Saturday, May 4, 2013

What's Your Superpower? A Reflection on the Day in the Life of a Literacy Specialist

There are a lot of requirements when you're enrolled in a Literacy program in graduate school. Papers, case studies, readings. As a student and current teacher, I apply my new-found knowledge as best I can in my classroom and to course assignments. The problem with this, however, is that it isn't preparing me for what my degree will be inevitably give me the option to become: a literacy specialist. So, when one of this semester's requirements was to spend the day shadowing a literacy leader, I knew I had to get the most out of the experience.

I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Sure, literacy specialists are responsible for working with students. Of course they offer support to teachers. Naturally, they work with administrators. I knew this (I read about it, heard about it, prepared theoretical projects around it). But to do all of this IN THE SAME DAY... EVERY DAY!? Again, I wasn't prepared.

Our morning began with administrative work. The leader (this was her job at this moment) was reviewing a survey she had created for the school's staff to complete. It had already been through the hands of a "higher-up" who offered some suggestions. Where I would have probably slaved over the alterations, this leader had changed, spell-checked, and sent it off within five minutes. She then glanced over the daily bulletin and off we went- time to get the kids!

We flew down the hallway and picked up our first group. Without wasting anytime the group was reviewing vowels and digraphs. She seamlessly transitioned to reading, where each student whisper read while she went around and did a running record on select students. STOP! Time for word work, where students tapped and blended root words and added suffixes. Back to the books! The students went on a hunt for suffixes in their texts. GREAT! Onto the dictation, where neatness earns stickers and all of that tapping and blending is put to use! Finished early? No problem, here's a book (made by the teacher, no less) to find even more suffixes! Everyone is done? Time to write sentences! And then...time is up. My class spends 80 minutes doing this...she did it in under 20. Did you get that feeling?

I saw four more groups before 11AM. Each one was fast-paced. Each one offered new activities for the needs of the students. This super teacher knew just how to engage each student, whose attentions may or may not have been on the task at hand. For instance, a group of two students decoded six words and then played a clues game ("Which can you wear?" [cap] "Which you can wipe your feet on?" [mat]). Later, a group of three students played, "What says...?" with vowels, consonants and digraphs. Who knew that flashcards with sentence starters and stick figures on them were so motivating to get students to write a sentence with a suffix? And a reward for hard work? Show-off reading! In one minute you can make a student the star that will inevitably have him shining all day.

There was a break in "reading club" (another secret weapon used by this hero) at 11:00, but that didn't mean she got a break. Time to put on your coaching cap and have a last-minute conference with one student's teacher. Talk about knowing your students! She brought whatever formative assessments she had to the conference, but she didn't need to look at them. She knew right away what the plan for this struggling reader was going to be, and was willing to fight for him and the teacher to get the plan approved. We moved from the table to the computer, where the coach sat right next to the teacher and provided her with support and opinions for completing each students' IEP. I didn't know that teacher, but those 30 minutes had an obvious impact on her comfort and stress level.

11:30: Time for another group! It was at this point that my observation ended, but my reflection really began. (I found out later that the afternoon was filled with surprise observations by "higher-ups" and their "higher-ups"...does it ever end!?)

After my visit, the only term that seemed appropriate for this woman's occupation was superhero. She could fly down the hallways (without a cape). She was a mind reader when pinpointing a student's struggles. She obviously has super-strength to carry these struggling readers through from level to level as they progress. Super-speed is another power, whether in completing administrative tasks, moving through a lesson, or conferencing with teachers. She doesn't wear a red suit or a mask, but it appears that everyone knows who to turn to when they need a little (or a lot of) extra help with their literacy learners. I challenge you to think of a better term for this woman and all she does, because "specialist" "coach" and "leader" do not seem like strong enough descriptors, do they?

Now I sit here, a relatively new in-service teacher, who is eager to receive her Master's degree in Literacy and begin to change the lives of struggling readers and writers. I cannot help but wonder if I will ever be able to do what this one teacher does, day in and day out, making it seem easy and having the success rate to prove it. And while I'm sure it is difficult to juggle all of these roles, one thing was powerfully clear: this teacher, mentor, colleague, organizer, leader, hero LOVES and is PASSIONATE ABOUT what she does. And I suppose, in the end, as long as you have those two things, you really can save the world. In teaching, at least. 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Procrastination Nation

Welcome to Procrastination Nation,
Where you don't work when you should
And you often wish that you would
have listened to your friends
when they said:
"DON'T PUT IT OFF UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!"

But you can't help where you live
Or the curveballs that life gives
to you
on a weekly basis.

So here I am now,
Sitting under the flag of my country
And thinking, "Holy cow!"
10 PM and so much to do!
If my professor only knew
That I didn't mean to wait so long
To type up these last 2 entries that belong
Behind a bullet-proof case for all of the work
I have put into them.

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the nation that makes me gag.
Here's to you, Procrastination Nation.
You win again.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Did you know...

Reflections from today's writing lesson...

Did you know

that your students

know more than you?

Did you know

that you will never

know everything?

Did you know

that by thinking you're

the smartest person in the room

you are cheating yourself

and them?

Did you know

that you can learn

more in one lesson from them

than in any professional development course?

Did you know?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

My Golden Girl

"Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again 
Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant."


You scratch and bark
And make me carry you home from the park.

You used to be full of energy (and thin!)
You now eat garbage and my dirty napkin.

You hate when I dress you up,
But you're such a good lil' pup

That when dressed as a hippo for Halloween
You didn't even make a scene.

Your feisty moments make me laugh
Like when you know you're about to get a bath.

And you give me that look like, "Mom, don't you touch me,"
Even though afterwards you know you'll feel as good as can be.

To me, you are more than 'man's best friend'
You are worth more than any amount of money I can spend. 

You're presence is always there to carry me through,
Gracie, I love you. 

Peeping Tom

Through the window: Boo!
"I see you," taunts the peacock.
Can't complain 'bout Tom. 

IFA Villas Bavaro Resort & Spa, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Closure With a Capital "C"

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was recommended by some of my classmates as a "MUST READ." So when it came time to decide which books to bring with me on vacation, it was my first purchase. 

On the connecting flight from Atlanta to Santo Domingo, I turned on my Kindle and began to read. 

After the first page, I looked to Mike and said, "This is a cancer book." 

"Turn it off," he said, without hesitation. 

Now, none of my classmates were aware of the fact that the Big C is a pretty (very) fragile topic in mine and Mike's lives. A brief timeline: September, his mother was diagnosed; October, my cousin lost her battle; November, my grandmother stopped fighting; December, his grandmother was taken unexpectedly. 

Not that we are in avoidance of the topic altogether. Heck, we even watched 50/50, knowing it was a C movie, because we thought Seth Rogan would give us a humorous take on much a traumatizing subject. Well, once we got to the scene where the camera focuses in on a half-empty bag of chemo being pumped into JGL, we turned it off. No laughs. Just horrible memories. "Too soon," we both agreed. 

It was still too soon. I knew that vacation would already bring about a few moments of sadness on Thursday, what would have been my cousin's 35th birthday. But it came so highly recommended that I thought, "Hey, if it gets too rough, I have others to choose from." On I read...

I finished the book the next day. I had to stop, frequently, because Hazel's journey required thought. But I couldn't keep myself from reading. The book, in fact, wasn't "sad." It was undoubtedly depressing, but Hazel never lets you feel sorrowful for her or the other characters. For them, cancer is just something they have, not who they are or who they will become. And that is exactly the way I saw it as it was happening around me. These brave women, like Hazel, lived their lives the way they wanted to. Sure, some days were better than others. But they kept going, if not for themselves, for their families and friends. And when the end would come, though grief-stricken and heart-broken, their wishes for us to be happy and celebrate their lively spirits was a true testament to their strengths and characters. 

Hazel's story helped me more than I ever could have imagined. It sounds silly, that I've had months to recover from such loss and a book, read over 2 days, was what ended up putting everything into perspective. But it did. Hazel's voice, for me, was the voice of the women I lost and the one still fighting (and winning!). I will never know what my angels thought before they left this earth, but I can imagine it was something like what I read. 

It is all still so unbelievable and despairing, yet for the moment I have Closure from Cancer. For the moment, there are no "what-ifs" or "I wonder...". In this moment, I am at peace. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Rise & Shine

There are two beautiful benefits to leaving for work before dawn and coming home after dusk:

Sunrise



and



sunset.

British author Jo Walton said, "There's a sunrsise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them." 

Lucky for me, I get paid to experience these priceless moments.