The Teacher Next-Door

It was a nice evening to go for a walk. A short distance from my driveway, a small gathering of children traded their quarters for a coconut paleta popsicle from the local vendor. I crossed the street heading toward the medical building's parking lot when I heard the giggles of four little girls behind me on their bikes.

"Hi Mrs. Morrison," they each greeted me as they headed toward the empty parking lot to wheel around in circles before turning back toward their apartment building.

My route for the evening included a couple blocks along the highway that separates my neighborhood from the school where I teach. I wasn't the only one out enjoying a cool evening hike. At the traffic light beside a nearby gas station, a young girl waved and hollered for my attention. I smiled and crossed the intersection when I recognized her from my 4th grade class last year. She and her mom and brother were returning from a trip to the stores several blocks away.

A few minutes farther on down the street, I encountered another family group laden with shopping bags. "Hola, Maestra," one of the women greeted me in the respectful way families from Latin American countries say "Hello" to a teacher. By this time my lovely evening walk had turned into a heartwarming mingle with my neighbors. I love living in the midst of this community where I teach... which certainly must dispel the myth held by many primary grade children that their teacher lives at school.

A Great Read

I've been reading this book for the past few weeks; and loving it. Not that it should take such a long time to read, it's just that it takes me a while to digest it. I'm sure I'll need to go back and start from the beginning once I finish it because I'm at an age when my head is so crammed full of stuff from years of collecting thoughts that it's hard to find a spot to keep anything new for more than a few days.

Writing About Reading: From Book Talk to Literary Essays, Grades 3-8
by Janet Angelillo

Clearly what I need to do is write about what I've been reading! That way I can come back here to this blog to find my notes and maybe I won't have to re-read the whole book again every time I want to find some part of it. 

Yesterday's reading introduced me to the idea of a "landmark text" which is a book:

"that remains in someone's mind long after the last page is read... a defining book in a reader's life. After reading [it], the reader is a different person, that is, a person is changed by the experience of reading the book. It often stands out because of theme, plot, or characters, and it can help a reader define who he is, what he believes, and what he thinks about the world."

As with other landmarks, like say... the Front Range Mountains, it tells me where I am and even who I am. When I am away from this mountain range, I have a hard time knowing where WEST is. Sometimes I can figure it out if I imagine where the mountains would be if they were there where I am. They help me find my direction. They are my connection to the points on a compass.

 We each have our own list of landmark books, because we each make our own personal connections to individual books. The author mentioned some common books that are often example-landmarks, but I haven't read most of them. One that she listed, though, I can say has had an impact on me is To Kill a Mockingbird. The first contact I remember with this story was watching the movie version on TV with my dad when I was a young teenager, then when my daughter read it in high school I read it again. (I think it was then; is that right Jennie?)  For me the lesson about what is important in life was the integrity of a couple of the characters. One of them is the father of the character "Scout". Thus it was also a lesson about parenting, as I look back on it now. It has been a landmark for me for many years, not like I read it a lot. I don't even remember most of the character's names. Maybe I should revisit that great book. But for this blog entry the point is to give an example of what a landmark book is.

I want to bring this idea to my Literacy teaching this year. I am having trouble coming up with some common "landmark book" examples for primary grade students, and elementary grade landmark books in Spanish. Can you help me? What are some books from your childhood (or as a parent/grandparent/teacher reading to a child) that you could say helped define who you are? or that you often connect back to as you read other books? Do you think of any that are picture books with few words?

I'm not looking for a list of good books to read to my students, but instead a list of a few books that I could use as examples to demonstrate what a landmark book is... along with YOUR reason that this book is one of your landmarks. What is a connection you have made between that book from your childhood and your life or between that book and another book (even an adult book)?

Thanks for your help!!

Writerly Thoughts

writ·er·ly   [rahy-ter-lee] — adj

of or characteristic of a writer; literary Embracing the title writer is a bit like claiming to be bilingual. One day you just see that this is indeed what you have become. There is no formal test. There is just a life of writing (or of being bilingual). Well, of course there are writing tests in the realm of education, of school accountability. They are necessary for assigning grades to students' writing work, and to the work done by those students' teachers, their schools and their school districts. But writing tests and writerly thoughts are two very different things. The funny thing is that by starting a blog entitled "Writerly Thoughts About Teaching Children", I feel someone might read it. And that feels a bit like turning in a writing assignment. Reread.  Revise?  Does this introductory blog say what I'm thinking? Check the spelling and grammar. Ready to publish? Hit the Publish button. No, wait! Don't misunderstand me, I do hope someone reads this. If that someone is you, I hope you will write feedback. Not test grader feedback: A+, A, A-, B+... D, D-, F(lunk). No, none of those short one-letter comments are necessary. Or, at least I don't think so. But if my writing touches a vein of recognition in your life, I'd love for you to tell me. After all, that's part of my writerly life - making a connection with a reader. You won't have to be a schoolteacher to see that our lives correlate. Maybe you'll see yourself in the students I have known, or in the life-lessons I have encountered while teaching, or in some other piece of a writerly morsel from my career.  I do hope you will come back here, often. But more than that, I hope I will come back here often!