WEP Challenge & The Crop

Every crop of students has their own personality, their own foibles, and strengths.

This crop is strong.

Teachers plant seeds in their students. Good teachers strive to improve the future with every lesson. Hope is paramount. 

There is no future without hope.

Teachers who don’t get that weed themselves out pretty quickly. Kids know far better than adults who is truly interested in them and who is just putting in the hours.

By the time they become teenagers, students who’ve been exposed to too many putting-in-timers are apathetic and that apathy might be the biggest problem facing the world today.

People who don’t care about anything breed more people who don’t care. Then society goes to hell, doesn’t even need the help of a hand basket.

This crop of students isn’t apathetic, they aren’t going to contribute to those issues. This group is going to do something about apathy. The future will be better because of those seeds planted long ago.

A ceremony isn’t strictly necessary, but pomp is never out of place at a moment like this.

The full moon brightens the clearing and the three take their places around the altar, black robes swirling around their feet.  Each raises their hands and speaks the words.

After a symbolic beat, the words are repeated.

Sparks sizzle at their fingertips and blue light arcs from one to the next and the third, completing the circle.

Sulphur burns the air, robes blow in the sudden wind, and the howl of the unknown fills the woods.

They’re ready.

The most successful crop in history.

The world will never be the same.

***

This story is part of the WEP/IWSG challenge. Check out the link to find all the details - there's still time to sign up. Make sure to check out the other stories - it's always a blast to see how everyone interprets the theme!

How about you? Any memorable graduation ceremonies? Anyone else worried about Apathy? 

We Do The Drills

We do the drills
to keep kids safe
in case the unthinkable
happens

We do the drills
to give them
a tiny sense
of control

We do the drills
to combat
the helplessness

We do the drills
in hopes
the drills will save them

We do the drills
knowing they're
never going to save us all

We do the drills


***

On a lighter note, I'd love it if you popped on over to C. Lee McKenzie's blog where I'm a featured author today introducing my story Until Release that will be published in the upcoming anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime!

Visiting at The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Hi, everyone!

Today I'm honoured to be guest posting over at the IWSG blog. It's such a great group of people, I'm thrilled to be visiting. I hope you'll join me -- and bring your thoughts about kids today and their reading and writing habits!

(For those who were here early, sorry about the mess of this post!! I had someone with a health issue and I totally forgot to come here and check out the post! Sorry :))

The Love of Reading Lives On!

I had a group of Grade 8 students working in my classroom the other day. They were working on a variety of projects and activities and sitting in small groups around the room.

One of students started a discussion about the book he was reading (In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis). He knew a few others had read the first book in the series (Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy as well) and asked if they thought it was okay to read the books out of order.

One girl used the phrase companion book and, having read both books, told him it would be fine, although there could be a few spoilers about a character. A few other students agreed, and the conversation turned to what they liked about the world building in the book.

Another boy chimed in about the world building in Extraction by Stephanie Diaz and he encouraged them to read it because, while it was really different in almost every way, he thought all the books created vivid worlds, powerful characters, and intriguing (his word!) conflict, and that students who liked one would like the other.

The conversation was interrupted by the bell, but it was some great eavesdropping for so many reasons:

• the authors the kids spoke about are friends of mine from Agent Query Connect (the kids know nothing about my connection to these authors)
• the gender of the main character didn't matter to anyone
• the conversation was completely and totally spontaneous
• there was NO adult intervention or commentary (I sat back quietly and grinned!!!)
• they showed great understanding of the books and all kinds of literary concepts
• they were able to look past the obvious dis-similarities to deeper connections within the books

Talk about an uplifting few minutes! So, for those of you who are worried about the next generation of readers, relax! 

What about you? What positive reading have you seen and heard about lately?

Ubuntu

The lovely Michelle over at Writer in Transit is hosting this very cool blog hop. In Michelle's words...

THE UBUNTU BLOGHOP 
What is ubuntu? "In Africa, there is a concept known as UBUNTU – the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others." – Nelson Mandela.
So in the spirit of ubuntu, I invite you to join me in celebrating my 3rd blogoversary!
Date – 18th to 21st February. I've allowed 4 days to make it easier for you guys, since some people only post once a week… save the date that coincides with your blogging schedule!

I'm lucky to be a teacher. I'm so often surrounded by joy and hope and the future. Kids are powerful and creative. At our school we obviously focus on the academics but we also focus on helping our students become kind and caring citizens. This has created some of the most amazing acts I've been lucky to witness over the last few years.

• One student wrote out Anti-Bullying trading cards (complete with a logo and tips) and stood in the main hallway handing them out to everyone who passed by. When she ran out, she made more - eventually hand making over 300 cards!
• Another student had noticed some sad peers so she created a Smile Box which she left outside the office. She left a card on the top asking people to "Take a Smile and Pass it On". Inside the box were small pieces of paper with hand drawn smiley faces. The box was soon empty except for a few Thank You notes left inside.
• Over 2/3 of our students use our breakfast program which runs on volunteers. Parents, grandparents and students give generously of their time each and every day to prepare the food and clean up afterward.
• During our Random Acts of Kindness week I caught dozens of kids giggling as they scooted away after performing a RAoK so they wouldn't get 'caught' and the act would remain anonymous.
• Our older students do so much in the school to help out the community. Teens often have a bad rep but from where I'm sitting, they're super role models and citizens!
• Two students worked together to create a craft they could sell to raise money for a student with cancer and raised almost $500...

My students are always my inspiration for trying to be a better person each and every day!They are awesome!!

Thanks Michelle for celebrating your blogiversary in such a thoughtful fashion! Be sure to click on her link for access to other entries in the fest!

What RAoK have you witnessed lately?

Tell Me When

The lovely Stina Lindenblatt is hosting the Tell Me When blogfest. Her new release TELL ME WHEN deals with the aftermath of a stalking incident that ended in a kidnapping. Powerful stuff. For each post in the blogfest this week, Stina will be donating to her local women's shelter.

As a teacher I've been involved in a very minor way with stalking incidents. I've seen the effects its had on the kids. Scary stuff.

In several cases, I've had kids in my class who've had to move and hide from an abusive parent. Restraining orders don't always work and these kids live with the worry that they'll be found. They often don't make friends easily for a couple of reasons. First, they know there's the probability that they'll need to move again - and at a moment's notice. Making friends only to have to break off all contact with them later is really, really hard. Second, they don't want to divulge much personal information and it's difficult to develop meaningful relationships when you don't discuss your personal life.

One day I hope we live in a world where kids can grow up in a safe environment where they never have to worry about a parent stalking or abusing them.

Check out Stina's blog for more links to the blogfest.

Point of View Choices

The other day I had a fantastic conversation with my students about point of view. Specifically we were comparing first person and third person pov.

I'm currently reading aloud The Hobbit and one of the students commented on the story-telling voice. Another compared it to the voice in The Giver (which was our previous read aloud). One student is reading The Hunger Games and commented that it's all told directly from Katniss' pov.

Soon everyone was checking the novels they're reading and one commented that she was reading an older book (Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume) & she wondered if when the book was written had an impact on pov. Cue the checking of copyright dates and a discussion about why and how styles have changed.

After we'd delved into it for a bit, I asked them which pov they prefer to read. Very few students had a distinct favourite - the almost universal answer was "It depends on the story."

I LOVE MY JOB!!!

We proceeded to list the advantages of both povs. Here's a synopsis of their thoughts. Remember I'm dealing with 10 - 12 year olds.

Advantages for 1st:

• you get to really feel what the character is feeling
• you get to see everything that affects the main character
• you get to feel like the story is happening to you at the moment you're reading it
• the pace usually seems faster & it's harder to put down

Advantages for 3rd:

• you get to see & know more than the main character sees and knows
• you can get to know more characters really well (they like stories told from 2 alternating povs)
• it's cool to see the same events from different perspectives 
• you can get that cool story teller voice that works for some stories
• it's easier to have different styles of stories and voice

Once again, I think they hit the highlights!

So, how about you? Do you prefer 1st or 3rd, or do you think it depends on the story as well?

Never Surrender!

 

If you haven't dropped by Elana's yet to sign up, there's still time - the blogfest starts today and runs through to Friday June 15th! Click here! :)

As most of you know, I'm a teacher. Over the years I've taught a lot of kids - and I've taught in a variety of setting and in a variety of schools.

One of those kids will always have a special place within my heart. I'm going to borrow the name of Elana's yummy male MC in Surrender and call this boy Gunner.

Gunner came to our school and my class with enough baggage to fill a plane's cargo hold. He not only had ADHD/ADD, but ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), anxiety disorder and several other medical disorders/conditions. (I won't say more for fear of identifying Gunner - I've taught more than 20 kids who have been diagnosed with all 4 disorders listed above, so I'm confident his identity is safe).

Gunner's family life was far from stellar. I won't go into details here for those same reasons. Whatever you're imagining right now, it was probably worse.

As expected, Gunner didn't find it easy to be in school. On top of the medical conditions, he had a learning impairment. Reading & writing were tough - he was 5 years behind his peers academically in those areas. Math was harder. Add in a new school, his nerves about facing new adults, his fear of people thinking he was stupid, his aggression towards the other kids and it wasn't an easy start for him. Or me :)

About 2 weeks in, Gunner stopped beside me at the end of the day and said, "You don't yell at all do you?" He grinned that mischevious grin of his and sauntered out the door with a wave. That's when I let out my first deep breath and figured I really might be able to help him.

Gunner learned to read that year. He found out that 2 + 2 is 4 every time. Every single time. And if he remembered the answer, he didn't have to figure it out every question. He learned he was really good at putting things together and geometry could be a lot of fun. He found out he liked art. He made a friend.

I saw Gunner at a hockey game this winter. He rushed over to give me a hug. Made my day. Heck it made my whole month! I'm glad I didn't give up on Gunner.

Never Surrender.

I Survived Nano!

... barely. :)

Well November is winding down and I survived! This is always a nutty month for teachers. Report cards go home - this requires a lot of work on our part. We also had a new computer program to work with this year so that added to the chaos. I takes about an hour per kid per report card usually. Probably a little more this year with the new program. Doesn't sound like much until you add in the fact that most of us have more than 30 kids in the classroom - this year I've got 33 - and that we do all of this outside of regular work hours. :)

So I managed to fit in reports and finish the 50k words for NaNo. The family didn't even starve - although I did rely on pizza or subs a few times. :)

I'm not finished with the story yet - probably another 15k to go at this point. I think I'll finish it up and then head on back to that rewrite. I wasn't planning on doing NaNo until the last minute - Nov 1st actually - so I'm a little surprised the story had the legs to get here. Some of it's even not horrible...I think. Maybe I should reserve judgment until I do those revisions - hopefully in February or March.

Now life will revert to the normal kind of chaos. I've been AWFUL at visiting blogs this month. Hopefully December will be better. Although it IS December and we all know what that's like... Cross your fingers!

How did your November go? What did I miss?

Crazy or Calm?

June is a crazy month for teachers here. I know some schools have already started summer vacation, but we don't start ours until July 1st. It's really not that far away, but it feels like light years right now! Government testing is finally over, but we still have report cards and all the usual year end stuff to do. So, I've not been around as much, and that probably won't change a whole lot until next month.

One side effect of the nuttiness is that I haven't thanked 2 wonderful people for the blog awards they sent my way a week ... or four... ago. *Sigh.* Sorry.

First, the lovely Lisa Gail Green over at Paranormal Point of View awarded me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks so much Lisa Gail. If you haven't been over to her site yet, you've got to visit. She's fun and has the most interesting interviews! :)

The equally lovely Lynn over at Place to Create awarded me the Blogger BFF award. Lynn is another Canadian girl - she lives out in Alberta. You've got to visit Lynn's blog as well. She's a sweetie. She's doing a Creativity Boot Camp that's sure to spark some ideas for you. :)

Thanks again to both of you. I really appreciate you thinking of me.

I haven't passed along awards lately - but I will this time. Again, this time I'm going to choose some blogs/bloggers that are fairly new to me and a few 'old' friends. :)

Charmaine Clancy at Wagging Tales

Talli Roland

Stephanie Thornton at Hatshepsut: The Writing of a Novel

Maribeth at Giggles and Guns

Kimberly Franklin at Confessions: Secret Life of a Writer

Shannon McMahon at Somewhere Between Fact & Fiction

Lindsay (aka Isabella) at Adventures in Writing

And, sadly, that's as much linkage as my tired old brain can handle at the moment! If you have some time, please check out these blogs -- they're all a lot of fun. You won't be disappointed!

So, how's your June going? Crazy or calm?