Hey. Me again. Man! Am I busy and feeling stressed. I seem to have too many things in the oven so to speak, and I am not sure if everything will cook correctly. I have, what feels like, a million things to do these days and not even sure where to even start. In addition to planning and running the intensely interesting and life changing lessons I teach you everyday, I am planning a two-day fifteen hour workshop for teachers in April. I agreed to write my first paid piece for these guys (also by April), and I am trying to read more young adult books. I just finished Monster and started Divergent.
I feel I am behind in conferencing with both grade seven and eight and worried that you are not receiving timely and useful feedback. I want to create an automated feedback form, but can't seem to get around to doing it. We are also starting to think about and plan the next units for both grade seven and eight on Shakespeare, while we also documenting the things that worked and didn't quite hit the mark with our current unit in the unit planner.
Oh and when I get home I have two kids to raise, a wife to hang out with and my own thoughts to wrestle with. My point. Life can be busy. It can be stressful. I feel your pain. This post is not about comparing who is busier or throwing ourselves a pity party. I wanted to share some strategies I use when I am feeling overwhelmed.
First thing you might be asking is, "Mr. R, if you are so busy why are you blogging? Why don't you just start that feedback form or keep working on your upcoming workshop?" Well, you might find this hard to believe, but writing actually relieves my stress. When I sit at the screen and hear the sounds of the keys, clickty clack and I watch my thoughts take form on the screen, I feel a sense of calmness descend on whatever freak-stress-show I might be involved in. Writing helps me stay sane.
Tonight, I will come back to school, walk down to the music studios and play music for two hours. No matter how busy I am, I know that I need this time to re-charge. I crank up the amps and I sing. I play. I sweat. No matter how tired I am it helps me re-group and continue on the rest of the week. Music helps me relax and I enjoy watching myself learn and grow as a singer.
I asked my Facebook friends to send me their home addresses, so I can make the first three who sent me their addresses a hand-made piece of art. I like to always have an art project on the go to keep my mind creative. I have begun to buy the supplies for these pieces, but it is the thinking about them that helps me find balance. Making art brings balance to my life.
Okay, wow. I'm going on and on. You are busy too. I know. I get it. I feel you. But as you can see, how you manage your stress is up to you. It may appear that I am just giving myself more work, and in a way I am, but it is work I care about and love. So to help alleviate stress you must make room to do the things you love.
What kinds of things do you to relieve stress? What helps you find you balance and stay sane. Share your ideas in the comments below!
Are we exhausted yet? Is it Chinese New Year yet? Almost, but not quite. I just wanted to share a poster that is up in our classroom. I felt it was very timely as we crawl into this break.
I wanted to remind you, as I had back assessments, and we roll our eyes and slump our shoulders with 5's or even 6's at the possible disappointment because we are all not 7's or perfect. Life takes work. Hard work and writing is no different. Like all art it takes time and skill and work and more work.
Hang in there guys. Do not be upset or disappointment, find out where you are and why you are there and where you need to go and what you need to do and work toward it. Practice. Remember you can do your best, but it still takes time for it to be good. Take my word for it, I have been working at it for 38 years.
Have a nice holiday, rest up, and let's back to work and learn together. What do you think? What have you been working on lately? What do you do that takes lots of work?
Sunday night here. 11:08 pm. I am nearly blind and my mind is mush. I feel sorry for you, but more importantly I feel sorry for myself. I have been marking papers and writing report card comments for hours, days: all weekend. I am still nowhere close to being done. I am buried under an avalanche of school.
Stop it. Stop smiling. I see you. Shaking your head with glee. "Now he knows how we feel." Yes, I do know how you feel. I have been in your shoes remember, I knew how it felt then, and I know how it feels now! I do know that sometimes the hoops of school become so overbearing and evasive that jumping through them becomes what we do. We call it learning and slough our way through. One assignment, one assessment, one report card, one year at a time.
Sometimes, it is a good idea to just stop and breathe and remember why we are all here. This is not some chore that we are all meant to do for some future reward. This your education! And part mine too I suppose. You see it never ends. I know you are counting down till graduation day, I did too, but here I am again under the weight of school.
You want to know the secret to freeing ourselves? Love of learning. Reminding ourselves that we are all here-- alone and together to feed our minds and souls with knowledge and connections and skills and art and everything else that bring us joy. So your tests and exams and projects and assignments and my report card comments will one day end, and we will be left with something bigger. Better. We will be left with an alert and educated mind ready to take on the world. Or better yet at least one that might be able to understand itself.
Here is another way of saying it:
"If you're breathing you are living
If you're living you are learning
So write and write and keep on writing
Just make sure your life's exciting
Write and write and keep on writing
Just make sure your life's exciting
Write and write and keep on writing
Just make sure your life's exciting
Just make sure your life's exciting
Just make sure your life's exciting....
Talk to me. Commiserate with me. What do you think? See you in the comments.
I recently came back from a conference in Hong Kong where I presented two workshops. One on digital storytelling and another on blogging. I am very proud of the work some (many) of you are producing and I wanted to celebrate your voices.
Since my return, I have had several conversations about concerns members of our school community-- parents, students, teachers and administrators-- might be having about our blogs and what we share on them. There seems to be this underlying notion that only blogs that are vulnerable and open gain attention and thus have value. I have been told that perhaps I am only promoting blogs that seem to "bare their soul" so to speak, that I am only sharing the voices that reveal personal thoughts and feelings.
I hope this isn't the case. I hope that no one feels that the only writing worth sharing is what keeps you up at night. I hope that you all see that I am not intentionally, if at all, promoting only the posts that tend to reveal what is hidden and tender. There is no doubt that these posts, resonate with me, but highlighting only vulnerability has never been my intention.
The goal, if I were to state it simply is to give you a voice. I want you to be heard. I want you to have a space that feels safe and comfortable to be heard. What you say, or if you say anything at all is your choice.
Over the last ten years of working with young people I have noticed that teenagers grapple with several issues: identity, expression and community. These three concepts drive my teaching. People are criticizing the value of teenagers exposing themselves so publicly.
The purpose of blogging is not to bare your soul in some kind of open online diary or journal. The purpose of blogging is to share your voice with a community. My job as I see it is to help you understand how to navigate, understand and employ identity, expression and community. We use these spaces and the conversations that happen on them as learning spaces.
I want you to feel confident about who you are through critical and artistic exploration of your identity. I want you to learn how to clearly articulate your voice in a variety of media in order to find a network of like-minded people in order to create a community of learners that will help you learn during and beyond school.
What do you think? Does there seem to be pressure to only share the vulnerable? Do you feel that I only share promote, or highlight this type of voice? I would love to hear what you have to say. There are many of you who write regularly about a variety of topics, what do you think?
We have not taken advantage of these comments spaces, so if you are reading this post, please take the time to share your thoughts.
We are nearing the end of our poetry unit in grade seven, and while I feel we only scratched the surface there have been some amazing poems. I am very impressed with much of what I have seen. Watching you all write such heartfelt, open and authentic poems has reminded me that I too need to have a bout with the verse.
A few nights ago, I began to draft my I Am From poem. I was hoping to tinker and edit and play it with it some more, but every time I look at it I feel like it is done. I will release it into the universe now and see where it sticks.
us all: I am from the quiet rooms of only children and loving parents who didn't know how to try any harder. Lost in a new wilderness Lost in youth- no one said it would be this hard.
I am from blame and forgiveness. shame and power. I am from empty bottles and full ash trays. all night labyrinths of political discourse the bent record player needles: crinkling and crackling over ridges tracing the fortunes of countless stories.
I am from Sunday's by the creek redwoods watching water striders puncturing the surface the tension. the sun. the bliss. I am from all things exposed and hidden.
I am from drunken love and drunken tempers from the tight rope and the near falls I am from the recovery the endurance the survival.
I am from pistachios and pomegranates jasmine blossoms and saffron. I am from compasses pointing east. mumbled prayers beneath her sheets and shrouds. I am from revolution and exile a broken culture bought and sold. The price of oil is always high. I'm from the hangman's noose and Friday Prayers.
I am from single moms and good intentioned dads from car accidents, hospital rooms and broken bones. I am from the terror in the dark. Left alone: I'm from growing up too fast and endless promises bound together by faith and time held together for now.
I am from the middle class and just barely enough and from never fitting in. I am from the effeminate the not too macho: tender born and resilient I am from skin and bones and lashes long.
I am from songs soft and tubes of paint burnt umber and indigo smeared canvasses and stained hands. I am from songs loud and hard and drenched in rage.
I am from the art that saves us all: poems and songs and unnameable things I am from within you as you are from me.
I would love to hear your thoughts. It has been a great experience to explore these rooms through poetry. I cannot wait to read your finished poems and hopefully see them set free for others to read.
Attention middle school writers, film makers, artists and creative types! The middle school English department has a challenge for you.
Christmas writing challenge: "The world in words and film"
You are encouraged to go out into the world and make a video of yourselves reading up to four lines of original poetry or prose inspired by a special place. This place should feature in a video. Maybe you are visiting the Taj Mahal or your favourite tree:
Write about it
Film it
Upload your film
Share it on your blog
A collection of the best films will be shown in assembly during Writers' Fortnight in Week 2 of next term. Unfortunately I was in Chiang Mai when this video was made, but I will upload my own soon enough. Any questions can go in the comments to help others or ask me in person this week.Looking forward to seeing what you create.
Wow! I cannot believe it is November 8th. Time is flying; feels like yesterday that we began the year together--so many new faces and awkward conversations. The Sea of Teal is how I saw you, but things are changing. The sea is ebbing and flowing, and I am recognizing you and your voices more and more as clear distinct waves crashing everyday at: The Table, on your blogs, during activities, out of school trips, and in casual hallway conversations.
As we approach the midyear mark, it is important to think about where we started and where we are headed in terms of building community. Concerns have been raised by parents, teachers and students about online sharing. I have spoken to you all in class about why and how I would like you to share, but I wanted to write my way through it as well. This post was born from the statement below, which came to me on a ride home from school. I was on my bike when it hit me:
You cannot have trust without vulnerability. You cannot have risk without fear. You cannot have success without failure, and you cannot learn without community.
Last Monday, a group of students met with teachers and parents in the library to discuss this notion of public sharing and disclosure. Why share online? How does it feel? What are the risks? When asked if she felt pressure to share writing online, or if she was being pushed too hard to share when perhaps she wasn't ready, one girl responded by saying that she didn't feel pushed, so much as invited to a door and asked to walk through.
I loved this analogy. I was actually thinking about it the other night when I was here at school marking your final assessments, because I knew that I would ask you to post your final assessments on your blogs. I knew this would cause many of you anxiety? I knew that asking you to post your writing didn't feel much like an invitation, but a rather strong push. Let me explain myself.
I understand what it feels like to be judged and mocked. I understand what it feels like when you cannot do anything right. I understand wanting more than anything to fit in, to be popular, to be liked and accepted, being alone at lunch, or on a Saturday night when you imagine everyone else at parties-- smiling laughing and having fun, while you sit alone wondering how they do it-- make friends, be accepted, have boy friends or girl friends. It seems so easy in life and TV, but I understand that it is not.
You must be asking, if I understand all of this, why would I ask you to share pieces of yourself online, in public where they can all see it? See you and judge and mock you. If I understand how vicious and petty and mean and vindictive teenagers can be, why would I ask you to expose yourself to their wrath. We can hear them now muttering, gossiping, and judging you to your face, behind your back, online and off. Why would I ask you to share your writing with people like this? Especially if you feel that your writing isn't "good?"
I believe in you. I believe in your voice and your writing. What you write and how you write, right now in your life is you. For better or for worse it is true. If you wait until you are writing is perfect or good or accepted you will be waiting forever. If you wait to be yourself and stand behind your ideas you will wait forever. Confidence is about being happy with who you are and where you are in terms of skills. Confidence isn’t about measuring up to other people's expectations. I don't
believe in good or bad or ranks or judgements or comparing or anxiety. I
believe in confidence through risk and self-esteem through
vulnerability. I believe in trust. I believe in communities.
If we believe in trust, we have to trust people. Even when they could let us down. Even when they might betray us. If we believe in trust, we must be trustful people. To do this we must feel comfortable with vulnerability. It is hard to trust people when we are hidden or protected by walls. It is hard to trust people if we do not give them an opportunity to prove that they are trustworthy. Don't get me wrong, they will let us down. They will take our trust for granted. They may attack us. They may hurt us, but if we believe in trust as a concept, we must continue to trust others.
Experience has taught me that people, in general are good, they are to be trusted. When we are open, they will more often than not, prove to be kind and loving. The only way to find out is to give them a chance to prove it.
I am not pushing any of you through the door by asking you to share your writing online. I am simply standing on the other side and telling you that it is fine. I am here. I will take your hand and help you if you fall. I will help you across and show you the way once you are here, but you have to trust me. (Please speak to me one-on-one if you still have reservations and do not want to share your final piece)
Take a look at this:
What do you think? What are your fears? What are the benefits of building online communities of writers? How can sharing your work and your ideas help? Hurt? What can we tell parents who are nervous? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
I hear you are weighed down by doubt, riddled with anxiety, and feeling a tad uneasy. You hit a home-run at your second at bat at now you're not sure if you can step up to the plate again. Relax. Take a breath. We have all been there. Welcome to our disease. Let me show you how to live with it.
The world is too much with us and that is okay. You took a risk and with all risk comes fear and tension and doubt. But fear is the captain of courage, without which the sails lay limp, the ship moored. So often we are told that risk-taking is the stuff of heroes and supermen. Images of cliff divers cloud the reality of quiet moments of vulnerability. The ability to turn your insides out and present them to an uncaring world is the ultimate act of bravery.
People plagued by uncertainty would rather remain silent than cultivate their voice. So afraid to speak, to write, to share, to explore or expose the mass of people remain silent. But not you, young writer, you have felt the itch, you have heard the voice and you will never be the same. A nagging need give shape to the shapeless will haunt you from this day forth. Listen for as long as you need, but you have already felt the exhilaration of creation. You have felt the power of connection, understanding and acceptance. You spoke and we applauded. It felt good. It felt right, but now what? How can you do that again?
You won't. You don't need to. Don't set that expectation. You will only be disappointed. Let the audience remain vague and beyond your reach. Do not write for us, not yet. Write for yourself. Write for the muse and the voice. Write for that which you have no choice. Write for your passion and for your love. Write for yourself and write to explore.
Sometimes we will respond, but most often we will not. Do not let the silence discourage you. Do not let the applause confuse you. Just write. It will never be right It will never be perfect. At best it will be clear and articulate. It may melt a heart or spark a revolution, but sometimes it will do nothing more than unburden your heart.
You have taken the first step on a long journey. There is no end. No destination. Just write what you see, what you feel. We are all here somewhere on the path doing the same. Write honestly. Write from the heart and you will see that this disease may actually be a blessing. It may be the only thing that keeps you alive.
We are a family- the writers and story tellers, the artists and the saints. You keep writing and you will find us in the shadows.
Found this great list of writing advice from Zadie Smith, while I was scouring the Interwebz:
When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation’. You can either write good
sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle’. All that
matters is what you leave on the page.
Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the
things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with
contempt.
Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
Don’t confuse honours with achievement.
Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand — but tell it.
Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being
satisfied.
Earlier this week, we were lucky to have a grade one class come and visit. They stayed for about fifteen minutes and we talked about writing and other things. It was a great opportunity for both age groups to connect and share ideas.
Leave some thoughts in the comment sections.
What have you learned about writing that you think would help a first grader?
What did you talk about in class with your partner?
Do you remember when you learned to write? What was easy? What was difficult?
What did you learn about the other age group?
Hey, Mr. Betts,
Maybe you guys can leave some comments too.
What advice do you guys have for our middle school students?
What did you learn about the other age group?
We had a great time. You are welcome back any time.
