I spent this school year immersed in the work of creating a new instructional program for our Independent Scholars. I am learning how to manage, create and support the learning in a space created for students who need something different to support their high school experience. I have worked with over 45 students this year, 15 of them graduating next week, helping them navigate their high school program. It has been challenging, time-consuming and has stretched my thinking about what it means to teach both face to face and in an online environment.
Within this, I have been trying to create a digital space that allows kids who choose a more independent route to their education to find connection and purpose for their work outside the walls of our classroom. It was a hit and a miss, a lot like building the plane as we were flying it. This left me little to no time for my own writing. Together using lrng.org and youthvoices.live we have started to create public digital spaces. All the while I was learning and playing in those spaces, I kept meaning to come back to my own blog, to share the work, but somehow that just never happened. It was so much easier to create Instagram views into the work, tweet out a glimpse of the work, or post on Facebook. No real depth, just snapshots that over the year created a timeline into the celebrations and struggles we faced together this year. So why do I keep starting over? I guess I need to return back to my roots. Like the space I am creating with my teen writers, I too want to connect out into the world as a writer with my own voice.
This summer, I am returning to the work of becoming an author. My goal was always to write a book for teachers to help them create classrooms that inspire and support students to find and use their academic voice. My husband was brutally honest yesterday when he told me at some point in the dissertation journey, and I lost my way. Maybe it was trying to fit into a format; maybe it was losing mom, perhaps it was just wandering through research and wondering if what I had to say was even relevant. I think I lost my nerve and my focus. But taking time away from work has given me the time and space and distance to look at the work with a new lens. Working with people like @paulrallison and @paul_w_hankins have given me new perspectives. Writing with my students this year has given me new insights into what scaffolds they need. So here we go, putting out into the universe that I’m beginning this book journey again.
