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A Post about my last post

9/24/2018

7 Comments

 
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​I had always hoped to be my most authentic self as a teacher. It took a while to trust myself in this process, but it was always my greatest goal, to be myself, my vulnerable, real self. I have realized recently that I’m there.  Blogging has been the thing that has pushed me there the most. I wonder what other educators have set for goals, and how they measure that.



One of the earliest mentors in my teaching career, years before I even taught, was a special education teacher at a middle school in Boulder. She asked me what I most looked forward to, in being a teacher. I didn’t hesitate: “helping students find their voice.”  This teacher told me I was already a teacher and would do well. She told me most teachers told her decorating their rooms. That shocked me, but that’s another blog.

So, twenty-five years later, that’s still my goal, to help students find their voices. And I’m feeling like I’m helping more and more.  I’m inspired by some recent replies to my latest blog.

I had responses from a former student, a current student, and a former classmate.

These connections are amazing.  And humbling.

I’m moved that my former classmate replied to my blog, I’m enlightened by her wisdom and how she perceives my own.  I’m moved by the words of my former student, who must be in her late 20’s, still holds me in a place of inspiration and who seeks wisdom from me (really, she is smart…).  

But the words of my current student move me in such a different way.  

It’s Friday afternoon, the day after I published my last blog, and I’m pretty tired from a long short week (why are short weeks so long?). It’s been a great day, not without blips, but that’s par for the course in middle school.  So, I come in from outside duty, and I sit down to check my email. There is a comment on my blog from an “Abby”. I read it. It’s beautiful, amazing, and humbling. There is no last name, so I click into my blog, and I see who it is.

My student.  I re-read her words, and I start crying. I’m moved beyond I can describe.  This is what she wrote in response to my last blog.

You are a seriously developed human. An odd way of saying that, I know, but also the best, in my opinion. Fear is something we all deal with. As a student, I have a good amount of fear to get past. One tip I can offer is pretend you are a protagonist. Pretend you are fighting your way past your problems. Write yourself analogies of how its hard, of what is happening, making it sound like a very intense and hyped-up book. Because protagonists always win, in one way or another. Make yourself into a book, and read it. see yourself from another prospective. It also helps when you really don't want to continue your homework. Pretending you are in an epic montage is quite motivational, if I do say so myself.
 
Anyways, now that we covered that, lets talk about what a good job you did. Uploading is hard. Because once its there, people see it. But trust me, the people who see it are just going to grow to know you more. If you don't like it, that's okay. I don't exactly love myself at all times, but i keep going because its what we do. We love your uploads. All of them. And if everything is falling apart, that's fine. Pretend its fine until it is. It will be.
 
We all believe in you, and your writing, and we love your blogs(and your flattering remarks about your students). Keep it up!

Where do I begin? I need to begin with what impresses me the most, the thing I value the most. My student is reaching out to me as a fellow human. We are equals in this sharing.  She read my words, and she wanted to engage in my thinking and feeling and share her advice.

Then, there is her advice.  It’s brilliant, wise, creative. I should see myself as a protagonist fighting the conflicts of all great stories.  Because “all protagonists win, in one way or another”. And, then, she says this idea helps her with homework. The juxtaposition of huge problems to daily real problems, from the wisdom of an eighth grader, well, it humbles me.

And then, her other advice about how I should risk people knowing me better. And that it doesn’t matter how people feel when they know me better. These words from my student, when I try desperately to help students feel that message.  

So, I’m humbled, deeply.

And here is the biggest thing about Abby reaching out to me human-to-human. She is empowered. She is reading my work as an authentic piece of writing, and she’s being her real authentic audience self. And she’s empowered to engage. That’s what made me get welled up with tears when I read her words on Friday afternoon. There is no greater hope for me than that my students feel empowered to think, learn, reason, own their own thoughts and actions, create, reach out, make change happen.  

And feel empowered to reach out to her teacher.  

What a gift.  

Thank you, Abby.

Gratitude: the technology that keeps me in touch, in a deep and meaningful way with others.

Goals: keep putting myself out there and risking others knowing me.  

7 Comments
Lauren Enny
9/25/2018 02:49:34 pm

Perspective. What a big and wide perspective this was. From a young human, to a wiser human. Both still learning from each other. I LOVE THIS. School is never out for the pro and that proves so true in what you shared. Can't wait to read the next blog!

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Karen Clancy-Cribby
9/25/2018 06:45:40 pm

Thanks so much, Lauren. I can't even begin to express howl your perspective teaches me. Thank you!

Reply
uk.bestessays.com/law-essay-help.html link
3/15/2020 08:18:24 pm

Your last post was pretty good, and it was interesting. I understand that people are going to have a lot of things that I need to sort out, and you helped me do it. I will become a person who can understand that life is all about hard work. I am determined to do everything that it is that I can to become successful. I hope that I can be a person that can enjoy the life that I was given.

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Heather Ellis
9/25/2018 06:18:43 pm

Wow, wow! Amazing and powerful.

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Karen Clancy-Cribby
9/25/2018 06:47:36 pm

Heather, thanks for your feedback. How amazing is it to have students feel that empowerment? It's an ideal.

Reply
Abby
9/26/2018 01:16:06 pm

I´m flattered, truly. Your words are so thought out and carefully placed to show your writing voice and convey such strong emotion. It made me smile. Thank you for that.

Your blog does a lot. It may seem like it reaches a small audience, and very well may be, but to those of who it reaches, it reaches deep. I like writing because you don´t have to really be who you seem. You get to be who you are on the inside, because writing shows that. I look to you on that level, where we are no longer teacher and student, but human and human.

Your blogs do a lot. Your previous one, I read over it today. It has a whole new meaning now. When I first read it, I had some homework, I had some stress, and I felt a little confined. You reached out, and by getting past your fear, you helped me get past mine. I admired you then. I salute you now.

But now, its a different story. I am staying at school until after seven, to go home and address homework from very near every class. I am tired, exhausted, and its almost as if i can feel myself falling apart. Im taking my advice and have decided I am now in a very dramatic fantasy story. The big battle. When everything that could be broken has been broken, except me. I have to stay unbroken, because the protagonist does. They know they are falling apart, the sing a little Santa Fe (Newsies musical reference) and they get better. Ill get better. And you are helping me do so.

I said it already, I will say it again; your blog does stuff. A lot, sometimes. Even if half that stuff is just getting people thinking about their own issues.

I spoke to you on a human-human level. And now I need to reach out so I can do the same thing again, and help myself. Its a lot harder. I see that now.

Life is tough. And you helped me realize that humans are tougher.

Thank you for writing. When you write, it moves. It moves those who listen.

I will listen. And I will apply it.

Keep writing, keep posting. Here is another reference, because it can end this thought spam better than I could.

¨Keep your boots tight, keep your gun close, and die with your mask on if youve got to.¨

Reply
Friend from Maine living in the Cornhusker he'll hole ;)
2/4/2019 08:40:26 pm

Your words flow like a gentle stream my friend. The key to those words is to stay committed to your promise of blogging every week! You inspire thus the reason why your a great teacher and mentor to your students and peers!

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