It’s our roots that really give us our identity.
―Rosalia
We’re the Kind of People Who…
“Becca, we’re the kind of people who help.”
I looked my nine-year-old foster daughter in the eye, and knew she was right. That’s how I found myself on my hands and knees in Walmart picking up blueberries one by one. A lady had walked past us, clearly in a rush, and dropped a quart of blueberries. The lid popped open as the container hit the floor, and those blueberries rolled far and wide through the aisles of Walmart. The lady groaned, threw her hands up, and walked away.
Kate looked at me completely perplexed, frozen almost, because the lady did not appear to be taking care of the mess she had made. She asked me why the lady walked away. I explained that she may have been in a rush, maybe she was telling someone who works there, or maybe it was just a hard day.
We stood for a second as I waited for her to process and then she looked up at me and adamantly said, “Becca, the kind and respectful thing to do is to pick them up. Workers don’t need more to do, and if she’s having a hard day, we can make it better by being kind and helping. Becca, we’re the kind of people who help.”
I found myself explaining to many adults that I did know an employee would clean it up, but Kate knew the right thing to do is help and we’re the kind of people who help so helping is what we did.
I’m not sure it was actually helpful for us to clean up the blueberries. Some still got stepped on and an employee still had to come sweep and mop after us. However, Kate knew what our family values are and she acted…and that is more than I could ever have dreamed for her.
Hearing Kate’s language surprised me because it’s exactly the language I use at school when I’m coaching into peer interactions or conferring with kids. When I pull up alongside them in writing, listen in to what they’re working on, I almost always start by naming what I see them doing and connecting it to who they are as a person. It might sound something like this:
Nova is working on her informational writing. I notice she is adding every little detail to her picture and has not started writing words yet. “Wow, Nova, you’ve really worked hard on your picture! You’re not the kind of writer who just adds details to your pictures, you’re the kind of writer who adds details with words too!”
Nova nods and begins to write about all the things her baby needs, most of which she has included in the picture. She writes “Babez ned bodlz.”
To watch Kate then act and grow on the foundation of who we are…to choose to pick up the blueberries despite it not being her mess, knowing other people could do it faster, and that it wouldn’t be easy…she chose to be who she knew us to be and do the hard thing.
Kate exhibited exactly what I hope my students would after a conference. After identifying the work the child is doing and how it is connected to them as a person, I build on that work to lift the level of what the child is doing in their writing. I use their strength to make it a growth point.
This week we consider developing the identities of learners—plus more, as always.
Becca Burk
Becca Burk is a kindergarten teacher in Maine. Her passion as an educator is to support learners in becoming problem-solving, collaborating, determined members of both our learning community and the greater community. Becca builds strong relationships and collaborates to make sure everyone—students, families, and colleagues—feel valued and grow stronger.
Suzy Kaback thinks deeply about the concept of belonging as an essential part of building a school community.
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share their authentic process for expanding a student survey to make it more open for all students.
Join over 200 colleagues already signed up for Coach-to-Coach, a supportive and inspiring network just for instructional coaches. Meet virtually once a month to keep your professional goals fresh and stay accountable for your next steps as a coach. This free community is inspired by Choice Literacy articles each month and led by Ruth Ayres. The next meeting is Wednesday, December 18.
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 today’s world we are bombarded with opinions that are increasingly polarizing, and this is especially true for teens and their opinions of love poems. Gretchen Schroeder uses love poems to help students learn how to back up an opinion with criteria, details, and examples.
In this video, Tammy Mulligan shares a beginning-of-the-year routine where second graders create an identity frame. This becomes a place to highlight photographs of their learning each week throughout the school year.
Molly James explains the difference between shyness and risk aversion.
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.
Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk consider the nuances of the aftermath when dysregulation happens and how a school community can avoid blaming one another for the situation and instead work together.
Changing one’s mind in today’s educational world can feel risky. We fear looking incompetent or like we don’t know what we believe. Matt Renwick learned firsthand that when leaders share how their thinking and beliefs around literacy instruction has changed, it increases the level of respect from others.
Inspired by low-ceiling, high-threshold activities in classrooms, Heather Fisher offers three ways to plan professional learning so that it is accessible to a range of educators.
Quote It:
A leader is a dealer in hope.
—Napoleon Bonaparte
That’s all for this week!
