Lessons from the Junkyard

"Some people look at the things the way they are and cry, 'Why!'  But I want you to look at things and see what they could be and ask, 'Why not?'" -Mrs. Peterson, in The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

It's my favorite time of the year in third grade...time to dive deeply into the study of one of my very favorite authors, Patricia Polacco.  I marvel each year at how quickly the students connect with her literature, and find it even more amazing that every year I find myself learning life lessons through her stories as well.  This week I read to my class Ms. Polacco's newest book, The Junkyard Wonders, along with my personal favorite, Thank You, Mr. Falker.  In both of these stories, a teacher believes in his or her students- against all odds- to achieve greatness.  Mr. Falker knows that little Trisha can overcome dyslexia, with lots of patience, resources and hard work.  In The Junkyard Wonders, Mrs. Peterson is thoroughly convinced that her "junkyard wonders"- those students facing insurmountable physical, intellectual, and emotional bonds- will succeed at anything they put their minds to.  Both stories are beautifully told, inspiring tales that encourage the heart of a teacher.  However, I believe there is a deeper lesson, hidden just below the surface.

Mrs. Peterson didn't just "believe in" her students.  She gave them tools, materials, time, resources, and the freedom to strive for greatness.  She also had the fervent expectation that her students, seen as "worthless" to the general population, would indeed do amazing things, because they aimed for the moon and made a plan to get there.  I've heard it said before that "you should always aim for the moon- if you miss, at least you'll land among the stars!"  That's what Mrs. Peterson did for her students... she set them up for enormous success, knowing that contrary to popular opinion, they were not destined for mediocrity.  I won't spoil the story for you and tell you how it ends, but I will tell you that I think all teachers who feel a little discouraged or frustrated could get a boost by reading this story.  "Inspiring" hardly does it justice.

Last May, I asked my students to write me letters before the school year was over and they were no longer in my class.  I asked them to tell me in their letters what they hoped they could say to me, twenty years down the road, if they ran into me like Trisha ran into Mr. Falker many years after he was her teacher.  I saved those letters, and look forward to one day hearing that my students have become NCAA basketball players (hopefully Jayhawks!), football or soccer players, massage therapists, teachers, carpenters, artists, video game creators, authors, illustrators, moms and dads...but most of all, I look forward to hearing that they were successful because they studied hard, earned scholarships, and learned to love reading, maybe even because of something I did or said to inspire them.  I can't wait to ask this year's class to do this same activity in a few weeks!  I know they have some incredible dreams bottled up in those minds, and I am thankful for the reminder each spring, through a gifted children's author/illustrator, to be reminded of the greatness inside each small one in my classroom.  I hope they will learn to ask, "Why not?" when approached with challenges in life.  I hope they won't be afraid to forage ahead when things get tough.  And I hope they will believe in themselves and know they are worthy of their own trust.  I will hold this reminder in my heart and be encouraged to keep giving my little friends the best of me for the next few weeks, as another year rapidly draws to a close.

I wonder how many more lessons we will learn before this author study wraps up?  We're only in the first week, after all!!!  :) Thank you, Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Falker, and Ms. Polacco!

Writers' Block

As I have embarked on my blogging journey, this year, I have discovered that the stories do not always come as easily as I would like for them to.  Of course, there are always stories...however, not every story is suitable for sharing with the general public!  So I find myself with a typical case of writers' block- previous posts have brought tears and tugged at heartstrings, and I've struggled with where to go from here.  When my students don't now what to write about, I sometimes give them the pat answer of "just write about whatever is in your head" or "pick something from your seed list".  We do exercises in "stream of consciousness" or brainstorming, and I expect ideas to emerge.  As I think about my own writing, though, I find that I don't want to write something until I have the perfect thing to write.  I get all tied up in wondering if anyone will be interested in what I have to say, and I feel stressed out when I think my writing is for no authentic purpose.  So today, as I was thinking that I should really just commit to start blogging regularly and watch for the stories to be discovered in the process, it gave me a new understanding of my students' struggles.  Just like me, they don't want to write about just any old thing- they want to say something important to the world, and they don't want to waste words on something trivial.

I don't know if this post will mean anything to anyone but me (and I have to accept that and move on), but as I write something that I feel is rambling and nebulous in purpose, I recognize that sometimes ideas can only sprout when those random seeds are sprinkled throughout the garden of thought.  In this simple effort to write when I have nothing important to say, I suddenly feel the same frustration my students often do.  So what do I do with this lesson learned?  I remember that sometimes, even if it isn't important, I should just say something... the rest of the story will come in its own time.  And I practice... knowing that my writing can't always be perfect.