Secondary Literacy

When I was in eighth grade I moved to a new school and school district. I was already an extremely shy child so moving to a new school only made it that much worse. I remember hating my eighth grade ELAR teacher. I know hate is a strong word but it definitely comes to mind when I think of her. I felt from the moment I walked in the room that she was out to get me. I have no clue why this would be, I had no family members that went to that school for her to judge me off of, I was a well behaved student who didn't speak in class unless she asked us to and I had all my work turned in on time. She did not attempt to get to know her students at all (we definitely were not a community) and she hated my writing. I remember having an assignment posted on the wall where anyone who wanted to could look at it. On the back she wrote " you had no heart when writing this". It was an opinion piece, she did not conference with me about the piece, and didn't even talk to me about it after it was finished. My opinion was not hers and she scored me low because of it. Another essay she basically wrote that I would not do well in college because of how I wrote, that's funny because so in college I have received an A on every paper I've submitted. Another assignment we had to pick a topic out of a hat. I pulled out same topic that my "heartless" piece was on, she started laughing and told me to pick again so I could get something I would do better on (yes she did this in front of the entire class). 

Jump ahead to my junior and senior year of high school. This teacher was all about preparing us for our next steps in life. We had assignments to write college entrance essays, resumes, and applications. When receiving grades she would give us a wide variety of ways to achieve a decent grade. We had our normal quizzes and tests but we also had projects and presentations where we were able to show our creativity and demonstrate what the text meant to us. I remember one assignment in particular. I completed it and I was not 100% happy with what I saw. So before turning it in, I redid the entire project and was happy to do so because I enjoyed doing it and wanted to present my best to this teacher. She ended up asking to keep my project to show to classes in the future because she was proud of the work I had done. 

I don't remember what year each book was assigned but I remember reading Great Expectations, Ender's Game, Fahrenheit 451 and Nineteen Eighty- Four. What's funny is all of these books where on the summer reading list. I barely remember the books that were read in class but I remember these. I had a hard time picking up the books and actually reading. Great Expectations was especially hard to get into but I know I actually ended up enjoying every one of these books. 

I am glad to have had both of these teachers. It allows me to see the importance of a great role model and how much a classroom community can mean to a student. I wanted to please my high school teacher and took pride in my work while in eighth grade I started to question why I should put in any effort at all if it wasn't going to change anything and I would receive a poor grade anyways. I know my students will live up to my expectations so I keep the bar high. I let them know what is expected and do not lower that standard however, my students know they can come to me if they ever need anything.  I also try to give students many opportunities to show me what they are capable of. I have seen many different talents shine by allowing them to express themselves on avenues other than paper and pencil. 

Step

 "Research, Reflect, Renew and  Push" are some of the words I have tried to live by and focus on in the past few years. When thinking about what word I would choose not only for this assignment but for my life this year,  I actually struggled. 

How can I have time to pick a word with everything else going on in my life right now? I'm enrolled in two graduate level classes, it's now STAAR season, I have more responsibility at work, I need to lose weight and get healthy, I'm getting married in 5 months,  and my fiancé and I just decided to start the process of buying a home. Saying I'm busy or stressed at the moment is an understatement. 

I found myself wasting more and more time complaining and stressing over what I needed to do and what needed to be done, instead of actually doing anything at all. I finally told myself just to take it one STEP at a time. Even if my steps are small, it is still one step closer to the finish line. 

Our students juggle a lot more in life than we give them credit for. One of our major roles as an educator is to give them the skills and resources so they need to become successful adults. One thing overlooked is the ability to prioritize and organize things going on in their lives. Multiple classes, a part time job, relationships, and trouble at home can affect how they perform in your classroom. If we can teach our students to take things step by step and celebrate successes along the way, they can become more productive adults. 

There are steps in the writing process, steps needed to create blogs, steps to doing projects. Even when Randy Boomer talked about small groups, and partnerships students need to be tasked with what they need to get accomplished that day (or what steps they need to take). If we only look at the big picture, what needs to be done can get pretty overwhelming. But by taking the first step and doing what you can in that moment soon you will see the finish line and the start line will be barley visible. ~Randi

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand (Psalm 37: 23-24).