Learning to Live

I am reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio with my 7th graders right now, which is an awesome young adult novel that focuses on the importance of kindness. The response to this book is overwhelming and it has sparked a movement across the nation. Children are encouraged to sign the pledge after reading the novel and choose to be kind. I'll admit that this simple young adult novel is one of my favorite books, not only because of the overall message it sends to children and adults alike, but because it is filled with tons of awesome mini-messages. One of the teachers in the book, Mr. Browne, introduces precepts to his students once a month to help his students recognize what is important in life. The reading from last night included one precept that I found especially important: "Fortune favors the bold." I appreciate this precept because it reminds us that if we want to reap the rewards that life offers us, we have to be willing to take risks. We have to take action if we ...

I love half birthdays. I love to celebrate them. Especially my own. (No surprise there) Some people tell me that this is dumb, but I believe that every day is a celebration in itself, and half birthdays are just that much more of a reason to celebrate. The fact that I'm 21 and a HALF today is pretty legit. I will never be this young again. I'm halfway to what I have deemed to be considered the age where real adulthood sets in. It's an excitingly terrifying day (most days are lately), so of course I celebrated. I bought myself some new things and got ice cream, and felt a little bit happier today even though I chilled out on reminding people that it was indeed my half birthday. Perhaps I like my own half birthday because I choose to treat myself, but it's important to celebrate for friends too. A cupcake or ice cream or Caribou can make a difference in their day. The reality is that a half birthday is just another day to celebrate how much we love life and/or those ...

As a future English teacher, I have decided that it's time to get past my irrational dislike (fear?) of poetry. Lately I have been reading more poetry than ever in an effort to embrace its beauty. This process has been going surprisingly well. One of my favorite authors, Louise Erdrich is a Minnesota native and author of the 2012 National Book Award for fiction,  The Roundhouse. She  has a powerful book of poems, Original Fire: Selected and New Poems, that includes her poem "Advice to Myself." Her poem inspired me to try my hand at writing poetry and write some advice to myself. Hopefully this comes in handy in my creative writing course next semester. Click here for a link to Erdrich's poem: "Advice to Myself" by Louise Erdrich Here is my attempt at a similar poem: You will always want to sleep, but you don't always need a bed time. Thinking about dessert all the time isn't as bad as always eating it, and you should definitely never ski...

For those that don't know, I am student teaching in a 7th and 9th grade English classroom this semester, and it is SO AWESOME. I'm sure I will write more about it sometime when I have more than 10 minutes. Anyway, I am currently reading one of my favorite YA (young adult) novels with my seventh graders right now. Wonder  by R.J. Palacio is a fantastic read for middle schoolers, and everyone. The central theme of the novel focuses on kindness, and every one of us could always use the reminder to be kind. Last week I had my students read an excerpt from the novel to prepare them to read it, and I was astonished by how well they connected with it. I just really need to share it with everyone. This is a speech by the principal in the book, Mr. Tushman. I hope you can take away the same message that my seventh graders did. A Simple Thing “…. When you reflect upon this past year, I want you all to look at where you are now and where you’ve been. You’ve all gotten a little...