handwritten on April 11, 2019
This past week included many 11:30 PM coffee escapades after a late Urban Impact practice and more lesson planning and organizing for the following day in the clasroom. It included talks with kids new and old and it also included watching all of the other amazing talents that are part of our Urban Impact team.
At around 8:00, we were running the Spring Recital show one more time to get it right, and five girls came out on to the stage to perform their hip-hop style rendition of four different songs. I could not help but smile through the whole song because it was obvious that these girls could dance and even more obvious was the love these girls were spreading to their audience.
At about...
handwritten on April 10, 2019
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Today I tried out something that is a bit new for me. While discussing the book Because of Winn Dixie, our class discussed in detail how important symbolism is within literature. There is whimsy in discovering the hidden keys to a deeper door that lies underneath the words of every great work. This is one of the aspects of teaching I enjoy the most.
We decided to re-read a snippet of one of my favorite turning points within the novel. This particular turning point involves a story about the Civil War told by Miss Frannie Block who is the librarian within the story. She tells of a young boy who went off to war and essentially lost his whole family, his house and his friends. When he...
handwritten on April 9, 2019
We have this thing called state testing in the state of Pennsylvania. Every state has it. And while this "test" is supposed to build up our students, it seems like sometimes it is doing the opposite. Finding multiplying love in standardization is tricky.
Not only that but we are quite literally asked to take down our walls. There can be no motivation. No beautiful words. No student work showing. For me, I have this mental block when it comes to taking down the heart of my classroom. Because at this point in the year, those walls represent all 22 of the hearts sitting in my classroom. I can bring myself to cover with colorful paper, but tearing down the hearts, I just cannot do.
Regardless...
handwritten on April 8, 2019
Tonight was a Connexions Training at Urban Impact. I always laugh a bit when attending these sessions because I think to myself If we could just bring these spiritual trainings into our public schools, I think we would find a life-changing transformation occurring within the hearts of our teachers and our students. Others may disagree, but if done correctly, I think professional spiritual development is incredibly whimsical. What is whimsical is showing up and realizing that we are never too old to learn a new lesson, listen to a profound story, think about something in a different way. For the minute we stop wanting to develop ourselves, we lose out on a lot of the whimsical encounters...
handwritten on April 7, 2019
My husband and myself decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and walk down to the Strip. For those unfamiliar, the Strip is probably one of the most whimsical and authentic spots in Pittsburgh. Not only is it culturally diverse, but it has a rich history of fresh markets as well as a history of getting others to realize the importance of people and community in the city of Pittsburgh.
We stopped along to grab a bite to eat or look at one of the shops we 'could not quite remember.' However, at the end of the long Strip, we felt the need to step into Wholey's Fish Market. It's funny because I have known my husband for about seven years and never have I heard him talk about...
