Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.
—Nido Qubein
On Sunday
On Sunday I picked up my friend Buford and we went to an outdoor church service together. Buford is 97. He’s able to use a walker to get to my car, but he prefers a wheelchair once we arrive. Often Buford tells me about his days in a competitive Rollerblade hockey league. He was 78 when he quit playing. “It’s probably why I have knee problems now,” he said, laughing.
After I returned Buford to his place, I couldn’t wait to get to my kitchen. I rolled pie dough to make three pies for our Tuesday Night Dinner. Andy has nine first cousins—and all but two were going to be in town. Naturally we had to get together, so our Tuesday Night Dinner became Ayres Cousin Dinner. Grandma Ayres always made pie, so I couldn’t resist pulling out my own rolling pin.
Once the pie shells were in the pans, I cleaned up and headed to a celebration of life. When I was growing up, my parents had dear friends and our families were close-knit. One of the women passed away, and in lieu of a traditional funeral service, she had charged her daughters with planning a party to celebrate her life. On Sunday we celebrated, and the grief turned beautiful in a way that can happen only when someone spends their days loving well. I was humbled to be part of a community that built the fabric of my life and where, even as decades pass, the relationships forged still make a difference.
I came home in time to meet my friend Dana—a nurse in her early twenties—so we could visit our friends and their new baby. We sat on the couch in a quiet room, holding a sweet tiny newborn bundle. His parents told us the story of his beginning days.
When Dana dropped me off at home, Andy met me at the door. “We have just a few minutes before we need to leave if we want to see Sam on the train.” Sam has finished his conductor training and officially started working for Norfolk Southern. On Sunday he ran an intermodal train to Chicago and was passing just a few miles north of our house. We jumped in the car and went to the crossing. Soon, we heard the engine and the horn, and then Sam leaned out the window and waved as they raced past.
Sunday is often a day bursting with beginnings and endings. I am reminded that we don’t always get to determine where we begin and how the ending will go, but we always get to decide to live well.
As summer closes and we move into the start of the school year, I turned to Choice Literacy for inspiration on how to live well. Here is a collection of some of the articles that have been clicked on the most as school begins.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share ways to make families partners in the pursuit of creating lifelong readers. They share research that makes a case for “just” reading and compelling suggestions for families to support their children’s reading lives.
Gwen Blumberg joins the Boston Roller Derby for a series of skills classes and immediately makes connections to the way students must feel when learning the complexity of reading. She shares how the importance of learning something new (especially something we aren’t good at) helps us remember the importance of joy to learning.
PODCAST |The Sticky Hope podcast has launched its second season. Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk focus on ways to use connection to nourish healthy regulation in our classrooms. Be sure to download the Sticky Hope Notes for small invitations that are helpful and genuine.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Gretchen Schroeder winnows many competing demands at the start of the year down to five clear objectives in her high school classroom.
When Julie Cox moves into a smaller classroom, she realizes that to make it a room where students learn and thrive, she needs to shift her mindset. Rather than simply putting things where they fit, she asks three questions to make intentional decisions that will support learning.
Gigi McAllister fosters engaged reading lives through goal-setting in the library. She shares ways we can encourage all readers to have robust reading lives.
VIDEO | Bitsy Parks shares her best advice for lesson planning in a way that keeps the focus on students. She encourages finding joy in the planning process by observing them.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
David Pittman reflects on ways instructional coaches can help create an atmosphere of belonging for students.
Obstacles are a part of literacy leadership. Matt Renwick offers three steps to reframe our obstacles to reduce anxiety and stress.
Teacher Educators Teach | Suzy Kaback shares ways professors can get to know teacher candidates, as well as the research behind mattering and the important connection to building relationships as educators.
Quote It:
The future depends on what you do today.
—Mahatma Gandhi
That’s all for this week!
