letters

Dear teachers,

I know there is just too much right now. Remote teaching is a lot. We are mourning the loss of children before us and some of us are even teaching to blank screens on zoom. There's grading and lesson planning and report cards and paperwork and it's all online and it is a lot. As an instructional coach, you have my commitment that I'm reconsidering what it means to coach a time like this. I'm here to listen, I'm here with snacks, I'm here to cheer you on or offer a joke if you need it, and I'm here to troubleshoot zoom or plan a lesson or problem solve. Or, we can scream into pillows. Just let me know what support for you looks like at this time and I'll deliver.

Love, your friend

Dear ELA Teams,

Thank you for your thoughtful reflections this week around our norms and the Clear is Kind article. I know it's hard to be super transparent and direct, and I appreciate your openness to the ideas. Like yoga and meditation, I believe vulnerability is a practice, and the more we engage with it, the easier it becomes, so cheers to your open hearts and minds as we co-create teams that keep student learning at the heart of all we do.

Love, Brezek

Dear LO,

Thank you for sharing the closing remarks from Lucy Calkins and the call to action to show up for one another and spread kindness. It's because of you I did so, and it filled my heart with such warmth to pass along something to someone else.

Love, Michelle

Dear Holls, Nicki, and Sierra,

Thanks for a super fun weekend hiking and adventures at Carol's place. And for letting me bring Sunny and loving her just the same as me, and for the birthday celebrations. Let's not wait three years to do that again!

Love, Shel

Dear Sunny,

Thank you for being a good dog and not running away from the horseback riding session when you were following along off leash and I was separated from you. If you had chased a squirrel or bunny away, heartbroken would be not near enough way to describe the loss I would have felt. I'm so happy you're such a good listener!

ily SBS!
Love, Mama

Dear Brené Brown,

Thank you for the way you coach us on leadership through your work studying it, including your most recent podcast. It was such a blessing to hear more about Joe Biden and his personal story, and the ways in which he wants to lead our country with courage and empathy.

Sincerely, your #1 fan, Michelle

Dear Social Justice Book Club,

I will not be ready for How to be an Anti-Racist on Sunday. Where is everyone else at? Can we postpone? It was so much easier in the summer.

Sincerest apologies, Michelle

Dear fellow Americans,

As if you haven't been reminded enough, let's get out to vote. 

Sincerely, a hopeful neighbor

Dear AB & MH,

Thank you for listening and leading with such a loving calmness about you. I appreciate all your attention to detail and the work you do behind the scenes for all of us. Also, thanks for teaching me how to be a better leader in the structures and routines you execute with us at school. Appreciate you so so much.

Love, Brezek

Dear Coffee,

There's a new method on the way. I have learned all about the French Press and can't wait till the one I ordered gets here.

Excited! Michelle

Dear RB,

You were meant to teach Stamped to eighth graders. Your energy, love, and exuberance is contagious and I'm so thankful I've been able to drop in some of your discussions. Fave moments were when Julian put his eye to the camera, like, "Wut?!" or "Yep, I agree." Looking forward to see what the kids create, and happy to be on that journey with you.

Hugs, Brezek

Dear Cousin,

Such a good chat this week catching up with you. I'm so proud of you for prioritizing your happiness and think you are wise beyond your 23 years. Keep it up girl, you're inspiring all those around you!

Love, Michelle

Dear 30's,

We have about one week left together, and to you, I'm thankful for all the ways I've grown. I have learned so much about health, including emotional and mental health as I've negotiated relationships with others. I can say that I did not expect to be on the verge of 40 still single, but unlike a decade ago, I will say that I find value in all the areas of my life that are flourishing. Thank you for molding me into a confident woman after all the insecurities of my late 20's and early 30's.

Love, Michelle

Dear HW,

I can't wait to see you!

xo, your bff

May we be changed

Over the past week, I've been collecting pictures from social media that have...struck me. Wanted to save them all somewhere, and share them out as well. So here you go :-)

Let's start with our medical staff, a huge thank you to each and every one of you.

And then, moving on to the power of what can all do, individually:

Being sure to mind our minds:

And also be mindful of only taking what we need...

We should look to our leaders for love and support:

And, we can be thankful for unintended consequences. We are healing the Earth!

My gut is telling me it's going to take awhile to move beyond this, but we will, and we will then rejoice in getting back to our daily rituals. But, may we be changed. May we take greater care of the Earth, and vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change. May we slow down. May we be more compassionate. May we be more forgiving and may we follow our instincts of love more often that not.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Imagine

When this all ends, imagine:
The hugs!
The smiles!
The joyful reunions at actual (and not virtual) happy hours!
We'll shake hands without a second thought. And,
if we cough into the air, or sneeze on accident, it won't be so bad. And
the beaches will be open again, and
I won't have to store groceries on my counter for lack of space.
I'll travel to see my family, no questions asked, no worries to be had.
That my dating life will resume, in all it's splendor. (ha!)
I'll dance in class and do yoga in a room heated to 105 degrees.
No one in my life will be worried about this. No one will lose sleep over this.
I'll see my students every day again, and
look in their eyes, and
tell them face-to-face that they matter.
I'll see my colleagues again, and
our complaints about the daily grind will subside, because
we'll feel so lucky to be back.
Back to routine, and
the smiles, and
the hugs.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

The cough heard around the world

For Lent, I gave up meat, so I've been on a heavy salad rotation. Every week, I get enough produce and prep 5 salads at a time, and then have them for lunch each day. Yesterday I had my last one, and knew I had to run out to the grocery store, but thought best to wait until first thing in the morning. I was hoping for less people and more inventory.

My grocery store in on the north side of Chicago; we are land locked. The parking, where I usually park, is upstairs. Then, I get some extra steps in and take the huge staircase down to the main floor, which is where everything is.

As I was walking down the stairs, I was struck by how empty it is. Typically, on that upstairs level, there are a few people sitting at cafe tables and chairs - the grocery store workers, sometimes people who are learning about how to work for Instacart, sometimes just guests of the store. But today? Today all the chairs were stacked and tables, too, and there was plastic over them as not to be used.

Making my way down the stairs, in the barren desert that is Mariano's, I coughed. And I forgot all social cues, because I didn't even cough into my elbow.

At the bottom of the stairs, on a register right there, the woman turned around, with her hand covering a tissue that was covering her mouth, and just looked at me like, "Have you lost your damn mind?" Uggghhh. Unlike the schools, grocery stores won't close, and she has to be there to serve others. I felt terrible.

I was embarrassed, but even more so, feeling responsible for not doing my part to protect those in my community, sending germs out of my mouth and into the empty air all around me. 

In many ways I feel that I have been pretty responsible during these times. I have stayed home, except for the grocery store. I've been diligent about hand washing before and after coming in and out of my house. I have been connecting with my students on flip grid, and modeling calm, rather than panic, during these uncertain times. I've made a schedule for myself and have been exercising to keep my mental and emotional health strong, so I can be a model of that for others.

But that cough. That cough was a reminder again that we can always do more. You guys - it's not about us individually. It's not about me and my needs, but doing the things we can to protect those around us.

Hope everyone is staying home, unless a run out is absolutely necessary. Sending wishes of peace of mind, and good health your way, today, and every day.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Today I learned...

1. Do the things you least want to do first thing. For me, that's exercise. Today I woke up and did yoga first thing, and it made all the difference.

2. If it's sunny and relatively nice out, get outside. Went for a long walk under the sun with a friend and it's something great to look forward to!

3. Avocado toast pairs well with red wine. (For dinner) : P

4. Get good sleep, always, but seems even more important now. Total darkness, on consistent sleep/wake schedule, and don't brag that, "I function well on three hours of sleep" since you'll be on teh verge of being unwell with that going on. Dr. Tanda Cook, the Naturopathic doctor I was listening to said that sleep is the one thing that can help all the other areas of health concerns improve. And it's free!

5. People are so good. This lovely friend who I know only briefly through my Arbonne tribe texted me, just to check in on me and it just really made me appreciate the goodness in people. (Thank you, Yamiek!) Then I forwarded that love on to a few other people to let them know I was thinking about them.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

I'll be the judge

If you were one of those 100s of people on a beach in Florida today,
I'm judging you.

If you are in quarantine at your house and posting funny cat videos
I'm judging you

If you are repeatedly out "running errands" 
I'm judging you.

If you are working out on facetime with me
I'm judging you

If you are hand-shaking people or standing too close
I'm judging you.

If you create a schedule for yourself so you can set more purpose to your day
I'm judging you
(katie, I'm making myself one!)

If you are complaining that you can't go to the gym/restaurant/library
I'm judging you

If you're binging a show on Netflix or reading a great book at home
I'm judging you

If you are checking in on Facebook from your flight to spring break
I'm judging you 

If you are some of my movement people (dancers, yogis) and you're posting workouts online
I'm judging you

If you think what's going on / is coming is a bunch of malarky
I'm judging you

If you're postponing things you want to do and making sacrifices to protect those at risk
I'm judging you 💗

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

10 minutes and everything changes

Prior to 4pm, I had be writing....

I'm not stressed. Or annoyed.

Coronavirus is here, and yet, I know I'd much rather be on my regular routine, complaining about meal-prepping and all the adulting I have to do on my limited weekends, and then heading back to school on Monday like nothing was wrong.

Tuesday was supposed to be our half day for PD because in Illinois  it's a voting day. We were out at noon, and then we had tentatively planned to go get a green beer in honor of St. Patty's day.

But none of that is happening.

Today I watched mass on LiveStream, instead of seated in church.

Today I went for a walk and hardly saw anyone. (Also locked myself out, thankful for my best friend who saved the day!)

Tomorrow I'll go in to work for four hours help teachers get some options set up for e-learning, and then I'll be back at home.

There will be no green beer on Tuesday.

Probably won't see many of my friends face-to-face for the next two weeks.

But I'm not feeling angry or annoyed or stressed. Maybe we should look at this as a time to slow down. Maybe there are some ways in which we can heal with this abundance of time. Now we are blessed with time for other priorities, that book we've been meaning to read, that closet we've been meaning to clean. Maybe we need to make that call to a loved one, or send that text. Or write a letter. Remember snail mail?!

Some things just won't happen this year, and that's okay. But big picture? Our health is our greatest wealth, and even if I'm not a part of the demographic that is most at risk, I will stay inside and away from others because we are actually far more connected than it may feel today and for the next two weeks.
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Around 4:30 pm, our governor closed all restaurants and bars effective tomorrow and my mom called worried and sh*t got real. But for now, I must rest, so more on that, tomorrow.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Social Distancing Day 1

DID NOT make my bed

DID go to the bank, then came right back home

DID wonder how St. Patty's day went on this alternate Chicago St. Patty's day

DID watch *alot of Scandal on Netflix

DID NOT get in trouble from other people on the Netflix account

DID start diffusing Tea Tree oil (it's an antiviral!)

DID drink a little wine

DID a deep conditioning on my hair

DID clean up (just a little bit)

DID feel mostly pretty lazy

DID buy concert tickets (Maren Morris!)

DID enjoy staying home

DID cancel my Vegas trip

DID remember to slice right as I was about to go to sleep.

DID show up, anyways.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Some feelings

AWED at the work of our district leadership in this challenging time.

THANKFUL that our governor made the call to close Illinois schools.

OPTIMISTIC that it was the right choice that will keep us healthy and safe.

DISAPPOINTED my Vegas trip in April has been cancelled, but also

RELIEVED that I didn't have to make that decision.

APPRECIATIVE to all the amazing teachers sharing brilliant resources!

ANNOYED that I have to wait on teaching the Argument unit I've been revising.

CONFUSED about the toilet paper situation. (??)

AMUSED that the extroverts out there will now live an introvert's best day!

WORRIED that even the introvert in me will be bored sooner than later.

HOPEFUL I'll make a serious dent in my to-be-read list.

SURPRISED that I forgot to slice until 8:30pm, but

RELIEVED I remembered and showed up;

GRATEFUL for this writing community, and can't wait to be

UPLIFTED by the stories I'm bound to read next.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Visible Learning PD Takeaways

Today I got to spend the day with Doug Fisher who spoke about Visible Learning within Literacy. It's not exactly a small moment story, but had to share my top 10 takeaways before I forgot them!

Some background knowledge: Visible learning is THE research study of all the educational research studies. It looks at all the strategies known to teacher man and then rates them based on their effectiveness. The hinge point is 0.40, which equals one year of growth. So, you will see mention of some strategies that are like, for example, 1.09, which would be over two years worth of growth in one year! Here's a link with more, but for me, onward to what I'm walking away with:

10. Call it a Think Along (that we're all doing together) rather than a Think Aloud (that the teacher is doing on their own).

9. Teacher modeling should not be teacher monologue. Self-regulation can be taught but attention span cannot (and people's attention span is their age in minutes UP TO TEN.) Please keep it brief!

8. Small group work (around a level) is not as effective as strategy groups. But you gotta be a kidwatcher (Yetta Goodman) in order to notice kids' needs and then place them in dynamic groups that give them the strategies they need. That's complex work and takes time and lots of effort, but DOABLE! (Know who wants to do this work with you? Your friendly Literacy Coach!)

7. PLEASE STOP: telling kids, "Pick another book. You already read that book." This may be why kids hate rereading anything.

6. Kids should be involved in "Goldilocks tasks" as much as possible: not too hard, not too boring.

5. Keep wide reading, and make kids do it at home (d = 0.42). Increase at home reading volume by: (1) Access to books, ideally 50 books per kid in each classroom, (2) Choice in books matters and raises volume, (3) offer time for kids to discuss their books, and (4) recommend books to readers via book talks.

4. Coaches & admins: When you visit classrooms ask kids, "What are you learning today?" rather than "What are you doing?" Visible learning shows students who can tell what they are learning, why it's important, and how they know if they are doing it right will achieve at higher levels than those who only can tell what they are doing (which typically identifies the activity.) Here's one I wrote today for 8th grade argument:

I'm learning how to close read argument text in order to be a competent consumer of texts. I know I'm doing this right if I can extract evidence that makes Adnan Syed (text: Serial podcast) guilty and innocent of Hae Min Lee's death, and elaborate / make inferences about each piece of evidence.

3. Teacher Credibility (d = 1.09) = Trust + Competence + Dynamism + Immediacy

2. The influence that has the worst effect on student achievement is mobility (d = -0.34.) So, teachers and schools need to do things that will help a new kid feel welcome. Love this idea: The day before a new kid shows up, their new class's exit slip is to write a welcome letter to the new student, who gets a file of them when they arrive. #Imnotcryingyourecrying

1. Strong teacher-student relationships are everything (d = 0.72.) Young people don't learn from old people they don't like. (My edit: Young people don't learn from *anyone they don't like.) Teachers: Please know kids names, know how to pronounce them, and know (at least) one thing about them, at a minimum.

Thoughts? Thanks to my school and district leaders for sending me! :-) 

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Not alone

Today I had a coaches meeting. We had a few objectives: (l) looking at different frameworks to elevate great lessons and (2) debriefing our book study book, Better Conversations.

One of the chapters we read was about common ground, how, when you're in a difficult conversation, it helps to find common ground with the other person. The facilitators did an amazing job, and we played this game where we were all placed in our "boxes" - I was in the literacy coach box, admins were in theirs, math coaches yet another, and so on. Then, the facilitator read some prompts and if it applied to us, we had to "come to the table."

Some of the prompts went like this:

• I like to dance.
• I was raised in a non-typical family.
• I was bullied as a kid.
• I was the bully.
• I believe in life after death.

The prompt that was most shocking to me was, "I know what loneliness feels like," or something of that nature. As a single person who has been living on her own for the better part of the last 10 years, I definitely feel this from time to time, but what I didn't expect was for EVERY PERSON IN THE GROUP to understand that too. There were probably like 15 people together in this group, and every person came to the table.

Of course I don't wish that feeling on anyone, but it does make me feel a bit better to know I'm not alone in this experience. I guess this is the whole point: when you find common ground with someone, it really is pretty difficult not to accomplish great things.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Organization is required

One thing that is very important to me is organization and tidiness. When I had my own class, kids always had all the papers they needed and they hardly ever lost anything. It's because I talked about this on a daily basis in my class. Like, I nag about organization *every *day.

I was reminded of this today, as I am in a coaching cycle for an argument unit in an eighth grade room. Our eighth graders read the Serial Podcast (Here's the trailer from HBO) and then must cull all the evidence in order to write a paper that states their side of the Adnan Syed argument: did he kill Hae Min Lee, or not?

I had asked students to put away the article that we had read in their ELA folder. Majority of kids were doing exactly what I asked, but then there are a few others: one was folding it and putting it in their Reader's Notebook, and another was putting it in a folder, but that one little folder held EVERY DOCUMENT THEY HAD EVER BEEN GIVEN. These are both problems for me.

Kids typically don't lose papers or items for me because I make time at the end of every class to explicitly tell kids where to put everything. Today it was: put the article in your ELA folder. Pass the summaries you wrote to the person at the green position and they should bring those to me.

Since I have a few kids who do not have what they need, tomorrow I will bring extra folders to class and get them set up right (thanks to my amazing friends at HMS who provided everything I needed after a simple email request.)

I used to always get upset with kids when they didn't have the supplies the school list had asked for, but then I read what's below and now I stock up in the beginning of the year for kids who need things. 

It's not worth it to me to fuss at kids who don't have what I expect. Who knows what else is happening in their lives? So, with the help of my colleagues, I give them what they need, and they all get organized. Tidiness is one of my non-negotiables.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

breaking: it's not a bomb

Made my 40 minute commute home and stopped at the grocery story by my casa. Got back in my car and started it, pulled out and as I'm driving through the parking lot, I look at my dash and it's blank. No speed, no gas levels, no RPMs, and none of the other little numbers all across it. Except ONE red dot flashing on and off. I'm creeping through the parking lot wondering what is up.

I pull back into another spot, put the car in park, and get out the manual. Look up the light and it has to do with security. It says that if it's on, then maybe the engine won't start. To troubleshoot, turn the car off, push the brake down, and restart.

So I do, but same issues persist.

I decide that at least I'm super close to home so I should drive there. And then call Honda.

As I'm driving the 0.5 miles home, I get to thinking what I always think when something is wrong with my car, that most certainly it's going to blow up. I then carry on this narrative thinking that I could jump out of my car, right now! But it's raining. But surely, someone prob attached a bomb to my car in the time I was in the grocery story. But, being the genius person I am, I figure, probably didn't happen, because it's still light out and I was only in the story about fifteen minutes. And honestly, who would want to blow up my car? I'm not that important. (Not mad about that either.)

When I get back outside my apartment, I call Honda. I end up setting an appointment for tomorrow morning, thinking of all the trouble it will cause to just get my car there instead of going to work. And then at the last minute he says, "You haven't by chance changed the battery in your key fob lately, have you?"

So I run upstairs, get my spare key, and sure enough that is it.

The bomb I thought was on my car turned out to just be an almost dead key fob battery. Seriously, I know I'm book smart, but sometimes I even surprise myself in my lack of everyday general knowledge. It's kinda cute though, right?

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Ain't got time for that

So, the Coronavirus.

I don't have TV, I rarely see the news. I certainly do not watch any cable news.

Today when talking to my stepmom, she asked me how things were down here (I'm in Chicago, she's in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) related to Coronavirus. I told her, "Fine? I am not letting that stress me out."

Like is this a fear thing? Is this a distraction from some other thing thing? I'm not sure. But I did see this video by a Naturopathic Doctor I really admire and respect and she was making the case that there are bacteria and viruses fungus and tons of other things that can make us sick out in the world at all times, so we should not shirk responsibility for our health, but instead take responsibility for building our immune systems. Then she gave a bunch of tips:

1. Get movement every day.

2. Get outside to get Vitamin D and also...

3. Supplement with Vitamin D-3, A, and Zinc. She says in her practice she has yet to meet someone who has enough Vitamin D in their systems from natural means - you have to supplement!

4. Say no to sugar. In her words, it's like sandpaper to our insides because its SOOO INFLAMMATORY. 

5. Drink water & eat whole foods.

Wanna know what else I'd like to add? Avoid stress. It also weakens the immune system (reference) and I got no time for that.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Internet Finds

Went on a first date last night. Guy I met on a dating app. Never can be sure about internet finds, but hey, I keep looking.

Date was just okay for me. When it was about time to go, he asked, "So should we get separate checks?"

"Okay," I replied while looking away, because what I was thinking was HUGE QUESTION MARKS and I was not living out my best poker face at the moment. That check included one glass of red wine for me. On a date that he initiated.

I mean it's fine, I guess? It's not the first time it has happened, but always kinda takes me by surprise.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Is it just me?

In our district we have a Health and Wellness committee. We create opportunities for students and staff to be mindful about health and wellness. Some of these events include a fun run for staff, student workout clubs, book clubs for staff, Biggest Loser competitions, and we have a health and wellness fair every spring. This year's fair was last night.

My job at the fair was to welcome the community vendors and show them where their table was. In return for being a vendor, they had to donate a prize to be raffled off to students.

As the vendors entered our building, I welcomed them, and escorted them to their spot. Once we arrived there, I would then ask, "Did you have a raffle prize to donate?"

So there was someone from a public health department of some capacity. We got to their table and I asked for their raffle prize.

You know a diaper cake that moms-to-be sometimes get at baby showers? Okay, picture that. Made of candy. At a HEALTH and WELLNESS FAIR.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Not quite yet...

It's springtime so those standardized tests are quickly approaching. This year at our middle school, we are doing a little bit of test prep each morning in homeroom. Kids can earn Falcon Dollars and prizes based on their performance.

Today's test question was some algebra that they had to solve. Not sure I could figure it out anymore, but hey, I already passed eighth grade. Luckily we have an answer key!

A few kids got the answer correct, and then there was this response, "x = It's too early for math."

Maybe he would've felt better if he had coffee :-)

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

"We should hang out sometime."

Today was 8th grade promotion picture day. I love this day because the kids come to school in their super fancy clothes looking all grown up. So naturally, I need to get a picture of them, them - as in the remaining kids from the class I taught last year. It was a seven-eight combo ELA class that looped, except we didn't reschedule that class again this year. So all of the kids I had, who are all eighth graders this year, are scattered across a few different ELA classes. 

During lunch, I went to the multipurpose room and got on the mike, "If you were in my BB3 class last year, meet me in the hall." I assumed I would have to go back in and take a long time to find all of them, so I was surprised when I walked up to the door and they were mostly all huddled together already.

"Who is missing?" I asked as we made our way into the hallway.

A few of them said, "Ayden isn't here," and then I sent them off to find him.

As I was organizing them for a good picture, so that I could see all their faces, they noticed Chris was missing, so someone ran off to grab him. And then they just started catching up, by no means prompted by me.

"Ms. Brezek! I was going through this folder I found under my bed. I found that picture you gave us last year."

Someone else chimed in, "I still have mine, too!"

And another, "And I have the book of poetry we made at the end of the year."

"We should hang out sometime," Jacob announced.

My heart melted.

Here was half of an ELA class, who are now all split up, asking to make time to see one another. Last year, they were not exactly fans of ELA. They had half of their class comprised by kids one year older than them, *and they had to alternate seventh and eighth grade lunch.

And now they miss one another.

We snapped a pic, and they immediately asked to see it. "I'll bring you a copy tomorrow, to add to your collection," I assured them, and back to lunch they went.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

10 things I love about teaching

Someone on another blog did this list yesterday, and I thought it would be a great way for me to remind myself why I love this job so.

10. Summer Vacation. Make no mistake that teachers need this time to be renewed for another year. I'm already looking forward to beach days, trips to visit friends and family, and following some of my other interests for those quick two months. 

9. Creating spaces that feel like home. If you came into my office today (or former classroom) you'd find soft lighting, plants, and walls decorated that reflect my values and beliefs. Conferring table is there and a very small teacher desk behind it. And a tree decal. Always a tree.

8. Funny emails that circulate every so often. Like this exchange:

JB (to whole staff)
Subject line: ALL HAIL CILANTRO
Message: Thank you for the tasty lunch today!

TJ, reply all: Yes, thank you! It was delicious!

GS, reply all: Thank you so much, it was awesome!

ES, reply all: TAAAAACOOOOOOOO TUUUUEEEEESDAY!!! Everything was delicious yesterday, thank you.

OR

JL (to whole staff): Seventh grader AM has lost one of her airpods this morning. If you see it, let me know.

JB, reply all: Has she checked her ear?

7. Middle School Commentary: An eighth grader telling me, "Ugghhhh, you're just like my mom," and me taking it as a term of endearment. Happened on a separate occasion last year, too. I don't mind :-)

6. Being able to constantly revise our work, ideas, and instruction. Like this year, our eighth grade teachers are making a few tweaks to the Serial Podcast Argument Unit. It makes so much more sense how we are ordering instruction this year. It was good last year, but will be even better this year.

5. Being creative. Our standards may be common, but lesson delivery can certainly be tailored to each individual person's interests and ideas. I would have never thought to teach an argument unit around a murder podcast, but hey, that works. And it's so engaging. But if a teacher isn't into it? No big deal! They can do something else!

4. The consistent routines and rituals built around a school year. Summers to relax and then in fall we're all engaged with back to school energy. The unwinding around Thanksgiving and fun around winter holidays. Valentine's day with adolescents is interesting and never boring, book clubs in the spring, and graduation rituals in May. I love the routines, and it's always cool to experience them with another group of kids. You know what is coming, and they live it in excitement.

3. Reading & Writing Workshop. Only the best instructional model out there. Demonstration for 10-12 minutes, Workshop where kids do the work for the bulk of the time (45ish minutes), and a closing where everyone shares what they've learned. Teachers confer, students get their instruction differentiated, and kids do most of the work. After all, whomever is doing the work is doing the learning, and I've already done eighth grade.

2. Ohana. A few years ago we came across Ohana, from Lilo and Stitch. We did a building wide activity around it, later  painted a mural of it in our hallways, and this year, put a decal up in our lounge about it, too. But it's more than just those visual reminders. It really does feel like family here at HMS. People know stuff about your life and care and ask. People share about their families. We do happy hour and lunches. When we take group pictures at staff outings, we come back to school the following week and find that picture was printed and placed in everyone's mailbox. It's a bunch of little things that add up to one really amazing feeling, of feeling right at home each day while we work.

1. Kids. I don't have my own kids yet, but I've loved some of the kids I've taught in a pretty fierce way, so I can only imagine what it is like to have a child of your own. But my students? They are pretty awesome. Even in the hard conversations. Maybe even *especially in the hard conversations. Over the years, I've learned how to address them with the most ease, and thankfully this list of tricks has come to my aid time and time again:

• When I notice some attitude or tone, I softly ask, "Are you mad at me?" This works well to open a dialogue with students I know well and those I don't know at all.
• Apologizing when I mess up. No one is perfect, and I think it's helpful to model the behaviors you expect form kids.
• Telling kids, "I wouldn't nag you if I didn't care about you," when we are in the thick of discipline.

And lastly, kids are just entertaining. There is never a dull moment. Like, when they can finish your sentences, when they call out others who have less tenure with you, when they abruptly run into your office to "say hi" (when they're actually being chased), when they leave you notes on your desk, idk. Kids are just the best. the best. the best.

Just a small part of what teaching means to me. And what about you? Leave a comment with your favorite things about teaching!

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Netflix Divorce

Anyone else out there share streaming services and accounts with friends? In my case, my friend Katie pays for Netflix (for four of us!) and I got the Costco membership. Usually, no issues. But last night, not the case.

When I got home yesterday, I was on a Scandal binge when I got a facebook video call from the four other people on the account. And a text, telling me to pick up.

So naturally I ignored the call, quit Netflix, and went to sleep. It was after nine, and I was dozing anyways. I was a little terrified about being yelled at. This was the second time this situation played out like this.

Then, this morning I woke up to 21 messages on facebook. I had no idea what had transpired after I fell asleep, but then remembered how a few friends wanted to off me from Netflix. The texts went like this:

"Katie, add Michelle to this chat, NOW."

"Michelle, stop watching Scandal and go to bed. It's like 11pm there."

"Time for a divorce."

"Netflix divorce."

Not sure if I still have access, but promised to binge Scandal at off-peak hours from now on.

Anyone else love Scandal? Like, how close is that to actual DC?

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Just one yes

March first. This year the Slice of Life snuck up on me. I'm a Literacy Coach in a Middle School and usually I get things going much sooner and we have classes writing, but this year, it snuck up. No students are being prompted to write, but Slicing in March is a ritual I enjoy and I'm committed to it once again this year.

But this morning I was wavering.

I thought, "Let me go for a run and think about it," knowing I do good thinking while I'm getting some movement in, too. I came back still unsure.

Did some laundry.

Started cleaning up my place, you know, adulting and all, and yet I was still wavering.

So I texted a friend from work and asked here, "Hey, are we in for Slice of Life this month? Not the kids, but us?"

And she wrote back with a gif which I cannot get into this post, but was a baby in a diaper dancing and it said, "Let's do it!!"

And so here I am.

She also said she fell down a hill, so she's got her first slice for you all later tonight. (She's ok. I checked.) :-)

That's the power in asking. Sometimes you get a yes on your first ask! Excited to write with you in March, Cap!

Checkout former years of slicing here. Find me on IG here. And Twitter, here.