So Much To Say: A Week of Wonder!

In my early college years, I couldn't get enough of Dave Matthews Band. So many songs stand out, but there is one--"So Much To Say"--that captures my feeling about the week I've had. In the chorus, Dave Matthews repeats So much to say over and over in his unique tone. (If you don't know the song, take a listen. It's lots of fun.)

Well, in my own boisterous voice, over and over and over again, I just have so much to say about my incredible week.

• I could say that I'm proud to take a group of twenty students for each of the past seven years to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. We just returned one week ago today and the trip, like each of the past seven, was spectacular. The city's setting was as beautiful as always. And it's theatre was riveting. We saw The Three Musketeers on Friday night, Othello on the Saturday matinee, and finished with The Who's Tommy which blew all of our minds with its theatre technology wonders. It was a great start to the week of wonder.
• On Tuesday, 235 members of the community and I started a book club to discuss bullying. With six other committee members, we informed the group of the inner workings of the book club (how we plan to use social media to model positive behavior, when we plan to meet, our goals/objectives, etc.) and we tried to inspire them as well by showing bits of the Shane Koyczan poem "To This Day" and an interview I was able to have with author Emily Bazelon. (Both are embedded below.) It's hard to say what the result of this book club will be--we've only just begun--but when 235 people are thinking about the same topic (in this case, bullying), good is sure to happen. A solid Tuesday to my week of wonder.

• Then, come Friday, I welcomed 33 parents, grandparents, siblings, and teachers into my classroom for an essay reading from my students. We just wrapped up a two-week intense workshop on descriptive essays and, as my major shift in education happens, we needed an authentic audience. For most of these parents, it's the first time they've come into the high school classroom during the school day to hear their student's work--and the students were outstanding. They were nervous, sure, but it resulted in powerful writing and powerful voices. Perhaps more importantly, it resulted in respect to each other's work. It was a phenomenal conclusion to this week of wonder.

So, as I look back, I now understand why I'm so tired--it's been a busy, long week. But I also see why I'm so energized for the future--great work lies ahead.