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December 26- Thoughts on Teaching Writing
This has been, without a doubt, the best school year I’ve had in such a long time. Granted, it wasn’t an easy semester with Covid 19 looming in the background, but it was still fun.
I finally landed my “Dream Job” of teaching writing to seventh graders. In the state of Texas, most people avoid that job at all costs because of STAAR testing (and possibly because of seventh graders, but I personally love teaching middle school.) Writing is only tested in Fourth and Seventh grades and during End-of-Course (EOC) testing in high school. Unfortunately for our students, that means that there is no real writing practice in any of the other grade levels. Students in grade levels who are not tested are only given writing assignments for History or Science classes, leaving little to the imagination.
But what are the most popular book genres for that age level? Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and science fiction.
When I started my classes this year, I was told repeatedly how the students hated writing. I couldn’t blame them. I would hate it too, if I were only allowed to write about my worst subject, which is History. I love history, but I tend to delve in the everyday actions, the stories behind the scenes, the drama of the lives of people who lived through it. I can guarantee that if a history assignment was more about tactical maneuvers and economics, my grade would be below par for my writing abilities.
I wish people could have heard the enthusiasm at the first assignment my students received. There were the original moans and groans, but they quieted shortly after I said, “You can write about anything you want. It is all up to you.”
“Really? Anything we want?” It was almost shock and awe. One by one, the students started writing. Granted, it wasn’t much at first, but the excitement grew like weeds in my garden. I watched as the students started turning in papers that grew in length, depth, and complexity. We even had six of my students become published on a website and several others who are trying to get published as well. We played games about sentences and made posters and word walls and we probably made a lot of noise. And we had fun.
I know that schools do need some sort of tool to assess if the students are progressing as they should, but there has to be a better way than forcing students into high-stakes testing, where test makers take in millions of dollars while students have creativity beaten out of them and teachers are chided for low scores.
I have a quote credited to Ray Bradbury that states about writing, “… it reminds us that we are alive, and that it is a gift and a privilege…” For our students, it may sometimes feel more like a grind and a punishment. My goal is to share the wonderful imagination inside each child. I hope my spring semester is as much fun as my fall semester has been. I’m loving my job.
August 3- Kitty's Day Out
I have to give a shout-out to the Petco in Grapevine.
Last weekend, I took my cat, Samantha, to the low-cost pet clinic to get her shots before we head back to Bastrop. Usually, I struggle with getting our large, plastic pet carrier into my VW Bug, so my mom gave us a new pet carrier. It is one of those soft cases with double zippers, and on the side it states, appropriately enough, ROYALTY. All cats think they are royalty, right? So we thought this would be perfect.
With the Covid restrictions, Petco is asking that there be only one pet parent allowed in the store so there won’t be as many people. That makes sense, so we decided Eric could stay home. I brought Samantha into the store, and we weighed her and took care of all the paperwork, and she was loudly meowing the entire time. So far, so good.
I walked over to the “waiting area” which only allows two people at a time (thank you, Covid) and Samantha was clearly upset. So, I opened the side zipper and reached in to pet her. I hoped it would calm her, but she was still meowing. I stood up and looked around, reached down, and petted her again. Then I looked over and saw an empty seat. “Great! Let’s go sit over there,” I told her, and I picked up the case. And it was extremely light. It was suddenly so light-weight that I almost threw it over my head.
I wanted to laugh but didn’t, because surely this wasn’t happening. Or was it? I looked. Yep. Empty. Of course, being the introverted and ladylike person I am, I started hollering, “Samantha?!” Over and over. Then I got down own the floor- all the way to lying down- and started looking underneath the product shelf behind me. No Samantha. I went to the next display, laid on the floor, still calling her name, and looking under another display. Some ding-dong comes over and says, “Oh, are you next?” Really?
“Apparently, not anymore,” I told him, and got off the floor to go to the next aisle of merchandise. Fortunately, one of the workers asked if I had lost something. “Yeah,” I told her. “My cat!”
This is where I have to give compliments to Petco. The entire staff went into action. They started talking on walkie-talkies, they placed a guard at the front door, and someone got a “description of the missing feline.” Then three people came over with flashlights and started looking under display cases with me. Lying in the floor, looking under each case. Wow.
Fortunately, I got to thinking about her favorite hiding spots at home, and I realized she would hide in a place that would have her closed in on at least two sides. Sure enough, I went back to the back of the store- where another employee was guarding the back door- and started working my way forward. I checked all the lower shelves of dog food, and I found her in less than two minutes. With the help of one of the other ladies, I managed to get her out and hold onto her.
Even the manager, who came up to help us on her day off, offered to help. She brought me a “more sturdy” cat holder made out of cardboard. She fixed it up and Samantha sat in that for the next several minutes, waiting to get her shots.
Once that was over, I paid and left with a very red face. “I can’t believe you did this,” I scolded as I carried her across the parking lot in the cardboard case. Then suddenly, it too became “extremely light-weight” as the bottom fell out and Samantha went onto the pavement. Fortunately, I caught her this time, and somehow managed to carry her, her pet case, and my purse while kicking the cardboard case across to my car. So I opened the door and shoved all of it into the Bug.
Samantha, of course, went into hiding. Under the drivers seat. Have you been in a bug lately? There isn’t much room down there. When we got home, I couldn’t get her out of the car, so we went inside and got the water-bottle that we use to water plants. We tried squirting her, thinking it would make her want to come out. The problem was: she was stuck…
Finally, we managed to unlodge her from the seat and get her poor wet, drunk self inside. She hid under the bed for an hour.
It was quite the day for such a tiny cat, but it is over now, and she is happily at home and in my lap. But to the people at Petco- Thank you! That is what I call customer service.
My Final Oxford Paper:
So our assignment was to work on a fictional paper, based on reading of something else. In other words, we had to create a fictional paper that was sparked from an idea while reading a previous work, whether it was fiction, poetry, or non-fiction. I have no idea why I created this other than I had just started laying out plans for my upcoming middle grade book, Team NINJA 1: Making the Team. The beginning may be a bit odd, but it was an assignment, so there was information added to the front of the story.
Miles Final Project
Character Notes
Kim Banks is a sweet fourteen-year-old girl living in an affluent neighborhood. Very brainy and quite thin, she has long brown hair and green eyes. She loves to dance and was even thinking about joining the school dance team, but all these positive attributes have been drowned out by the fact that she is also the favorite target of Laurel Worthomore and her crowd, who have a serious “mean girl” complex.
Note the cast of characters: Kim Banks, her sister Amy, and their parents; Laurel Worthomore and her parents
Catalyst for the change:
It is the Banker, who banks information on other girls, who holds the real power. -Kelli Smith, Clinical Psychologist, on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman:
The Event:
Laurel was the Queen Bee, had always been the Queen Bee, and had no intention of ever giving up being the Queen Bee. Everyone seemed to know it, and no matter how mean she was, everyone seemed to bow down to her. Even some of the teachers fell victim to her actions.
In the end, however, it was an odd happenstance that brought about an end to the feud. Kim’s younger sister, Amy, had decided to begin piano lessons. Her father had casually mentioned this fact at work one day, and another man in the department said he and his wife had a baby grand for sale. He invited the Banks family to come over and take a look at it.
“This is Mr. Worthomore,” Mr. Banks told the family when they arrived. “He’s on my Systems Development Team at work.”
Kim winced. Worthomore? If she had known this was Laurel’s house, she would not have come. Warily she looked around but was happy to find Laurel nowhere in sight.
Then they were all introduced to Mrs. Worthomore, and each one shook hands with her. “It’s nice to meet you all. And Mr. Banks, your children have impeccable manners.”
Mr. Banks was looking quite proud of his family when she turned to Kim and said, “What grade are you in?”
“Seventh grade.”
“Really? So’s my daughter. Do you know my daughter, Laurel?” she asked excitedly. “I always like meeting Laurel’s friends.”
“Well, I know her, but we’re not really friends,” she said bluntly but as politely as she could.
“Oh, I’ll go tell Laurel that one of her friends is here.”
“Ma’am, we really aren’t friends,” she reiterated, but it was like Laurel’s mom either couldn’t hear her or just did not get the concept. The woman was already disappearing down the hall, calling out, “Laurel! Come downstairs! One of your friends is here!”
She smiled brightly at Kim, who sighed.
Laurel came flying down the stairs then stopped abruptly. Her joyful smile turned to a look of ugly disgust when she saw Kim. “Oh. It’s you.” She turned and trudged back upstairs to her room, angered that she left a telephone conversation for something so trivial as Kim Banks.
Laurel’s mother was motionless, her mouth gaping. Everyone stood transfixed, like some horrible reality show to see who would be the most embarrassed: the fathers, the mothers, or Kim.
“It’s alright, ma’am,” Kim said. “Like I told you, we really aren’t friends.”
Mortified by the actions of his daughter, Mr. Worthomore looked at Mr. Banks. “Well, let’s take a look at the piano, shall we?” He led them into a large room where the baby grand stood, but he flinched when he noticed the look Kim’s mother sent her husband.
“Why don’t you sit down and give her a try?” he said to the younger sister. Amy looked longingly at the piano, then she and her mother moved to the bench and stroked the keys. Mrs. Banks showed her a few chords and played a short piece of music while the two men stood near the doorway.
Mr. Worthomore watched, then leaned over to Mr. Banks. In a near whisper, he said, “I am so sorry about my daughter’s actions. I just don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Banks said, waving it off. “It’s girls. They’re going to argue. What kind of boss would I be to get upset with you over some squabble between our children?”
Mr. Worthomore looked relieved, but Kim was annoyed. This was not a squabble between children on a playground. This was years of assaults and threats and intimidation. Her dad just didn’t understand how nasty Laurel truly was.
“Dad, I left my phone in the car,” she said suddenly, trying to get out of the house for a few moments. “May I have the keys?”
As the men continued talking, he absent-mindedly pulled out the keys and handed them to her. She took off and was headed towards the door when she overheard something upstairs.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Laurel’s mother practically hissed. “Don’t you realize that man is your father’s boss? And here you go insulting his daughter!”
“I don’t care,” she could hear Laurel say. “She’s not in my crowd.”
“Well she damned well better become part of your crowd,” her mother replied.
Kim crept closer.
“After all, you’re in enough trouble for that stunt you pulled with my credit card, buying all those clothes online. And I hope you haven’t put your father’s career in danger. You’ll be lucky if I didn’t yank you off the cheerleading squad.”
That seemed to have gotten Laurel’s attention.
“Mother, you can’t! That is the only reason I have any friends! No one will speak to me if I’m not on the squad.”
Kim eyed the staircase. She couldn’t see the rooms, but if she stood on the lowest step, she could certainly hear better.
“That can’t be the only reason you have friends, Laurel. You’re a nice person. I know a lot of girls who would love to come spend some time with you, or spend the night with you, or go somewhere with you.”
“You know no one can spend the night, Mom.”
“Oh, come on. You haven’t wet the bed in a long time, and besides, your friends, your true friends, will understand. And when you have your bladder surgery this summer, you won’t ever have to worry about it again.”
Kim’s ears perked up.
“Mom!” Laurel screeched. “What if someone hears you?” She walked over and peeked out the door, then shut it. Kim had just managed to duck to out of sight before she was seen, but could no longer hear anything, so she slipped quietly out to the car.
**********************
After school on Monday, there was a Yearbook meeting. Laurel was one of the editors, so she had to be there. As soon as the last bell rang, Kim ran to the room, making it there even before the sponsor showed up.
“Hi,” she said when Laurel and her group finally arrived.
Laurel looked confused. “What are you doing here?”
Kim’s eyes glistened. “I just wanted to get an application, so I could be on the yearbook staff next year. How about you, Laurel? How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” she said, laying her books down, eyeing Kim with suspicion. “Why?”
“Oh, I guess I’m just checking up on people. I worry about my friends, you know? Like for instance, I have one friend whose dog just died, and another friend whose boyfriend cheated on her. And I know one friend of mine who has to have surgery this summer. It’s quite embarrassing, you know, with the type of surgery she has to have and all. It’s really kind of sad.”
At that moment, there was a silent shift in the world that must have registered a 7.2 on the Richter scale. Every girl in that room could feel a transference of power, but no one was quite sure why. Kim could see it in Laurel’s eyes. She smiled.
“Hey, could I get that application? You know, to be on the staff next year?”
“Sure!” a very perky, happy Laurel chirped. “I have one right here. As a matter of fact, why don’t you stay and join us for the meeting?”
Kim took the paper. “I’d love to stay, but my father is taking us out to a business dinner. You know he owns his own company, right? So, bummer, I just have to go tonight. But I’ll come to the next one, if that’s alright.”
“Of course it is.”
“Great, I’ll see you later, Laurel.”
No one was sure what to make of what they had just seen. They turned, mostly out of habit, and looked to their leader for answers.
“You know,” Laurel said, still staring at the empty doorway, “I had to spend some time with her the other day, and she’s a really sweet person. We should be nicer to her in the hallways.”
Dec. 26, 2019
Working on my dreams...
So here is the update on the book. I got a copy of the Kindle and eBook downloads, and those have been approved. The interior design is completed as well, so now all I have to wait on is the spine measurements, and then we go to print!
It’s times like these that I want to remind my students that dreams don’t have to be just dreams. They can come real. It takes a lot of hard work, and sometimes hearing the words, “No, you can’t,” but they can still be done.
So I really want to save this blog area for short stories, poetry, and regular blog stuff, but… LOOK! It’s my first real interview!