“Change is the only constant in life.” - Heraclitus

 

Right now, the one thing that feels consistent is constant change. We heard there were no sports, then there are. We were going to use this learning tool, nope - we're using this one instead.  We are learning remotely, until we are not. Dealing with this reality can make your head spin and cause anxiety, stress, and even depression. The amount of change we are facing right now, is more extreme than usual. However, like Heraclitus said, "change is the only constant...", and learning to live with varying levels of change is a life skill that needs to start now.

I've had several conversations with teachers about how difficult it is to not interact in person with students.  I've also heard teachers express how some of the changes they've had to make to assignments, in order to take advantage of the technology, are ones they will continue to use.  Finding those small "chances" to make something better, despite all the changes, is how I know we're going to be just fine.

School Starts on Tuesday

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll

"Curiouser and curiouser!" School starts on Tuesday and this is how I am feeling. Have we all fallen through the rabbit hole? I think maybe we have. We might not meet the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, or Cheshire Cat but we are definitely venturing into a strange new world. Maybe, if like Alice, we think of this as an ADVENTURE our daily frustrations will be new discoveries. Then, we will all emerge with clever stories to tell.  

Every once in a while, I do think it will be all right to channel the Cheshire Cat and exclaim, "We're all mad here".

"Be Here Now"

"I am the one thing in life I can control" - Wait For It Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  This line, which Aaron Burr sings in Hamilton, has been running trough my head quite a bit over the last week or so.  It seems we are all in a holding pattern and what comes next is very much out of our individual control.  

So, I am choosing to focus on what I can control - on the NOW.

• I have created 'Remote Learning' slides and put them on the Olathe South Library Website (https://olatheschools.libguides.com/c.php?g=952906&p=7638243), so that if that is where we end up students will have access to tools that will allow them to be successful.  
• I have written letters to School Board members expressing the concerns and challenges that I feel are relevant regarding the upcoming school year. 
•  I have read many quality YA novels and written reviews for my Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/falcons_read/?hl=en).
• I have taken classes to keep learning and improving my professional skills.
• And, I have continued to have conversations with colleagues to share book recommendations, teaching ideas, and library procedures.

When I look at this list, I feel a sense of relief.  There are many unknowns.  But I can choose to "Be Here Now" and control what I can.  The rest.... it will work itself out.

Why I'm Reading, What I'm Reading

With the world being so topsy-turvy, I find that my reading habits are as well.  While it would seem that I have all the time in the world to read - and two bags full of new titles to pick from, I have honestly been reading the most at night and often falling asleep with an open book.  I also find that I have been picking up sequels more than reading those new titles.  I think that is because there is a comfort in rejoining old friends.  My brain and heart aren't being forced to engage with new, unknown characters.  I suppose that familiarity is something I need right now.  When I am picking up new titles, Stamped, They Went Left, Internment - for example,  I have to balance it with lighter fair, The Opposite of Always, Sick Kids in Love, and Frankly in Love. And I am OKAY with this.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to read about love and happy endings.  I also feel that even in this lighter fair, I am learning answers to questions I didn't know I had, becoming wiser, and better.  In the end, that's what reading really is meant to be.
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Stamped

I haven't stopped thinking about Stamped since I finished reading it. I was familiar with Jason Reynolds' writing after reading All American Boys and Long Way Down several years ago. I appreciated his skill as a writer and a communicator after reading both.  In his writing, he is able to create complex characters and situations while making the stories accessible to his audience. Stamped in no different. While the characters in Stamped are actual people, Mr. Reynolds allows his readers to understand the complexities that lived within them.  I'm looking at you Thomas Jefferson!  And while the situations are our actual history (even though Stamped is not a history book) much of what you read feels unbelievable and infuriating because studying the whole story never really happened before. 

I have had the opportunity to listen to Jason Reynolds speak twice over the last few weeks.  His words have stayed with me: 

• It's [racism] woven into the fiber of our whole country.  Mitigate the harm by approaching everybody as human beings. 
• No one gives you a cookie for being a "good" person. If you want to do it right, learn how to listen.... Your cowardice is killing people.
• Crawl towards judgment and sprint to understanding.  There is a "why" we have to answer.

Jason Reynolds is an author whose voice I will continue to value, listen to, and learn from.  I hope you will do the same.

Learn more about Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature