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.
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| 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.
Dear Moyra,
ReplyDeleteI would first like to thank you for being so open and candid pertaining to your family. You have an outstanding gift of taking your feelings and emotions and letting them fall upon the paper in the form of your words. The beauty of your love and protectiveness that you profess for your brother, Sam, is a precious commodity. However, I would like to propose that you take the heartfelt, beautiful, loving advice you give Sam and apply it to yourself. They say (who are they ...lol) that eyes are the windows to the soul, however the soul must speak and you have the penchant to speak from your soul. Keep it going and please try to give yourself the love and recognition that you give to everyone else. You must give to yourself to truly give in abundance to others. Thank you for all your efforts and heartfelt work. Keep it going!
Very Sincerely, Amy Lynn Walter
Dear Colin,
ReplyDeleteI hear you. It's easy to see how dark of a place that the world is when there's so much of it around us. At times, it feels as if we're all alone in it. I'm glad that you have someone to share with when things get too much--sometimes, that's all that we really need. Your piece really captures a poetic air to your experiences. Getting it all out on paper or a computer screen can really feel like an outlet when things are getting dimmer and dimmer.
You've helped me realise that we are not alone, though--not all the time. Even if it may feel like it, we have to remember the people who are there for us. I think that you're very brave for writing this, and I'm glad you're helping yourself. You've inspired me to keep moving too.
From, Morgan
Dear Sam,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. It's so upsetting how the United States just continues to fall down the rabbit hole. We're so used to hurting each other that it's not even surprising--it's just another Monday afternoon. I think that while there's much worse things going on in other parts of the world, it's a shame how we're at the point that we're at, but we can't even protect our own citizens from school shootings and more. Those aren't even the least of our problems. We've come much too far for our future to be terrorised like this.
But we have to have hope. Hope that things will change as we grow older and hope that something will be done about this. Without hope, what else will we have; what else will we do? I know it's a hard time, Sam, and things may keep getting harder and harder... but this is why we fight for change. This is why we can never give up what we believe in.
Stay strong, Morgan