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June 27, 2009
In the Beginning
The newsletter is on its annual two-week summer hiatus while our tiny
staff races around the country for our June and July
workshops. While we are on break, I thought you might enjoy a
peek at the very first issue of The Big Fresh, from August
2006. There were 88 subscribers when we launched (amazing how
many people will sign up for a nonexistent publication!). At
the time, 88 seemed like a huge and scary number of strangers I might
disappoint. My hands were actually shaking when I clicked on
the "send" button. I was sure I was doing something wrong -
and I was! None of the links were formatted correctly. The links are fixed now, and I have to confess my hands still shake a little each week when I send the newsletter out to our subscribers, now 30,000 strong. But after three years, I realize subscribers aren't strangers - after hearing from so many of you over the years, I now know most of you are friends I just haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. I don't think the advice about "moodling" in this issue is dated - if anything, we need summer moodling now more than ever in our instant response and wired world. Thanks for putting up with the glitches along the way. Brenda Power Summer Idleness Are you a quote collector? I'm always on the hunt for those "just right" words from others that capture what I am struggling to put into words. For example, one of the things I love about summer is the chance to reflect on what I've learned from the previous school year and think through what I might want to do differently once fall arrives. But the reflections I enjoy the most don't involve any sort of careful, systematic analysis, and they rarely feel like work at all. It's easy to feel guilty about the pull toward do-nothingness mind wandering so common in summer. That's why I was delighted to discover some quotes from Brenda Ueland (b. 1891--d. 1985), a prolific writer and activist. Her thoughts on leisure and inspiration are just right for justifying a slower pace: I learned ... that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness ... Ueland invents a new term for this special type of idleness: So you see, imagination needs moodling--long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering ... She even has a snarky rejoinder for those who are always using their time efficiently: These people who are always briskly doing something and as busy as waltzing mice, they have little, sharp, staccato ideas, such as: "I see where I can make an annual cut of $3.47 in my meat budget." But they have no slow, big ideas ... So if you're planning on a relaxed, indulgent summer, take heart. You aren't being lazy--you'll probably soon be immersed in all sorts of important moodling. And you can't moodle well if you aren't willing to trade in your staccato heels for a pair of flip-flops this time of year. Here's to the slow, big ideas that come from the long, lazy summer days. Brenda Power Editor, Choice Literacy Free for All There's still time to launch your writer's notebook, if that item is at the top of your "To Do" list this summer. Notebook Faker Extraordinaire Aimee Bucker writes about how she managed after years of false starts to build the writer's notebook habit one summer not long ago: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/98.cfm Ellin Keene always gets to the heart of what matters most in teaching reading - our own reading habits, awareness, and ability to express that understanding to students. An excerpt from her audio interview is here: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/126.cfm For Members Only Looking for more help before you break in your own writer's notebook or teaching journal? This short article is packed with tips and an annotated bibliography of the best books of advice from writers about starting a journal: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/134.cfm Franki Sibberson begins planning her first mini-lessons for reader's workshop, and finds her own reading life this summer provides all the fodder she needs for launching conversations with students: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/138.cfm Jennifer Allen realizes how much we miss if we wait till the start of the school year to begin mentoring colleagues. When she helps new teacher Jess deal with nightmares about the first day of school, she discovers some big themes they will be mulling together all year long: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/131.cfm What endures from your own history as a literacy learner? Seems like summer is the time when some of that history bubbles up. Shirley McPhillips remembers a day decades ago when her junior high teacher tapped some true passion to revamp the English curriculum: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/85.cfm Doug Fleming's list of ten principles for making mentoring partnerships work is an excellent tool for sparking discussions at orientation meetings: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/133.cfm Have you ever experienced the strange phenomenon of colleagues who show up for book study groups and gab away, even though they haven't read the text? You may be a victim of "bullcrit" - the willingness of some people to critique movies they haven't seen, music they haven't heard, and books they haven't read. If you are dreading the thought of having to confront a colleague about professional reading, a new Literacy Coach Confidential has advice on how to deal with those bullcritters: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/135.cfm If you are a quote fanatic, you'll enjoy this eGuide of perfect quotes for reflection in study groups, meetings with mentors, and literacy coaching: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/119.cfm Happy Moodling!
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