Ms. Gorman delivers one of the most inspiring readings I've ever heard. I read Mya Angelo's reading at Clinton's inauguration and Robert Frost's reading at Kennedy's inauguration is a classic too, but there was so much hope and passion in this poem and its amazing delivery.

If this doesn't inspire you and give you hope for the future . . .

This book by Tom Bissell is, as the title states, a collection of essays on the subject of creation. I can't remember how I heard about it - I'm sure it was in a podcast years ago, but I ordered it on the sport and have returned to it time and again as the essays are short enough to read during my prep or even during a single session of SSR.

The most interesting aspect of the book is Bissell's take on our literary 'classics.'

Bissell worked as a book editor and was responsible for rediscovering an author (Paula Fox). Bissell writes about the difficulties of really any book getting published by a large publishing house. There are so many hurdles that must be jumped and so many editors must be on board that it truly is a miracle any book sees the light of day, let alone become a best seller.

Bissell decided - after earning some career capital at Norton - to refer to an obscure book he had read about as an undergraduate. In an essay, an author referred to a work by Paula Fox as then a modern classic. Bissell was curious that there would be a literary 'classic' that he wasn't familiar with.

Sure enough, he eventually found a copy, which was no small feat as it had been out of print and forgotten about for years. Bissell eventually brought it to Norton and worked hard to get the book republished.

With a new introduction, the book was a best seller. Soon Norton was republishing all of Fox's old, out of print books. This made Bissell think, what if I had never read the essay that inspired him to seek out the book in the first place?

It all seemed so lucky and so random.

But in doing his research, he found that this is often the case in the literary world. We don't recognize genius when we see. And even when we think we do, it rarely stands the test of time.

Bissell then focuses on three iconic American authors who - if not for great luck - would be unheard of: Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickens.

Can you imagine? Melville died thinking Moby Dick was an abject failure. And it was. Until D.H. Lawrence - with the help of an essay he read that inspired him to find a copy of the out of print book - 'rediscovered' it and wrote about it, which causes others to become interested in it.

And just like that, we have Moby Dick as the first 'great' American novel!

Can you imagine?

And this is all from the first essay in the book.

Week #21 – February 1-5

Teaching Thought #88 - “People Like Us Do Things Like This”

Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors, bloggers, and thought leaders today. This blog post makes a great point: Don’t buy in to what social media tells us. Just check your own feed, or the feed of a friend, to see what kind of content is spread. Is it negative? Is it outraged? Is it insincere? Is it vitriol? My guess is that it is all of the above.

Be the person who doesn’t buy in to that. Insead of being part of the problem, follow Godin’s advice: “Amplify possibility. Dial down the spread of disinformation, trolling and division. Make it almost impossible to get famous at the expense of civilization. Embrace the fact that breaking news doesn’t have to be the rhythm of our days. Reward thoughtfulness and consistency and responsibility.”

How often do we reward thoughtfulness, consistency, and responsibility in our classes? How often does admin reward this in their staff? Keep a list. Reflect on it. That’s far better than all of the negativity, outrage, insincerity, and vitrio on Facebook or Twitter.

Teaching Thought #89 - When Caring Collides with Candor

This is an interesting read I came across this summer and put on my “To-read” list. The topic is how to have difficult conversations with those you care about. I’m terrible at this, which is why I put the article on my reading list in the first place. I’m a people pleaser by nature, and I hate giving people bad news.

I think especially for us in MN (MN Nice), this is particularly difficult. But it also seems to be the case in many other places. I recall how Michelle Rhee, then head of the Washington D.C. school district, found how conflict adverse her principals were in dealing with ineffective teachers. Likewise, I’m reminded of some people who will never say anything negative and hold it in and in and in . . . until they erupt over the most trivial thing. Then watch out. I’m, of course, talking about myself here.

However, the tips the author, Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40, offers are great for helping us take the initiative to have difficult conversations and help us give honest feedback. Whenever I have to have a difficult conversation, I’m reminded of some advice I took away from an Entreleadership podcast: “To be clear to is to be kind.” Even if the message you are offering is a harsh one, you are still being kind to that person because you are being honest with them.

Here are Ridge’s tips -

1. Be aware of your leadership position - Man, have I been guilty of abusing this. What Ridge means here is that no matter how hurt or insulted you might be, you are the leader, the coach, the teacher, the boss . . . any unkind or insensitive word from you can devastate the team member.

If you don’t believe me, just think back to a coach, boss, or teacher who said something mean or

cruel to you. How quick did it take you to think of that moment? How did that make you feel?

Now go back and think about a time a coach, boss, or teacher who said something kind - even

when they didn’t have to because you were being ignorant, spoiled, or cruel yourself. How did

that make you feel?

I’m guessing the latter is a much better memory than the former. That’s the power of taking the

high road in delivering difficult feedback.

1. There are always two sides to every story - Simply reminding yourself that the other person might be trying to do their best is vital. Maybe they just have a different way of seeing the world than you do.

This is something that I’ve learned over my years at LHS. Two of my go to phrases for this are - “When I was a student, I was the same way . . .” and “If that is the worst thing that you ever do, you’ll live a charmed life.” I don’t think these phrases excuse the flaw or error. I think they remind the student that I know what they are going through, and I’m here to understand. It’s now their job to help me understand why they made the error. Once that happens, we can move forward.

1. Always assume positive intent - I like what Ridge says - most people don’t come to work with the intention of destroying their company or ruining their career. Keep that in mind with your team members or students.

Being a parent has shown me the power of shifting my mindset. I don’t know how many times one of my children has said, “Why do you always assume I’m doing something wrong?”

That’s a very valid point. This doesn’t mean I have to turn a blind eye or enable kids, my players, my students, or your team members. It simply means you are giving them the benefit of the doubt before you try to have a difficult conversation with them. In my experience, my students or players have always appreciated this at the end of the hard talk.

1. Remember, how you handle this difficult, uncomfortable conversation carries more weight than simply correcting the mistake or bad behavior - This is genius. I never thought of it this way. When I think back to my teachers and coaches who have had to have difficult conversations with me, this is what I always remember the most. Once the conversation was done, and I was treated fairly and with respect, I had a new level of respect and trust for my teacher or coach. In fact, I found myself seeking them out to share more difficulties with them. It was as if a barrier had been broken.

This is what I need to keep in mind as I have difficult conversations moving forward.

Teaching Thought #90 - Catch Kids Doing Stuff Right

This week we are wrapping up our final research paper in CC 1. This is - for many students - the longest, most grueling paper they have ever written. But I had one turn it in a full week ahead of time. Guess what I did? I bragged her up to the rest of my students.

Now, I did this fully stating that I was never one - even in college - to finish my papers a week ahead of time. I was more apt to take 6-8 hours two or three days before the paper was due and find a spot in the old A.C. Clarke library at BSU and hammer the paper out. That’s just how I chose to do it.

But I had to celebrate my student for being so organized and motivated. Too often, I’m afraid, students will celebrate how they procrastinated until the very night of and still did well on it.

I’m taking the opposite approach and celebrating those who did it early.

What ways do you choose to catch kids doing things right and how do you celebrate that?

Teaching Thought #91 - The Best of Distance with Hybrid

I’m in the minority here, but I thought distance learning worked incredibly well. For some students. My daughter happens to be one of those kids. In fact, on the way back from basketball practice she stated that she hated hybrid. She’d rather either be totally distance or in person.

That got me thinking about how can we keep the best of distance learning with the current hybrid model.

For me, that means a lot of independent work time. I loved distance learning because students worked at the various paces that best fit them. That doesn’t always happen in hybrid. My daughter loved the STEM projects her science teacher sent out each day. I’m afraid those wouldn’t have been so effective for Kenzie had she do group work in the classroom or watch the teacher do it instead.

That’s another thing I’ve stopped doing as much - doing the work for the students. Because they aren’t in front of me always in hybrid, I’ve shared more tutorials and links to videos that will help show students how to figure it out rather than having me stand at the front of the class and do it for them.

Maybe I’ve become more of a moderator than a teacher. Maybe an air traffic controller is more of an apt metaphor for teaching now.

Teaching Thought #92 - Communication is Key

Nothing like stating the obvious, right. But what I’m talking about now is that in order to succeed in this new world of education (in-person, distance, or hybrid), we can’t just talk to kids. One thing I’ve learned early on was that I can’t just film myself at the white board or even Zoom myself leading a discussion and hope that it will have the same impact it used to, whether that was with the kids in my room or the kids learning remotely.

What I learned was the importance of communicating my information. That meant video tutorials. That meant using Zoom. That meant phone calls. That meant thousands of texts and emails.

No longer can I just put the learning target on the board, introduce the assignment, and then roam around the room to help. That didn’t even work all that well when kids were in class!

Now what I do is know that I have to communicate things in not just a variety of ways, but I have to constantly communicate with them until I find the best way that works for individual students. It’s exhausting, but it’s what works best for me now.

More info - Tim Elmore talks about how effective communicators identify with the people who are listening. They do this by reflecting on the issues those people are facing when they hear the content. Then they reveal some part of their lives that shows how they felt or acted when they themselves first encountered the content.

When I heard that, it clicked. In every Zoom, Loom tutorial, text or email, I always lead with what I felt when I was in their shoes. This shows them that I went through it and that I made it out. I’m here to help guide them and do for them what either my teachers did for me or to be the type of teacher I never had.

How do you effectively communicate with your students or team members?

Last week I was walking around monitoring the progress of my gold group of students as they finished up their works cited for their final research paper.

I saw one student with her headphones in watching something on her laptop.

I stood in front of her desk, frowning.

She looked up and cocked an eyebrow.

"What are you watching?" I asked. "Netflix I suppose."

"No," she smirked. "I'm watching you!"

Sure enough, when I peaked at her laptop she was watching the Loom tutorial I had filmed on Monday morning about how to properly format a works cited.

I couldn't say much to that. Other then, "I should have my own Netflix show."

Tim Elmore just delivers so much great content for teachers. If you aren't listening to his podcast at least every other week, you are missing out on serious gold.

This week he shares "Using the "Prove method" to engage students. I'll be the first to admit that Elmore is a tad too fond of acronyms, but this is great stuff.

I suspect all great teachers intuitively use the "Prove" method. They just do so naturally.

For the record, here is what that stands for -

Problems - great teachers set up problems that students are engaged and inspired in order to learn the material.

Relationships - great teachers know that students don't care how much you know UNTIL they know how much you care.

Ownership - great teachers get students invest in the material and own it.

Visuals - great teachers know that print is no longer king. Imagery is. Make content visually striking and you'll get kid to buy in.

Experiences - great teachers know it's all about the 'lab' not the 'lecture.'

We may not use every one of those on a daily basis, but more often than not, the teaching I see on a daily basis here at LHS addresses each of those.

We have to help each other out. We have no idea how many of our students are in the same situation.

Twitter is the best PD I've ever had. I learn more in half an hour on Twitter than I did in my first decade of school sponsored PD.

"Super Duper" prizes. Whenever I play review games in my class - this could be bingo or a Jeopardy style review that I do on the whiteboard - I always award candy and 'super duper' prizes.

What is a 'super duper' prize?

It's junk. Literarlly.

Years ago, I was cleaning out my car and ended up with several Happy Meal toys and useless cords and chargers. Maybe even a couple old CDs.

Then I decided to clean out my drawer in the kitchen. More junk. Old Prowler cards. More old cords. Even an almost used up lint roller.

Well, I decided to put all of this in a box and bring it to school and give it away as 'super duper' prizes.

Initially, I was just doing it for shock value. But when the students got into it, it was even better.

I still get some texts from former students who say, "You know that Hall and Oates Greatest Hits CD you gave me back in 2003, well I listened to it on my way to work all summer. It became one of my favorites."

I even once found - from one of Kristie's former employees - a bunch of old Mens League Summer basketball tournament trophies. He was going to toss them, but I asked him if I could have them.

I gave it to the winning team - and the top scorer on that team - for our final To Kill a Mockingbird review. I still chuckle when I think about how she carried that huge trophy in her arms as she left class!

Sometimes the goofiest things make a big impact.

It's more than just practice.

These are shockers to anyone, but they are good reminders if you're doing them -

1. Get to know and build relationships with kids.

2. Reflect on your classroom practice (journalist or blogging is great for this).

3. Learning from colleagues (this is what I love about talking shop with my peers).

4. Team planning.

I filmed a tutorial for a colleague who was looking for a tool to edit PDFs. Preview isn't overly sophisticated or allows you to do a whole host of things, but it is more than adequate to help you mark up and annotate any PDF.

Here is just a bit of what you can use Preview for.

I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.

We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. And now we have been blessed with five grandchildren!

I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.

I am in my 23rd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher.

I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.

I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.

I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Christensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."

In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.

Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher), Ciera Mooney).

In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, Laura Brickson, Loren Leake, Katie Hahn, Melora Burgee, and new members all the time. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.

Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.

Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
Phone: 218-686-7395
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