I’ll be honest. This post has nothing to do with windows except for the photos. This post most likely has nothing to do with anything. I rarely have a post where I come in with an idea. Oh yeah, it does happen, but not often. Sometimes I just sit down and see where the brain takes me. Like now.
I think that’s one of the incredible things I’ve learned from this blog. If I write, hopefully an idea will come. This comes in handy in the classroom when talking writing with my students. I can relate to their struggles and successes. When a student struggles with ideas I can bring in experiences where that happens to me. If I wasn’t writing, I wouldn’t have that ability.
Blogging also gives me a little credibility in the classroom too. The hypocrite factor I wrote about the other day doesn’t come into play. Also, it has given me a lot of confidence. One of the big things I added in the classroom, with the encouragement of a fellow teacher, is live writing. Often times, I’ll take risks and write about topics that are fairly personal. I want students to know how to write from the heart, not from the head. At first, it was also one of the most humbling things I’ve ever attempted in front of students. Failure in an eighth-grade classroom can be……….comical.
When we are entering a genre, I model the strategy in front of the classroom. OK, nothing new. Teachers are supposed to model strategies. Right? The thing is, I don’t have any writing ready. I may have ideas, but nothing written in advance. For example, when I’m teaching leads in persuasive writing, I pick the topic with students. Then I write my lead. Live. In front of the class. Nothing prepared. On my laptop, projected on a screen. From the top of my “head.” Without a net.
Usually, as the genre progresses, I continue writing the topic modeling the aspect I’m trying to enforce. I have actually written a number of “full” papers in front of the class. Research and all. Then, I break my writing apart, with the students to demonstrate the different aspects I’m trying to enforce. It really comes into play with grabbers, thesis statements, topic sentences and supporting details. It usually takes the students a couple of lessons to stop correcting me when I have a misspelling or mistake. I pretty much tell them that I don’t care about the mistakes. That’s what editing and revising is for.
As you can see, this has absolutely nothing to do with freakin’ windows. But the photos of the day do. My son has a photo that I believe is from the lobby to the gym that we belong to and that he works at. He was working control yesterday, so I think this is probably from a slow period yesterday. My photo is from a local college and I think a window washing crew.
Up Lifting
Window Light
Until Next Time,
Peace!
