Hoarders on A&E: I am drawn like a moth to a flame...

I am watching Hoarder on A & E. It is one of those shows that I am both fascinated by and terrified by. Why do I watch this? I always start out shaking my head at the clutter and then, as they reveal the hoarder's psychology, I start to worry that I am not as sane as I think I am.

It is the hoarder's certainty that scares me. What if my certainty about my own sanity is as false as theirs? I never fail to laughingly ask my husband that question.

They are doing an update and it looks like many people just slip back into the mess. Yikes.

Does anyone else feel like cleaning the bathroom after they watch this show?

My summer professional reading list

As June is only a breath away, I am looking forward to our summer break. I love the first week of summer, when I spend days reading for pleasure. We are often at our camp in the Bay of Islands for the July 1 weekend. The camp is the best place on earth to do some reading (at least partially because there is not much else to do but clean up the island and swim). My sister and mother are both "English Majors" like me, so there are always great books sitting around the cabins.

I usually start hording books for this reading frenzy just after March Break, but this year, I have done a great deal of reading for pleasure. I have some theories as to why I have already finished much of the cache of books intended for the summer, but that is the subject of another post. I can tell you that the reason is, sadly, not a bunch of free time...

So, to fill the gap, I recently ordered a number of books to do some professional reading. I have finished one book already (I said I was reading a lot). I thought I would share what I have chosen, and then note a bit about each one as I finished them - more as a record for me than anything else.

So here they are. I am feeling unusually optimistic that I have a few good titles.

1. Readicide: How schools are killing reading and what you can do about it by Kelly Gallagher
2. Attention, Please! How to make speaking in class presentable, enjoyable, and memorable for all by Kathleen Gould Lundy
3. Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom by Rick Wormeli
4. Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12 by Kelly Gallagher
5. Grammarama! by Les Parsons
6. The Writing Circle by Sylvia Gunnery
7. Pulling Together: Integrating inquiry, assessment, and instruction in today's English classroom by Schnellert, Datoo, Ediger & Panas

I welcome any suggestions and I will let you know how it goes.

I just read Linchpin by Seth Godin... loved it.

Do you ever read a book at just the right time, that says just the right things? Do you ever feel like an author just looks into your head and then tells his story to you like you are sitting with your best friend outside the Royal Bank in Espanola (hi Leann)? Linchpin by Seth Godin is that kind of book for me. As I was reading it, I kept stopping to reading passages to my husband and that is usually a good sign that it has captured my imagination.

This discussion is a gross oversimplification of the book, but I think that we all hold onto the moments in a book that most pertain to ourselves, don't you?

Linchpin is about how to become indispensable at work but it goes so much further - it is about overcoming our fears (that darn lizard brain) and becoming the artist in your life.

Godin talks about how the world doesn't need workers anymore, it needs artists. Coincidentally, my husband is a professional visual artist but Godin's definition is much more. To be a linchpin, we have to stop doing what we are told and doing the same old thing and instead, find a passion and become an artist. It is the artist who holds the power in our world. He throws in a bit of marketing and a bit of Marxism - awesome!

Not that I have ever been really good at fitting in... but it is very inspiring to read how Godin believes that fitting in is the worst way to succeed. Since everyone can become a linchpin, I guess we have all felt this, but sometimes, I tell you, I feel alone in a sea of sheep (he calls them "sheepwalkers" - ha ha).

These simple words, so obvious, will ring in my ears over the bleating of the crowd:"You can either fit in or stand out. Not both."

Thanks Seth.

My first post

This is my first foray into the world of blogging. I hope that I can use this blog to communicate with my students and colleagues about education, English and life.

I am not usually the type of person who wants to create a lasting record of my words and don't have any real urge to write in the literary sense, but if this makes me a better, more enthusiastic teacher, I am willing to take the risk.

Here I go...