Saturday, November 29, 2014

Celebrate!



Discover. Play. Build.

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on Saturdays where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week.

This week was chock full of celebrations.

* My son is home from college for Thanksgiving. After his accident in October, we are more happy than ever to see him. 

* I finished my NaNoWriMo novel a few minutes ago one day ahead of schedule. Whew! It is always fun, but does make it difficult to get everything else done. 

* We've started pulling out the decorations for the Christmas season and I am excited to make the house cheery. It is especially fun knowing that our exchange student is getting to experience holidays that are new and different.

* We have started to move things in my school library into the much smaller space due to our renovation. I've condensed our nonfiction section to two large two-sided bookshelves on wheels. Several students have asked if I am going to pack our graphic novel section, but that is staying for sure. I would have a mutiny if I packed those for any length of time. I have half of the chapter book section moved and it begins to seem that our mini-library just may work. 

* We started prepping for hour of code this week. I created accounts and introduced Hour of Code with a few classes. I'm excited because since we did some things last year, it seems that this year will be even more fun and a lot of learning will be happening.

* Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. We have had some wonderful food this week and it has been in even better company.

There have been things to cry over this week too. The grand jury verdict in the Ferguson case broke a part of me. I don't understand how so many people believe that this is not about race. That paired with the shooting of Tamir Rice have me feeling a little hopeless. I have to wonder, when will the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter be unnecessary and what will I do to help make that happen?

6 comments:

  1. I agree, Crystal--very hard week with Ferguson, Tamir Rice, and so very much unexamined white privilege. I don't know what to do either. I can do more with my teaching, that's clear to me. Lots to think about. Congrats on finishing NaNoWriMo early! Such an accomplishment!

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    1. I too am going to continue teaching more than tolerance of others and share diverse literature with my staff and students. I want us to see beyond our own walls. Thanks for the congratulations. I am happy to be finished and have more time again. :)

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  2. Crystal. I celebrate all of these happy things with you. This last question - "when will the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter be unnecessary and what will I do to help make that happen?" is a big one. In Canada, on the West Coast, we are watching as events unfold and connecting to other experiences of violence and racism. I have a little girl in my class who just moved from central Canada - she lived on a reserve (and bussed in to school where she experienced racism), had terrible school attendance and was very unhappy. Her Mom shared that this is the first time her daughter has felt safe at school ever. She is 9. Wow. I think anywhere we can start to make difference is the place to begin. That this child feels safe in our school and happy in our classroom is huge - how do I continue to build community that extends? How do I help make sure all children matter everywhere? Big questions.

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    1. I think there are students across the country who have experiences that are appalling. I know I want our students to feel safe and appreciated in our school. I guess I will do what I can in my corner of the world, but will be watching for ways to reach beyond my walls.

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  3. I responded to Ferguson last week, Crystal. Thank you for your sharing, too. It was a big part of our conversation all during the holidays. What can we do for our children, how to help them be allies was a big question for us. Congrats on your novel. I'm impressed with anyone who completes that. It's a big deal. Have a good week!

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    1. Thanks Linda. It's a lot of work to finish NaNo.

      The questions around Ferguson are tough, but I hope we continue to ask them and begin to move toward change.

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