I have not a clue what to write about. As a wannabe writer I am merely following instructions: "You should have a blog." Okay, I am blogging. Now what? I can't very well give advice on writing as I only a beginner, or can I? I could write about teaching as I have done that part-time for a couple of decades. My favorite part about teaching is the books. Books filled with information, books filled with stories, big beautiful pictures, tiny little illustrations, all of it is so magical. My favorite part of the day is after lunch when I read aloud to them. And often we go over the time limit. "One more chapter,please" I often give in to their pleas. That is the best part of the teaching day.
Unfortunately, there's also the spitballs and wandering attention spans and fire drills and someone throwing up or needing to pee. In middle school there is the added bonus of rudeness being thrown at you because they, as grown twelve year olds, know so much better than you. So now I am trying to share books from the other side of the classroom door and of course, out of spitball range.
The greatest compliment a mother paid me once was that I taught her daughter to love reading. This was an especially impressive remark as the woman hated me at the beginning of the school year. I cannot remember why. You have to let those things slide off you or you become overwhelmed. But by the end of the year after acting out fairy tales and tall tales and using an assortment of insect voices in James and the Giant Peach, I had won over at least one soul to the magic of reading. And to boot, the mom not only put it in writing, she gave my principal a copy.
Writing is a way to touch more souls beyond the one classroom. Doesn't that sound heroic? Actually, it's plain fun and life is too short not to have fun.
Unfortunately, there's also the spitballs and wandering attention spans and fire drills and someone throwing up or needing to pee. In middle school there is the added bonus of rudeness being thrown at you because they, as grown twelve year olds, know so much better than you. So now I am trying to share books from the other side of the classroom door and of course, out of spitball range.
The greatest compliment a mother paid me once was that I taught her daughter to love reading. This was an especially impressive remark as the woman hated me at the beginning of the school year. I cannot remember why. You have to let those things slide off you or you become overwhelmed. But by the end of the year after acting out fairy tales and tall tales and using an assortment of insect voices in James and the Giant Peach, I had won over at least one soul to the magic of reading. And to boot, the mom not only put it in writing, she gave my principal a copy.
Writing is a way to touch more souls beyond the one classroom. Doesn't that sound heroic? Actually, it's plain fun and life is too short not to have fun.
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