I can’t stop thinking about Amy Ellerman’s post on Two Writing Teachers today, Time for a Shift. I found her writing brave, a brave I sometimes wish I could be. Far too often lately, I’ve found myself being sucked into the “collective thinking” that Amy talked about. I “see the impact that this kind of thinking can have on the learning of both kids and adults—especially over time.”
I was so swept into this mindset that I moved around our school at times wondering if my own beliefs, those that had grounded me for nearly 17 years, were off. Were my expectations too high?
I found my answer, first in a fifth grade classroom. Not an “easy” class by any means, yet they were engaged, like truly, in test prep work when I walked in. I watched as the teacher held high expectations for the class, for their thinking, and for their work. I didn’t do any coaching that day. I just watched and soaked it in. This mere 25 minutes snapped me back. We can be going through hard times and still do good work. We can still make space for what we value.
It is in the classrooms where I see teachers clinging on to what they value, what they know matters most for children, that I see the most agency and joy. In a second grade classroom today, I watched as kids begged for writing time. As their teacher introduced a mentor text to study during the mini lesson, they cheered with anticipation and then eagerly rushed back to their seats to dive into their own work. It’s in classrooms like this that I know for sure that Amy’s words are true, “learning is energy giving, for kids and for us.”
Where There Is Joy 
Wow—I’m so glad you looked for (and found) such joyful learning in your building today! Thanks for the shout out. I was a little nervous to post it, to be honest.
LikeLike
I’m so glad you did! ❤️
LikeLike
YES to all you’ve written about Amy and her post! And YES to the joy that comes from learning!
LikeLike
Amy’s post was so inspiring!
There’s so much joy out there. Sometimes it hides in the corners, but it’s always there… just waiting to be discovered.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amy’s post has lingered with me as well, and I mentioned it to colleagues today at school. She really has me thinking about what unintentional messages I’m sending to students and colleagues. I’ll be thinking about this post a lot moving forward. I’m so glad Amy shared her thoughts and that you shared your reflections.
LikeLike
Both you and Amy have excellent points — that children/students want to be engaged, and if we hold them to that, they will. Thank you for sharing your observations!
LikeLike
How amazing is it that we both gained inspiration from Amy’s post! She pushed me to think deeply about my own self-talk and my role in the energy levels at school! Here’s to Amy!!!
LikeLike
I love that thought of learning as a source of energy and it’s so true. The sense of accomplishment as we learn new things, things we then share with others, things we go on to learn more about and become “experts” on. I agree that even in hard times, there is still good happening in classrooms across the country. We just have to take small moments like you did to see them.
LikeLike
I was also really struck by Amy’s post & I am glad that you followed up with how her ideas are playing out in your mind & life – this helped me think about it again and has given me a place to look: “in the classrooms where I see teachers clinging on to what they value, what they know matters most for children, that I see the most agency and joy.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re absolutely right about the energy it gives us when we see and hear this kind of learning and I loved Amy’s post too.
LikeLiked by 1 person