Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.
Magda Gerber
Ruth was a participant in a writing retreat I was hosting at a Midwest bed and breakfast. I ran into her in the foyer one afternoon. Without preamble, she asked, “Hypothetically speaking, if someone locked a key in their room, would you have a master key?”
I replied, “Hypothetically speaking, I’d ask Laura [the innkeeper] to open the door for you.”
We laughed, and someone else joked that it was ironic that Ruth had locked herself out of her room, given that she was wearing a key on a chain around her neck. It was just the wrong key.
The experience took me back almost 40 years, to the day I arrived on campus at Michigan State University as a green 18-year-old, nervous about going to school 300 miles from home.
The first thing my new roommate said to me when we were introduced was, “Why do you have a key pinned to your shirt?”
My response: “Oh, it’s for my suitcase.”
Her response: “But why is it pinned to your shirt?”
My response: “Because my mother knew I would lose it if she didn’t pin it to my shirt.”
Her response: “My mother quit doing stuff like that when I was in kindergarten.”
My response: “Oh I don’t mind. She’s right — I would lose it.”
It wasn’t the most auspicious start to rooming together, but we became fast friends, and that friendship endured throughout our college years. What I remember most about the key experience was that I was not the least bit offended by my mom. She is the opposite of a helicopter/over-protective mom. A teacher herself, she taught her four kids to be independent and resilient — we all learned to cook, do laundry, and budget for college (and paid for much of it ourselves).
But my mom also knew me — an absent-minded dreamer if ever there was one. I wasn’t dependent on her, just grateful for any little bit of help she would give me along the way. I was the only one of her kids she would pin a key to as a young adult leaving for college, and the only one who wouldn’t be offended by it. Because over 18 years, I’d trained her. I taught her the limits of my competence, and she provided support (often creative and improvised) wherever she could.
As we joked about keys in that foyer, I shared that story, and we all talked about parenting and teaching — how kids train us about what they need. What works for one child would be a disaster for another. And that’s what makes parenting and teaching such a delight and challenge every single day.
This week we look at ways for teachers to connect with families. Plus more as always — enjoy!
Brenda Power
Founder, Choice Literacy
Free for All
[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links, follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChoiceLiteracy or Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/choiceliteracy/]
Jennifer Schwanke explains why parent-teacher communication can be bewildering for families, and offers advice for better ways to explain a literacy workshop model to them:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2780
People around the world celebrate the holidays in different ways, and that diversity provides wonderful learning opportunities this time of year. Stella Villalba shares literary holiday projects and a booklist around the themes of “peace” and “wishes” that might help students find common ground in family traditions:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=868
Katherine Sokolowski considers the perspective of both parent and teacher on her blog as she reflects on what makes relationships with families work well (or fall apart):
http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/2017/09/walk-mile-in-their-shoes.html
Permille Ripp reminds us that students have long histories before they meet us, and will continue their literacy journeys for many years after they leave our classrooms. This is why we have to remember the long game:
http://pernillesripp.com/2017/10/25/in-it-for-the-long-game/
Kathy Schuitema’s essay on a troubled student who is finding his way in her classroom is a testament to the power of optimism and community building:
http://insiderecessagain.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/fine-young-man/
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Tara Barnett and Kate Mills lead virtual parent book clubs to foster more home/school connections and build a love of reading outside the school walls:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2884
Jennifer Schwanke explains how she stopped railing against the tradition and learned to appreciate parent-teacher conferences. She shares tips for making them better:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2890
We spend a lot of time early in the year getting to know students and their families, and often celebrate the diversity of these families late in the year with multicultural festivals. Stella Villalba worries that this is a missed opportunity (especially with English language learners). She shares how teachers can integrate getting-to-know-you activities into regular classroom routines all year long:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2824
It is both a joy and challenge having your own child as a student. In this week’s video, Katherine Sokolowski confers with her son Liam and his friend Caden, helping them learn how to make peer book recommendations:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2496
In a bonus video, Katrina Edwards helps her adorable first-grade student Dylan stretch out his writing. He adds details by first talking about playing with friends near his home:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2715
That’s all for this week!
