On What Matters - Vanessa Ludwig

I am hopeful. I’m hopeful that the cancellations of tests, postponement of due dates, and the pushing back of plans will give us a new perspective on the things that matter. It didn’t matter that my classroom was the most organized it has been in my teaching career. It didn’t matter that I was lock-and-step with my colleagues. It didn’t matter that my students read a specific number of books this year.

It matters that the letters that my students wrote to themselves in the beginning of the year about their plans and goals for the future may never get back to them. It matters that my students don’t have a space to talk and discuss their writing. It matters that this should have been my focus all year.

Moyra, grade 7, wrote a letter to her brother.
To read some of my students' letters, click on the links below.

In an attempt to wrap my head around what was happening, I gave my students an opportunity to do the same. I pushed out an assignment to just write. About anything. Short stories, poems, journal entries, anything. The majority of them wrote letters to me as though I was their journal. Many of them are trying to wrap their heads around what their lives look like now and thinking about what could have been if everything had stayed the same. What matters most in all of this is that our classrooms were places of meaning, that we gave them opportunities to share their experiences.

Looking back, there are so many things I would have done differently. But, there is one piece that still resonates with me and I couldn’t be more proud of my students and the people they are.

To read more, follow the links below. 

Open Letter To My Younger Brother by Moyra

An Open Letter To The Kids by Brandon

An Open Letter To Those Who Feel Misunderstood by Colin

An Open Letter To Gun Rights Supporters by Samantha

It is too quiet here.

It is too quiet here. Sometimes, it feels like the type of too quiet when I send small groups of students to work in the hall and no longer hear them. Other times, it feels like the forced lull before an assembly about motivation, or anti-vaping, or attendance awards. Most of the time, it is the type of silence that is pleading to be filled. 

Since we have moved to “remote education,” a phrase that I might use to briefly teach oxymorons, I have missed the voices of my students. Although it is easy to write about missing their moments of brilliance, it is the moments in between that I miss the most. I miss when they ask me about Trailer Park Boys or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I miss hearing them lift each other's ideas up, and shoot them down, during class discussions. I miss when they ask me if I actually like Cardi B or who told me about Solange. 

But nothing really beats the projects that they complete where I can see that  their voices have grown over weeks of thoughtful work. To answer the pleas in this eerie quiet, I find myself looking back on the work of my former students. I remember the journeys they took to arrive at these incredible presentations for the Youth Voices Conference.  They remind me of why we do this work and remind me that in those moments where I tell them to be quiet, to allow them to take one last minute to let their voices fill the empty space.

"Gender Equality in Sports" by Hope Grunert

"One Nation Under God" by Makayla Gyambrah

"Changing the School System" by Janiya Ashton 

"Music in Our Schools" by Clair Holody-Gaiek 

Hearing Youth Voices During a Crisis EVCS

Now, maybe more than ever, we need to let our students' voices be heard.  As classrooms move to distance learning and kids are inundated with outside messages, both positive and negative, how can we as educators provide them a space to share what is truly important to them?  

WNYNET is hoping to continue allowing young people from our community to express themselves in a safe, meaningful space.  Like life itself, this event will look much different than it has in the past.  But, as they say, the show must go on.  

Last year I brought my 7th grade students to Buffalo State College to present their This I Believe... essays.  These were presented in two formats - spoken word or audio recording.  Below are examples of this project.