One or two ways that teachers keep the kids' crazies in a box...

I attended two online zoom webinars yesterday, and they were both good. One had to do with how to avoid sentimentality while still working with great emotion in writing, and the other dug into the topic of bias and isolation with adolescents. There are connections to be made. How do kids --indeed, any of us-- work through the overwhelming "stuff" that life chucks at us? And if we choose writing as a means by which to make sense of the mess, then how do we do so if we want to share our words with others and have them be understood? There were great exemplar poems shared in the writing session, and I took notes. Using specific details to represent a larger emotional state is a very useful strategy. And for the kids who are experiencing the overwhelming life situations, helping them identify and clarify with specificity is helpful, even while talking things through, let alone writing. 

Needless to say, I had a restless night's sleep. This happens when I'm learning and thinking later into the evening; my brain needs to process the information and build new schema. Thank goodness for coffee. 

I ordered a (used) copy of the book written by the second presenter, and I think it'll be a good resource. Her name is Liz Kleinrock, and the title is Start Here, Start Now. I've invited my colleagues to co-read it with me, so we can talk about it. I don't know if anyone will accept my invitation, but I think some of us need to do more to create safety nets for our vulnerable kids. In fact, it seems pretty much all kids today have overwhelming situations they are coming from, and it's just part of our job now to keep them physically and emotionally safe, at least as much as we can. 

So, I'm off to work within the hour. They are good kids in bad situations, and I've got a daily mission to keep their crazies in a box. It's what teachers do.

Don't you want to be a teacher, too? 

Have a good day,

C