Life Changes

For the past year I've been trying to focus on what really makes us happy - us as in me, Dave, Sophie, Lucy and John. For too many years we sent out Christmas letters describing all the changes in our lives and truly thought it was normal - doesn't everybody get a Ph.D., experience a devastating flood, have a baby, change jobs, buy a lake cabin, and travel around the world in a single year? Or do they?

As our family went from two to five we didn't slow down until finally, last year, Dave and I had a long talk and figured out that things had to, needed to, change. One phrase I'll never forget from that conversation was, "If you're not happy in your job, you need to make some changes that will make you happy." When he told me that, it was freeing - I was happy when I was teaching and when I advised students knowing they knew I actually cared about them and their decisions, but I wasn't happy with the politics of the institution, the grading of papers, the students who didn't take their work seriously yet always expected an "A" in the course. I wasn't happy trying to balance the needs of three children eight and under as well as my husband with the needs of boatloads of undergraduate and graduate students and, finally, my own needs. I think Dave was a little surprised with my decision to quit, but he's been fully supportive and, as he's seen our lives become less stressful, appreciative.

I know this isn't a decision that everyone can afford - either mentally or monetarily - and I, after years of feeling torn between stay-at-home moms and working moms, would never judge another on his/her decision. We all do the best we can - and that is what counts. But please do take some time today and think about what you can do in your life to ensure you're happy - because as my brother-in-law says, "If Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy."

Happy Mood - thanks, in large part to former students

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity of participating in a book club discussion with three former undergraduate students - what a blast. These three were excellent students - Nate was a student three different semesters, Lindsay for two, and Angie one - and I totally felt like I got to watch them grow up. But, wow, the growth they've undergone in the past year has been amazing to see.

After graduation, all three of them applied for a resident teacher program co-hosted by our university and the school district - and all three of them were accepted. For the past school year, they've held teaching positions at Sophie and Lucy's school: Angie as a Kindergarten teacher, Lindsay in grade one, and Nate in grade two. During their year as resident teachers, they worked alongside an excellent mentor (and former first grade teacher) Jana. (Jana is on the right in the pic above.) The resident teacher program is awesome for first-year teachers as it combines teaching, mentoring, and Masters' study all within a cohort of nine other first-year teachers. I've worked with the program in various capacities since 2001 and can honestly say that the people who come out of the resident teacher program are absolutely some of the very best teachers I've seen.

In March of this year I approached their principal with the idea of hosting a professional book club with teachers from the school. My purposes were two-fold: to help the teachers at the school see what types of professional development the Red River Valley Writing Project can offer and to get teachers engaged in professional discussions about writing. It was a deal he couldn't refuse - I provide my services as book club facilitator, the teachers choose a book that has to do with the teaching of reading and/or writing, the Red River Valley Writing Project pays for the books, and Voila! - professional development occurs for those who are interested.

The school has a small staff so I was hoping for a group of 6-8 people... and honestly I was a little disappointed that four of the six people that signed up were involved with the resident teacher program and the other two were Sophie and Lucy's teachers. I felt like I had, perhaps, forced a hand or two into signing up. That really wasn't my intention, but from the turnout, that's how I felt. I felt better once I talked with them and they choose a book, Writing Essentials by Regie Routman. It wasn't they felt they had to do this because of fear of disappointing me, but because they were anxious for the professional discussion.

Our first meeting was in mid-April - a busy time of year for everyone but almost everyone managed to make it and everyone had read the first half of the book. It was eye-opening to see the three residents talk about curricular issues and classroom practices right alongside veteran teachers. The sharing of ideas was fast and furious and I think we were all surprised when 1 1/2 hours had passed.

Tonight's meeting was just as powerful. At one point Angie was talking about a district-wide assessment writing sample she did with her students today - she was feeling poorly about it because the kids were so used to having choice with their writing (YEAH!) that they were a bit off when given the prompt to write about their favorite memory of Kindergarten. I loved it when Lindsay jumped in to encourage her and spouted off research about how usually it's just the opposite - that kids are so used to being told what to write about that when given a free choice topic, they freeze up. I was soooo proud of them at this moment - and then I looked over at Jana who has helped them in so many ways throughout the year. She deserves so much credit for helping them make the connections between what they learned at the university, their gut feelings, and real-life teaching. It was a great night - more than enough to alleviate my bad mood for a few days!

So, my only question is: why can't we keep them forever?!?!