An announcement of sorts

For the past seven years I have had the privilege of working at the most wonderful school with an amazing staff and administration. I made many mistakes in my first few years of teaching, but I had people who believed in me and knew that I was learning and growing. It has been a place that made me the teacher I am and as a result, have always been happy to go into work everyday.

But with that happiness also comes some discontent. In order to have such a wonderful, supportive, autonomous work environment, I have spent two hours of my day, five days a week, in the car. I justified the long drive because I was working in an environment that allowed me to flourish as a teacher. I looked forward to walking through the door of my classroom everyday and learning with my students. But lately I've just been overwhelmed by it all. I think the gravitas of realizing how much of my life has been taken up by driving, in addition to all the extra work that's involved with being a teacher, has left me feeling that while I love my school, I can't continue to live like this.

So in January I tearfully met with my principal to tell her I would not be returning next year. It was a hard decision, but one I knew I had to make for my own health and sanity.

So what's next for me? I have no idea. And you know what? In a way, I'm okay with that. Part of me is excited at the prospect of the unknown, of what the future holds for me, but the other half is anxious and disconsolate because I don't know if that future will include being in the classroom.

You see, part of my discontent as of late has been not only how much of my life I've spent in the car driving to and from work everyday, but also how much life I am missing out on from the obligations of this job. It might be a job I love, but you can also resent and be tied down by what you love. That's how I've been feeling lately. And while spending time with my students in the classroom watching them learn and grow gives me great joy, it's really the minutia of this job that gets to me: the extra work that most people, unless they are a teacher or live with a teacher, have no idea about.

And it's the assumption most people have outside of the teaching profession that we only have an 8-3 work day that continues to frustrate and make me give Taylor Mali poetry recitations at dinner parties. Politicians and educational "leaders" who have never taught in a classroom are making decisions based on those assumptions and on behalf of students and teachers across this country. People like Michelle Rhee are pushing to evaluate a teacher's worth largely on test scores, and our secretary of education, Arne Duncan, wants us all to make education a "race" despite the fact that the very nature of a race is to leave people behind. I don't know any teacher who desires her classroom to be a race to anything. Most teachers I know want to guide each child by the hand and meet them where they're at to get them where they need to be. That's not a race Mr. Duncan, that involves patience and diligence and the understanding that all kids are different. I'm not seeing much room for differentiation in the educational policy that's being handed down these days. Any sort of dignity or professional image teachers used to have has been besmirched by politics and popular media who only portray teachers as incompetent and greedy. And while teaching at a private school has largely shielded me from most of this negativity, I can't help but wonder what's out there for me as I set out to begin my job search.

So I'm currently looking for answers. Answers for why, with all the negativity that's out there in politics and in the media, why should I stay in the classroom? Serendipitously, I'm taking a class this semester that is all about how to give teachers a voice in this time of educational "reform" and teacher bashing. The project I have chosen is on teacher retention. Because I want to know, despite all that we've been told we're doing wrong, who's choosing to stay and who's choosing to fight for teachers? Thankfully I have had a nurturing, supportive environment from which to learn these past seven years, and yet I still managed to burn out. If I'm questioning my future despite the fortuitous hand I was dealt, I can absolutely, positively see why teacher satisfaction is at an all-time low and those who haven't been as lucky as me are choosing to leave the profession.

And yet...

Despite all that seems to be going against teachers these days, there are still beacons of light in this surging storm, lightships to help guide the way home.

On Friday I drove to Grand Rapids to attend the Michigan Reading Association conference where I saw and connected with some of my favorite teachers: members of the Nerdy Book Club. It was there, as we talked, listened, and tweeted about all the things we are passionate about that I realized that this community, this tribe, is my ticket to staying in the classroom. You see, it's not just new teachers that need mentoring. Veteran teachers need support and communities to keep them going too. And these people are my bucket fillers. People like Donayln Miller, Brian Wyzlic, Paul Hankins, Katherine Sokolowski, Niki Barnes, Colby Sharp, Jillian Heise, Jessica Crawford, Sarah Andersen, Kristin McIlhagga, Erica Beaton... I could go on and on... These are my people, my tribe. They overflow my bucket with inspiration and hope. Because, when I click on a link to the Nerdy Book Club blog and read posts like this one from Brian Wyzlic, or listen to Paul Hankins read a poem about how books saved him that is so beautiful and so vulnerable that you must look away in order to wipe away your tears, it's really hard to want to walk away from it all.

So to my Nerdy Book Club tribe, I'm going to be enlisting your help in the next few weeks. I need your continued inspiration and sense of hope. I want to know why you stay. Inspire me. Because right now, I'm going to be needing the teacher equivalent of a Kid President Pep Talk:



If you're interested in helping me out, please let me know and I can email you the details of my project. 

Things are still up in the air and unknown for me. But one thing will always remain constant: education and literacy will always be my vocation. In what capacity that vocation is manifested remains to be seen.

It might not be Comic Con, but it was still pretty fun

This past weekend the Ann Arbor district library hosted an event called Kids Read Comics. Because graphic novels are becoming increasingly more popular with kids and in classrooms, I came to try to educate myself about this world a little bit more.

Oh, but who am I kidding? I came to hang with my Nerdy Book Club friends Brian Wyzlic, Colby Sharp, and Jen Vincent, AND also to meet my favorite graphic novelist (I do realize the list of graphic novelists I know is short, but still) Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile. Do you know why I love Smile so much? Not only did it bring back a flood of memories about my own awkward pre-adolescence (which actually could be a case for DISLIKING it, but the story was so endearing I couldn't not like it), but here's he main reason I love this book so much: even though it's kind of a girly book, boys actually read it. If I had had more time to chat with Raina, I would have loved to discuss the reasons for this with her, but Brian and I have discussed this on previous occasions and here is our theory: 1) the cover is gender neutral. There is absolutely no way to tell from looking at the cover that the story inside appeals more to girls than boys 2) By the time boys realize it's girly, they're already invested in the story or they've finished because it's such a quick read. Book publishers and cover designers really need to take a lesson from Smile and find more ways to get boys invested in reading a book before they even turn the first page. Too many boys are dismissing great books because cover designers are inadvertently (or maybe even advertently, I don't know) appealing only to girls. As a teacher who sees a large number of reluctant readers who are boys, publishers need to start better reaching out to boy readers.

Stepping down off the soapbox now... ;)

When I arrived at the event, the first thing I wanted to do was meet Raina and get my copy of Smile signed, along with buying a Smile t-shirt because Colby has been rocking the Smile t-shirt for quite some time now and so I needed to do something about my covetousness for that shirt. Luckily, despite only having a few sizes left, they had one that would fit me and I was content for the rest of the day since I got what I came for.

Raina signs and draws in my copy of Smile

I can't wait to share this picture of Raina and me with my students. They LOVE Smile!

Artist Chris Houghton signed Reed Gunther for me and then drew a picture for my class.

Brian, Colby, Jen, and me with Vordak the Incomprehensible (Photo courtesy of Colby Sharp)

At 1:30 Raina gave a "turn your life into a comic" workshop at the Robot Supply and Repair Shop a couple blocks from the library. We arrived a few minutes early and since we hadn't eaten lunch yet, Brian, Jen and, I saw this lovely little shop across the street and had to stop in for a treat

Decisions, Decisions

I went with the key lime cupcake

Back at the Robot Supply and Repair Shop, Raina gave a fun workshop about turning your life into a comic. Well, I say fun, but for me it was quite stressful since I can't draw even a stick figure to save my own life. It was much more inspiring to watch Raina at work than to try to do any sort of drawing myself.

Raina makes an outline of a story from an audience volunteer

Raina draws a comic from the story outline right on the spot

Jen and Colby admiring Raina's work

The hilarious finished comic

Overall it was a fun day of getting to hang out with friends and of course meeting great authors and artists. Oh, and let's not forget that my day was made complete by getting a Smile t-shirt and a copy of the book signed. Yay! I can't wait to wear my Smile shirt to school.

Guenter likes Smile too

A Very Nerdy Evening

I continue to marvel at the depths social media has improved and inspired my teaching life. Twitter has allowed me to learn from teachers, authors, and librarians all over the country and even the world. No longer is professional development limited to a conference here or a meeting there. It's happening every day, just a computer or smartphone away.

Wednesday evening was one of those moments that I realized social media has done more than just help me learn to be a better teacher. It's helping me to do things and meet people I'd never be able to do and meet otherwise. I had a nerdy good time at dinner in Ann Arbor with some Michigan members of the Nerdy Book Club (one drove in from Chicago) and... Jennifer Holm. Yes, the Jennifer Holm who won three Newbery honors and writes two of the coolest graphic novel series in the world: Babymouse and Squish.

She was giving a talk at the University of Michigan on Thursday and because Colby Sharp is probably the coolest teacher in the state of Michigan, he arranged for a small group of us to have dinner together at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor.

Not only is Jenni one of the nicest, sweetest authors you will ever meet, but being surrounded by teachers and librarians who are just as passionate as I am about what they do was such an empowering feeling. We laughed, talked shop, and of course, discussed books.

I think one of my favorite moments of the evening was when we were sitting around a table at a bar in downtown Ann Arbor, surrounded by students that attend a university known as the Harvard of the Midwest (depending on who you ask), and here we are, extolling the virtues of Babymouse. We're not talking about the current political climate of the Middle East or the brilliance of Tolstoy. Nope. We're talking about a tiny mouse with curly whiskers who wished they were straight. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the most memorable moments from the evening was thanks to one Brian Wyzlic and the dedication he shows to his students by becoming Edgar Allan Poe... literally. He went so far as to come to dinner dressed as Poe... and he and Jenni admired each other's work:

Hey Edgar, don't look so morose all the time. It's impossible to be unhappy reading Babymouse.

Oh the things teachers will do for their students. 

Anyway, I want to thank Colby Sharp, Mr. Schu, Kristin Mcilhagga, Brian Wyzlic, Julie Rick, and of course Jenni Holm for making it such a memorable evening - even if it was a school night and I was a walking zombie all of Thursday. It was oh so worth it.
 

Jenni signs a very special picture for Mr. Poe... I mean Mr. Wyzlic

Priceless picture - signed by Jenni Holm and graced by Babymouse

We might all be Nerdy, but this is one cool group of book lovers.

Check it out...

Today I'm a guest poster over at The Nerdy Book Club:

Returning Home to the Bookshelf