A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.
—Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Bananas
At a summer writing retreat, my colleagues and I met for breakfast in the community dining room. A paper menu shared the day’s meal choices beginning with options for starters: fruit of the day, cold cereal, oatmeal. As our server took the orders for those gathered around the table, several of us, including me, selected fruit of the day. I imagined a bowl of summer-ripened, rich, red strawberries—perhaps dotted with local blueberries—or perhaps warm, pale orange cubes of fresh cantaloupe. However, when the server returned several minutes later, she unceremoniously plunked down a small bunch of bananas for those who had selected this option to share, turned on her heel with military-like precision and walked away. My brows furrowed in question as I looked across the table to another diner in our group. These bananas were indeed fruit, but what I had envisioned and the thump as they were delivered was very different from what I had expected. A giggle emerged and quietly spread around the table as the bananas sat there… the fruit of the day, just waiting to be eaten.
In fairness, these bananas were near perfect, a sunny golden yellow, free of bruises or brown spots and yet, in that first moment I saw them, I felt dissatisfied.
I quickly realized I could have proactively tempered my disappointment by asking a simple, clarifying question ahead of time such as, “What is the fruit of the day?” or simply embracing a much wider span of acceptable offerings.
Over the course of the retreat, I continued to reflect about those bananas and their connection to my life as an educator. How often am I disappointed when things don’t go according to plan? How often do I have expectations for something… only to have them met, but not quite in the way I hoped or imagined so I dismiss them as less than perfect? How often do you do these things in your own role?
Our collective days in school are often ripe with moments when what we expected lands like a bunch of surprise bananas on a breakfast table. However, we can pick up those bananas, snap one off, peel the skin back and take a bite. We can choose to focus on what is true in the surprising moments of our days, check our expectations, and lean into embracing moments of joy from the unexpected.
Shine on,
Gwen Blumberg
K-8 School Librarian
Gwen Blumberg has worn many hats during her educational career. She’s been a classroom teacher, a reading interventionist, a literacy coach, an adjunct professor, and a district-level literacy leader. Her current professional adventure is serving as a K-8 public school librarian in Greater Boston. Although her roles have changed and the lens through which she pursues her goals have varied, her focus and professional passion have always been constant– to support the development of students’ rich reading and writing lives to help them better understand themselves, others, and their world… with JOY. Gwen shares her thoughts about all things literacy on Instagram and Bluesky @gwenblumberg.
Julie Cox offers three actionable ideas to fight frustration and take small steps to beat overwhelm.
Are you wondering how to maintain a reading life as a busy adult? Dana Murphy shares her secrets and insights that will have all of us prioritizing our own reading lives.
Stella Villalba shares three strategies teachers and literacy coaches can use to pause, re-center, and renew themselves throughout busy, stressful days in schools.
Consider attending the NCTE-NCTM Joint Conference in Chicago on June 16—18. I’ll be presenting with other Choice Literacy/Numeracy contributors: Jodie Bailey, Becca Burk, Mallory Messenger, and Mandy Robek. We’d love to connect with you!
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.
Becca Burk turned to her students when her class needed an idea for a school-wide door-decorating contest. She was reminded of the importance of trusting students and uplifting their voices.
Patty McGee positions us to consider a fresh approach to grammar instruction in this first installment of a three-part series.
Choice Numeracy | Bitsy Parks shares an initial read aloud to encourage primary students to develop the ability to see math everywhere.
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.
In this second installment, Matt Renwick clarifies a pathway school leaders can take as they seek more equitable outcomes for all students. School improvement is complex, adaptive work. The five Vs framework acknowledges this reality and provides structure without imposing rigidity.
Hannah Tills digs into the science of hope and offers practical ways to use hope to uplift our professional learning.
Ruth Ayres encourages us to take a second look at the data stories we are telling about students. She shares four areas to help us see a more complete picture of a student.
Quote It:
What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?
—John Green
That’s all for this week!
