not taking deep breaths because I'm carrying ANGER about the state of education -- far and near.
* Betsy DeVos, your foolish interview on 60 Minutes was an example of everything I don't want in a leader in my profession -- full of pompous posturing, poor perspective-taking, entitlement and horrible solutions. (Thank goodness for Andy Borowitz's take!)
* Federal government, your complete lack of understanding of how to support students is an embarrassment on a good day, a heartache most days (and I need to ACT) -- you don't champion trauma-informed care, you don't get student discipline, you want teachers to carry guns -- I'm sickened.
* Frustrating high school principal (mine) who has let months and months pass without providing meaningful intervention to the kids in my community -- when we know the struggling readers and confidence-lacking mathematicians are predominantly kids of color, kids who feel disengaged from our school. How can we be so wealthy, so privileged, and so unresponsive? I need to raise my voice, but those scribbles in my heart have me shooting venom.
What to do?
* Take a few breaths. Walk a few laps. Breathe again.
* Surround myself with the warrior moms I work with in my community... these strong women refuel and inspire me.
* Read to kids. Read with kids. Get kids books. Be a literacy champion with my actions, dollars and time.
AND -- live in the JOY --
I was writing haikus about Gerald & Piggy, Violetta (The Princess Knight) and Jabari (Jabari Jumps) -- below are the anchor charts from today's lessons!
I'm going to do an energy transfer -- from raging anger to relentless advocate. Here. I. Go.
I had an awesome day of professional learning yesterday and today, took so much of what I learned and pushed it into demonstration lessons. AND I was with great colleagues all day -- folks who give me energy because their passion for teacher development and bringing literacy joy to kids is contagious. But my heart is scribbled on with black crayon, my shoulders are tight, I'm not taking deep breaths because I'm carrying ANGER about the state of education -- far and near.
* Betsy DeVos, your foolish interview on 60 Minutes was an example of everything I don't want in a leader in my profession -- full of pompous posturing, poor perspective-taking, entitlement and horrible solutions. (Thank goodness for Andy Borowitz's take!)
* Federal government, your complete lack of understanding of how to support students is an embarrassment on a good day, a heartache most days (and I need to ACT) -- you don't champion trauma-informed care, you don't get student discipline, you want teachers to carry guns -- I'm sickened.
* Frustrating high school principal (mine) who has let months and months pass without providing meaningful intervention to the kids in my community -- when we know the struggling readers and confidence-lacking mathematicians are predominantly kids of color, kids who feel disengaged from our school. How can we be so wealthy, so privileged, and so unresponsive? I need to raise my voice, but those scribbles in my heart have me shooting venom.
What to do?
* Take a few breaths. Walk a few laps. Breathe again.
* Surround myself with the warrior moms I work with in my community... these strong women refuel and inspire me.
* Read to kids. Read with kids. Get kids books. Be a literacy champion with my actions, dollars and time.
AND -- live in the JOY --
I was writing haikus about Gerald & Piggy, Violetta (The Princess Knight) and Jabari (Jabari Jumps) -- below are the anchor charts from today's lessons!
I'm going to do an energy transfer -- from raging anger to relentless advocate. Here. I. Go.
I think there is a lot of anger going around these days, and deservedly so. Thank you for sharing your frustrations and showing that the anger can be the fuel we need to keep doing what we know is right.
ReplyDeleteYes, I hear you. Cannot even attempt to watch the DeVos interview except through the lens of Colbert or Seth Meyers. It is so hard to be a teacher right now, and I switched to teaching from a different career/job/focus. It's just so different from what I want to do - teach! Make a difference!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I love those anchor charts :) Gerald and Piggie are a great antidote to the real world.
I love the line, "those scribbles in my heart have me shooting venom," the color scribbled on your heart, and all the other images that express your frustration. The alliterative ending was a perfect way to sum it up.
ReplyDelete