Blah!

I'm feeling sluggish and having a hard time finishing a post. I have lots of ideas, but don't seem able to finish anyone of them. This, for me, is a tough time of year. I don't do well with overcast skies, cool, dreary weather and less sunlight. It's just a blah-time for me.

So, I wonder... for how many of our students is this a blah-time as well? Do our students have different moments of blah? How can we turn blah into something a bit more exciting & motivating? Hmmmm....

Poetry Friday: David's Poem

What if your going always got tough?
What if your good enough, was never enough?
What if your best was less than middle of the road?
What if communicating was always a top-secret code?

Would you continue to give it all you have got?
Would you accept your abilities, depite all you are not?
Would you continue to move forward, depite the effort so great?
Or would you give up and just chalk it up to fate?

What if your best was really just good enough?
Or your improvements and efforts were seen as up to snuff?
Even when others had done better than you-
The people around you saluted all your efforts too...

Wouldn't it be great if we all felt this way?
If we were seen just as remarkeable as the kids in "up, up & away..."
I know that I do, in fact, have gifts that are true.
I hope that you will take time to see my talents and help me see them too.

The Very Worst Thing

This is my third year reading The Very Worst Thing by Torey Hayden to my middle school Language Arts class. I am always amazed by the connection my students feel to this book and the enthusiasm they share as they beg me to read "just one more chapter" each day. It is simply a wonderful, yet fairly unknown, read.

This book is about an 11-year-old boy, David, who is "down on his luck" in life and creates lists of the very worst things in his life which include being in foster-care throughout his childhood, stuttering, having learning differences and being retained in the 5th grade (to name a few). However, he stumbles upon a great gift in finding an owl egg on day after school. The Very Worst Thing is a book worth reading to your class, to your kids or on your own.

Torey Hayden is generally a non-fiction writer who has written many books about the students she has interacted with in her career as a teacher of students with special needs over a couple of decades ago. Probably her most well-known book is One Child. You can check out her website by clicking here. However, this book, which touches on many relevant issues- including being a person who is considered gifted and talented- is written from a student's perspective. If you are looking for a new "read aloud" or just something to read quickly over a weekend, I encourage you to be inspired by the magic of this book.

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Note: I tried to link to Torey Hayden's site unsuccessfully. If you are interested in learning more about Torey or this book, please visit:
http://www.torey-hayden.com/index.html