Still Smiling

The work week is halfway over and it has been a good one. The Read Across America activities have been so much fun...for students and staff. Today was Wacky Tacky Wednesday with lots of crazy hairstyles...kind of looked like Whoville in the halls. But what I've enjoyed the most has been the student response to the writing activities.

As I said before, I decided to use quotes by Dr. Seuss as writing prompts this week.  At first the students were not quite sure how to respond....asking questions like "what am I supposed to say"...and "are we supposed to write about why Dr. Seuss said this?"  I finally told them to just read the quote, sit still and let the words just swirl around in their brains for a few minutes....then pick up their pencils and write. And then there was magic....at least for some.

A good many were stuck with the obvious meanings found within the quotes and approached their written response in a formulaic way.  But the others....the time the words spent swirling around in their grey matter served to knock loose moments in time...memories which reflected a deeper more philosophical approach to the words of Seuss. And even more amazing to me were the students who responded in that manner....one in particular.

Lionel* has been in and out of our school since Kindergarten....attending for 4-5 months then moving into another school zone...another city...another district for a while before bouncing back to us. He has always had difficulty with learning no doubt intensified by the constant movement between schools.  Now in the 6th grade, Lionel is generally content to sit back and coast through his classes not caring whether he passes or fails. There is usually no expression on his face other than one of boredom....such was the case this week at least at first.

The first prompt was "Don't cry because its over. Smile because it happened." Lionel sat for at least half the allotted writing time staring at the ceiling. He glanced over at me. I smiled at him. He looked away, picked up his pencil and began to write. The last time he'd written to a prompt all he wrote was "I dont wanna rite." So I was a bit curious as to what he'd taken half a page to say. Because I move from class to class, grade level to grade level, I didn't have time to read all the papers until later in the afternoon.


When I got to Lionel's half page of scribbled nearly indecipherable words I was stunned. This silent morose visaged student had shared a moment from his life....a painful, personal recollection of a moment of time spent with his father. When I read his words, ..."I felt one tear slide out of my eye and run down my face...." I put my head down and wept.....my tears for the boy whose life was far from easy....for the memory he had shared.....and for the gift of his written word.

Today when I asked Lionel for his permission to enter his writing on our school blog, he looked at me in surprise. Then one side of his mouth curled up in a half grin as he said, "yeah that'd be okay."

Its moments like that one that keep me doing what I do.



*not his real name

Smile Because it Happened

Where to begin.....it has been a good week.  Honestly feeling pretty good physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. At school we were all busy preparing for Read Across America Week which begins Monday. The children have had a great time decorating classroom doors in anticipation of Dr. Seuss' birthday.  Next week we will all be wearing crazy hats, eating green eggs and ham, dressing up as our favorite book characters all in celebration of reading. It really is one of my favorite weeks at school.

My friend and I decorated the door of her office/classroom with some quotes from Dr. Theodore Geissell(Sp) AKA Dr. Seuss.  As we worked together deciding on color schemes and which quotes to use I was struck by how inspiring Seuss' words are...and not just for children. Take for example the following.

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."

 If you've ever had the experience of reading to a child and seen the wonder in their face as they take in the words and the illustrations,then you know the verity of this statement.  Not only are you sharing in a learning and growing moment with that child; you are also experiencing, if you are willing, the feeling of meeting those wonderful characters for the first time...the Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Clifford the Big Red Dog. And oh the memories you create for that child! I remember very clearly sitting in my Daddy's lap when I was three and four years old and having him read the 'funny papers' or comics from the daily newspaper to me....and I am convinced those special moments are what taught me to read so quickly and to instill in me a life long love of reading.

Another quote which also touched me was this one.

"Don't cry because its over. Smile because it happened."

What a great lesson to learn! I've spent or rather wasted a lot of time crying because of endings instead of cherishing the joy I experienced.  The past eight months I've tried especially hard to live with that kind of attitude.....to treasure each moment for what it is and not waste time worrying about  what the future may bring, whether it be good things or bad. Don't ever doubt that I've had moments of wallowing in self-pity because I have! But as time passes I find it easier to pick myself up and move on from that particular moment.....of course I have Help in the person of a God Who loves me for me....even when I fail.

I may still cry over the pain of 'endings' but I will now make time to remember the good as well....and to learn from both.