#SOL22: Talk
Oversell? Undersell?
The waiter was charming. “It’s the best. As a third generation LA resident, it’s the best.”
Tempted to scoff at the claim, I didn’t. And yet, “Tell me more,” did emerge from my mouth.
As a Midwesterner, I was doubting the claim. I was expecting “the sell” on the sea bass so close to the ocean. Seafood, yes. Or the pasta, in an Italian restaurant. Beef, not so much.
A bone-in ribeye, on a patio, with friends, a celebratory dinner.
Tender, flavorful, perfectly done.
Every morsel eaten.
Best steak in Santa Monica!
What talk matters? What talk is convincing? Who are the experts? How do you know the anticipation matches the outcome?
I can’t imagine that I will ever stop asking waitstaff about menu items. It’s truly a pleasure when the “sale” matches expectations. And now my chagrin. After googling beef production, my state lags behind California in beef production. We’re seventh and CA is fourth. Oops. A traveler with arrogance about quality beef is now apologetic. However, I do know quality steak! And you don’t have to be in a steakhouse to find a superb steak. Thank YOU, Il Formo! Thank YOU, Santa Monica!
And this week’s adventures will continue!
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL22: Real Life!
Do I remember our first meeeting?
A park bench outside Thorndike. Early morning. One in running clothes and me with all my gear for the day: canvas tote filled with devices, electrical bar, and books. Pounds of resources to last the day. Goal: to have an initial face to face contact before the week was up.
What about the funniest meeting?
A message to meet up at Starbuck’s. Arrival. Waiting. “I’m here.” But nary a sign. Further messages. Who knew. Three possible Starbuck’s in a 5 block radius. The first try was unsuccessful.
Which was the most unexpected?
I was fan-girling. Excited to meet up in real life. “Fran, it’s so good to see you,” as I was greeted with a hug. Only a Twitter friend. Real life exceeded my dreams as we quickly chattered like decades long friends.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Through TWT, TCRWP, ILA and NCTE I’ve met many folks in real life. I thanked many during the March SOLSC, but I want to return to two very special authors and friends: Christina Nosek and Melanie Meehan. Their talents are exceptional!
#G2Great chats highlighted their most recent books the last two weeks.
Literacy Lenses – Reading link Literacy Lenses – Writing link
Please check out the Table of Contents of both books from the links with the book covers above.
Check out the free chapters and resources.
Check out the Literacy Lenses posts (Reading by Dr. Mary C Howard and Writing by me).
What is your level of confidence in your knowledge and skills about Reading? Writing? What about your level of competence? How do you know? What questions have you answered lately?
Both of these titles would be great for a faculty book study!
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL22: And then . . .
Slicing every day in March.
31 consecutive days of writing
AND publishing.
I’ve written every day this year.
Short, long, and varied formats.
It’s a great habit.
But there was a hole
when I didn’t publish
for four days.
I could have.
But life kept me busy
And I didn’t.
I did write a #G2Great post (here) that I published
Three book reviews
But nothing on Resource-Full.
It’s great to be back
But the energy has dissipated.
Who will continue to write?
Who will be to busy?
Who will make time?
Why do you write?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 31 and Finale
The plan for my “slices” in March began with this image.
A piece of cake. 31 days of thanking teachers. And then I listed the days and started listing the teachers. I hit a snag. I wanted a descriptor for each that would fit into the “total picture” of a teacher. But what if not all of my daily candidates were teachers? Was “educator” broad enough to cover all possibilities? And then to include family members? Non-traditional teachers?
My idea.
My rules.
My plan revised about 151 times during the 31 days of March.
Gratitude
All my thanks!
Those that I thanked . . .
The reasons that I thanked them. I remember days of feeling like the shipwrecked sailor on a desert island, lonely and in search of like-minded folks. I found them in places that I worked, where I lived, and across the miles via technology with twitter, book studies and PD. All of these words fit for teachers. Not necessarily every word every day, but they all fit.
Month at a Glance
| Date | Descriptor Words or Phrases | Person Thanked | link |
| 1 | Voracious/Professional Development | Diane Ruyle | post |
| 2 | Expertise | Kathy Schuitema | post |
| 3 | Kidwatching | Sharon Van Cleave | post |
| 4 | Collaboration | Joni Helton | post |
| 5 | Independence | Grandma Ruth | post 5 |
| 6 | Creating | Mom | post |
| 7 | Stewardship | Dad | post |
| 8 | Tips | Allison Jackson | post |
| 9 | Words Matter/Poetry | Margaret Simon | post |
| 10 | Being Kind | Kitty Donohoe | post |
| 11 | Action Research | Sally Donnelly | post |
| 12 | Courageous | Aunt Shirley Ruth | post |
| 13 | Reading and Responding to Blogs | Diane Dougherty | post |
| 14 | Cheerleader/Cheer Coaach | Johnny Downey | post |
| 15 | Curator | Jill Davidson | post |
| 16 | Brave | Susan Vincent | post |
| 17 | Fierce | Brent Gilson | post |
| 18 | Meeting Needs | Clare Landrigan | post |
| 19 | Decision-making process | Dr. Towanda Harris | post |
| 20 | Nurturer | Christina Nosek | post |
| 21 | Reader | Julieanne Harmatz | post |
| 22 | Writer | Melanie Meehan | post |
| 23 | Facilitator | Ryan Scala | post |
| 24 | Joy and Balance | Sandy Brumbaun | post |
| 25 | Librarian | Julia E. Torres | post |
| 26 | Coaching | Paula Bourque | post |
| 27 | Traveler | Erika Victor | post |
| 28 | Mentorship | Dr. Mary Howard | post |
| 29 | Sisters | Sherry and Pat | post |
| 30 | Sustaining communities | post |
How did you organize your writing slices this month? What were your common themes? Formats? Did you meet your goals?
See you next week or next year!
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 30
Day 30 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
I have spent the last 29 days thanking educators and teachers in my life. Today, I must add in the communities that have also been a part of my life. I know I needed at least 100 entries to even begin to recognize all the folks that have impacted my life. Even with this addition, I am sure that I have left some unnamed . . .
#TwoWritingTeachers where I began this weekly blogging and daily in March
#TCRWP where the community has been welcoming and I have learned how to write more concise Tweets and blog better in response to questions and comments.
#DigiLitSunday a short term weekly blogging about technology
#BookLoveFoundation
Morningside University grad classes
#EdCollaborativeGathering
So many #bookstudies
#ILA
#CCIRA
#NCTE
#G2Great community
#CuriosityCrew
and in my family: my brothers, the Ruth Cousins and the Elders that remain. So many lessons learned. So much laughter shared.
Thank you for your past and present teaching, mentorship and opportunities to learn and grow!
Special thanks to all the slicers! Who are you thanking today?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 26
Day 26 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge 2022.
Today it’s a format that will lead to the reveal of an educator.
Six Word Stories
Best Maine guide for clam chowder.
Sparking writing and student literacy.
Using quick writes to improve literacy.
Midwesterner transplanted Maine literacy teacher coach.
Thank you, Paula Bourque, for your books, your passionate coaching, and your instructional expertise.
What formats help you determine the “most important information” to share? How do you know the format is effective?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 23
Today is Day 23 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
As I started writing this post, I wondered if I needed a chart to mark similarities and differences between the honorees for this March blog series. I quickly discovered MANY similarities.
Blogs? Check
Presents at NCTE? Check
Have personally presented with her? Check
Numerous zoom sessions? Check
An author featured on #G2great? Check
So many ideas were swirling in my brain, but I had already decided on “Supporting Writing” as my focus.
Today’s “Thank You” goes to an author who shares similar thoughts about students leading their own writing seminars for their fellow students. We’ve tweeted about this often. We promote student independence as much as possible.
Current books:
Available later in March, 2022 . . .
Drum roll . . .
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Thank you, Melanie Meehan, for your expertise as a writer and as a teacher of students and supporter of writing teachers,
What questions do you have about writing? What writing do you support? What writing do you do yourself?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 20
What a lucky day! My role is a photographer! Back up a couple of years and think Austin. Yes, Austin, Texas. ILA in July in 2018 in Austin, TX. I had checked in to my hotel and hiked across town to find a friend in order to celebrate a book birthday. And the celebration was huge. Two authors meant twice the celebrations. And twice the joy!
Not a surprise to me! Books. Authors. Some of my most favorite things.
At this time, I really had little idea of the meaning of the word “nurture” in regards to friends and family. Sure, we dealt with it in our work in schools (though it was NOT in my boss’s vocabulary), but the idea of how to really “Nurture” readers and writers was new.
And yet . . .
Teachers who were writers were ahead of the game in nurturing readers. And teachers who were readers were ahead of the game in nurturing writers. The reciprocity was alive and well for teachers who were studying the knowledge, the skills and the craft of both.
This was one of the pictures that launched my photographic career.
It was a short-lived career. But the memories of that day continue to nurture my soul as Christina’s second book is now available.
Thank you, Christina Nosek, for nurturing both my reading teacher self and my personal self for many years!
How do you nurture yourself? How do your nurture your professional self? How do you share your journey?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 18
Time. There’s always a shortage of time. Time to thoroughly discuss and vet ideas and processes. Time to see if “this” really works with my students. Time to see if there truly is a match between needs and resources.
These kinds of conversations are necessary and can take place at different stages. Maybe I’ve already stuck my toe in the water. Maybe I’ve had the conversation with someone from a different building/school/state. The easier that it is for me to explain my “WHY”, the easier that it is to be brave, walk out onto that limb and try something new.
For me, it was the decision a long time ago to use action research to decide if a “popular” and “parental requested program” would work for my students. We collected baseline data. We implemented with regular checks. The students knew what we were doing and why. The parents were informed. We made some time adjustments, however, when our results were not what we expected we did not “double down” on time. We increased the intensity instead. We did have positive results but not in the area we had targeted. That willingness to try something different, to find the right methods for the right students is a very necessary action for today’s teachers.
Fortunately, there are now decision-making guides that should be part of a teacher’s repertoire. This is one.
Thank you for this decision-making guide, Dr. Towanda Harris, #G2Great Advisory Team Member. Thank you always for the conversations about student and educator learning.
When do you make the decisions? When do you need to be more collaborative in decision-making processes? How does that go?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOLSC22: 17
What is your passion? Reading? Writing? Both?
I love to fuel my literacy passion with #G2Great. It’s a Thursday night Twitter chat group that interacts with educators, reads and discusses new books, and whose members implement innovative work in classrooms and schools around the world.
How do we show up to every conversation? Is it listening with my ears and my heart? Is it with a phone attached to my hand? I’m notorious for leaving my phone in my car when it’s a day for classroom observations. I have the schedule on my iPad and the time is displayed. Some days I have wished for a timer to do some interval timing but if there’s a clock in the room, I don’t need a separate timer.
A teacher once asked about my “no phone” rule. My response, ” You and your students are my focus. If someone needs me, they have access to my schedule and can contact me through the school.”
That was a fierce conversation.
There is a book about that. There are protocols. There is a process piece that makes the conversations easier but they often are still tough. They require thought. They require honesty. They require eye contact. They require a search for the truth.
One teacher who is quite good at fierce conversations is Brent Gilson.
I really appreciate the fact that he is willing to “interrogate” me on social media or Zoom. (F2F doesn’t work when his Canadian home is in another time zone.) He’s willing to call folks in just as he also calls them out in his anti-racist justice-seeking life. Students are also at the center of his life. You can read his blog here. Or with this post titled, “Let them shine” from January.
Thank you, Brent Gilson, for your fierce conversations!
What will be the topic of your next fierce conversation? Who do you need to practice with to increase your own comfort level?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum during the month of March.
Check out the writers and readers here.
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