September | 2017 | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for September, 2017

Celebrate Dawson

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged reading, student work on September 2, 2017| 6 Comments »

Find more celebration posts at Ruth’s blog.

Dawson is new to gifted classes, but he is not new to helping others. I found out on Friday that he had a bake sale on Thursday to benefit a local diner. I asked him to tell me all about it. We talked about the efforts that went into the process, talking with the principal, advertising, and making all the treats. His goal was $50. Selling each treat for 50 cents takes a while to reach $50, but he was determined.

He wrote this on his Kidblog post:

I’m so excited I can’t wait till I get to see the happy looks on the homeless people’s faces! I just can’t wait. By the time the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders come, I will have no more food. Some of the comments they gave me were ” Delicious brownies Dawson”, and ” Wow, great cookies Dawson”.

When Dawson finished his post, I asked him what else he was passionate about. Without hesitation, he said “Reading.” He had figured out a way to get all his AR points by reading every night before bed. He also learned that reading before you go to sleep actually creates melatonin and helps you sleep better. Did I mention that Dawson is in 4th grade?

As a teacher of gifted kids, I am used to being blown away every day. They can say the most amazing things. But Dawson’s only been in my class for 2 weeks, and already he is showing the kind of leadership I can work years to instill in my students. I couldn’t help myself; I had to egg him on.

In the end, he created this public service announcement that we recorded and emailed to all the teachers. What a joy!

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Empathetic Cypress: A Poem Video

Posted in Gratitude, Poetry, Poetry Friday, tagged cypress trees, Hurricane Harvey, video poem on September 1, 2017| 8 Comments »

Poetry Friday posts are with Kathryn Apel all the way from Australia.

Most of my week was spent inside my house watching the weather channel and wondering what Hurricane Harvey had in mind. He was a destructive force in South Texas. But here in Acadiana, we got some rain, some wind, and three days off of school. I am happy we didn’t have to endure the suffering of flooding and wind damage, but there’s a part of me that feels guilty about that.

I’m in charge of this month’s #10foundwords article for Laura Shovan’s Facebook poetry project. I chose an article that Tabatha Yeatts posted about how we can help Houston: Ways to Help People During Hurricane Harvey.

The ten words I found are: storm, contribute, massive, functioning, need, home, shelter, giving, dramatic, midst.

While the storm was heading north to dissipate, a few bands of wind gusts passed our way. I love the way the cypress trees bend and wave with the wind. They are designed to withstand hurricanes and tropical storms. I went outside to video the trees. When the wind passes through the trees, it sounds like waves on the seaside.

I realized that the video could enhance my poem, so I worked on an iMovie. If I had been teaching, I never would have had time for this kind of creative play. The grace of this storm was time to create. The grace of poetry is words to express my deepest empathy.