Goodbye 2016

The new year is upon us.  Inevitably it is a time for us to reflect on what we've been through, and what we are going to accomplish. So what does 2017 mean?  It's a special year for me. 2017 marks twenty years that I've been out of high school.  Twenty years.  What does twenty years look like?
In twenty years I've found an amazing partner in life.  I've became a mother, I've bought a house, sold a house.  I’ve gone to college, dropped out of college, re entered college.  Earned an Associate’s Degree, a Bachelor’s, and an MA.  I've gone on countless job interviews, lost jobs, and landed my dream job.  I've written plays, stories, I've been published.  I've performed on stage, I've directed.  I've cried a lot...and laughed even more.  It's been a hell of a ride.  I wonder what the next twenty will bring?
Every year I look forward to the next year...I do it as a classroom exercise, and I do it here in my blog.  Why?  Because it's my blog and I can do that.
So without further adieu…

Name: Shannon, Mom, Mrs. McLoud
Favorite Food: Chocolate
Age: 37…
Favorite Activity: Reading and writing
Favorite Color: Pink!
Favorite Book:  This changes all the time.  For now on I am going to post the favorite book I read from that year.  So for 2016 the book I read which will be deemed my favorite of the year is Bossypants by my spirit animal Tina Fey.  I felt like she just sat down and wrote that book for me.

Highlights of 2016

Greatest Lesson Learned
That when I work hard and only worry about myself, it will pay off.  This year I had immense responsibilities at work. Thought that I learned that not everyone takes their job as seriously as I do.  And instead of harbors get anger over it, I just picked up their slack and continued in.  And it paid off!

Hardest Thing This Year
Leaving a school I loved to work at, where I was comfortable with my colleagues and administrators, to go to a new school where I knew no one.  I was devastated leaving my friends, and nervous beyond belief on my first day...but I survived!

Favorite Memory
In a year that was so difficult for so many, I was fortunate to have so many wonderful memories.  From taking Brady to his first play at Trinity Rep, to a quick family trip to NYC...there are a ton to choose from.  However, my favorite has to be the day I crossed the stage to receive my MA in English Lit. It was a day I had worked hard for, my son took it upon himself to decorate my cap, and we took the day trip to Manchester, New Hampshire.  My best friend, my son, mall took the time out of their weekend to watch me walk the stage.

What I Loved About 2016
In a year that was so disappointing on so many levels for so many of us, I did have quite a few happy memories.My career.  I have found myself living my dream job; teacher leader for a high school ELA department, drama club advisor...and let's not forget that I teach 9th and 10th grade students...my job is amazing.
Finishing my MA! What an accomplishment!
RTC!  I loved watching our little theatre company flourish.  We had three plays, and a short film.  I loved co-writing so many pieces.My return to acting.  I've been staying away...unless it was a small part.  I got back on the horse in 2016.  So glad I did!
Writing for Motif.  I saw a ton of great shows-I even interviewed Adam Pascal. It was a cool year!

Looking Forward to 2017

Want to Learn
How to cook.  Actually I've given up on that!  I would like to learn organizational strategies for work. My desk tends to look like a hot mess by the end of the day!

Want to Get Better At
Having a life September through June.  I feel guilty spending time during the week on anything that isn't school related.

Goals for 2017
Before I set goals, I like to look at last year’s goals.  So let's see...did I make theatre in 2016?  Well that's one goal I did hit.  I was involved in productions a lot last year.  However...I'm not running and my novel remains unpublished.  This tells me that I need to make more “Shannon time”.  Time where I'm not Mom, or Mrs. McLoud.  So my goal for 2017 is to take some time for me. In 20 years I'm so different and still the same? If 2016 taught us anything, it taught us this: life is too short.  We need to go out there and create.  To go out there and live and love-and then record it in our stories.  So many people are leaving 2016 behind, exclaiming "don't let the door hit you on your way out!"  And if that's the way you feel, you have an obligation to do something about it.  Create your stories.  Maybe they're good stories, or bad stories, or stories so riddled with grammatical errors a red pen is in demand...but they're your stories, and they must be created.

A Note About Celebrity Deaths

As 2016 comes to a close I sit here with the knowledge that three additional greats have left us.  As many people said, these come in threes- starting with George Michael, moving onto Carrie Fisher, and now Debbie Reynolds.  

And as we peruse our social media pages looking for more information, old clips...solace even, someone undoubtedly posts; don’t we have bigger issues to read about?  (Although I have to be honest my page is full of more “Save Betty White” than anything else!  But seriously go check on her.)  

To that I have two things to say; first the death of someone, no matter how big they are, is never a small thing, and two isn’t it possible to care for both?  

Can’t I worry about the future of education in this country, while recognizing, and dare I say grieving, that a well loved celebrity who tore off the closet door has left us?  

Can’t I cry over Aleppo, and also mourn that a strong woman who taught me that looks don’t make the girl is gone too soon?

Don’t I have enough tears to spare?

I don’t see myself, or my friends, as shallow.  I find these people, and all people really, in love with something.  In love with stories.  Every movie, every book, every song, tells a story.  And we revere those storytellers.

And why wouldn’t we?

Earlier this year I wrote (in the sad little four posts I wrote) that we need art.  And seeing that storytelling is an art, it bears repeating.  Storytelling keeps us going.  

All the awful things that happen in the world, where do we find our escape?  

In movies about galaxies far, far away, and in songs that are so tied in with the holidays that they bring up memories without even trying.  

In tales about magical lands, or a little town in Alabama.  

In comedy that changed the genre, and people who blazed a trail.

Storytelling keeps us going.

Mourn for those storytellers that are no longer able to tell their stories. And DON'T be that person on social media making fun of people upset over Princess Leia, or Bobbi Adler. It isn't a case of celebrity, it's a case of storytelling. And we all need a story now and then.

Another Post About Teachers

It seems that over the summer, public vitriol towards teachers is at an all-time high.  Personally I feel this is fueled by a combination of our media and internet trolls.  One has to wonder why they hate education so much, after all you don’t see the public picking on any other profession as much, with the exception of politicians.  (But at least politicians can hold rallies and tons of people come out to support them!)  And I know that part of me shouldn’t waste time on trying to figure this out.  I should have a thicker skin, or at the very least take the advice I dole out to my students; “Don’t worry about what other people are saying!” But the truth of the matter is that it’s hard to do that.  So instead of getting angry I thought of reasons why people would hate teachers so much.

            1. They were taught by a real life Dolores Umbridge.

Even J.K. Rowling herself has said that this character was based on someone she knew.  Isn’t it feasible that there are Dolores Umbridges everywhere using their position in the classroom as one to inflict their ideology?  Could everyone out there have horrific school memories and hate their former teachers?  Just as Harry Potter probably grew up to hate kittens, (who wouldn't after an Umbridge punishment!  And if that means nothing to you, do yourself a favor and go read the book!) people who have bad experiences in school would most likely scoff at teachers.  So I really shouldn't be mad at these people, they just need a hug.

          2. They don’t understand that students are not a product.

We can’t just pack up students and ship them to college!

This actually makes a little sense.  People in our society are so product driven, so results driven, that when teachers say that they are working when there aren’t students in front of them, some people don’t believe it!  Yes it is true…over the summer I have a lot of time off.  (Time to catch up on being a normal person who doesn’t fall asleep by 4pm on a Friday!)  And time to plan.  Sure there are Professional Developments over the summer, but I also spend the summer reading articles about differentiation or blended learning, getting Google certified, reading the novels I will require my students to read, not to mention reading what is on the summer reading list, creating a syllabus, researching new ways to engage students, and the purchasing, planning, and designing.  A welcoming classroom isn’t granted by a fairy godmother, I spend days upon days getting my room ready.  I haul back every bin that is stored in my garage, porch, and living room, and set up my room.  A room I try to make inviting.  I scour the back to school sales for supplies, I hog the laminator at Lakeshore as if it is my job.  So although we only have students in front of me for 180 days, believe me we are still working.

3.      Jealousy.

Ah yes.  If they hate you that much, jealousy must be the answer!  And truly what is there not to be jealous of; we really have the greatest job on Earth.  We get to be in the room where it happens (sorry Aaron Burr!); that tiny spark of magic when a student realizes they can do something. Those days when students enter your room full of confidence because they know that they can figure out an equation, or analyze Shakespeare.  We get to be there when they goof off and side track you because let’s face it, sometimes they are just so darn funny.  We’re at their triumphs on the field, their not so great days in the halls, we advise them, we educate them, we love them as if they’re our own.  And they are our own; in our four walls where we head out on an educational journey from September to June.  We cry at their graduations, we cheer them on, were their teachers.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It has nothing to do with the hours; quite frankly my hours are long.  I’m at school by seven a.m. most days (sometimes earlier) and I rarely am home before five.  Yes, there is summer vacation, and I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty great.  During the school year my social life resembles one of a hermit, so it’s nice to have time for a date night, or spend some time with friends.  And I get to try out new things because I work two jobs over the summer to compensate for not having my regular pay check.  It’s about the kids.  And they’re not products, they are really and truly the future.  Having a small part of that is the most gratifying feeling in the world.  I can’t imagine doing anything else.  (And I’ve tried.  I had various jobs before becoming a teacher!)  So next time you read an internet troll calling teachers lazy, or if you come across inflammatory clickbait articles online, please think of where the author of the article/comments are coming from.  They may have had an awful school experience, maybe they don’t understand education, or they’re jealous that they don't have the honor of working with students every day.   If you see them, give them a hug, because chances are a teacher taught you that compassion is always the route over rhetoric.  

Why Does ProJo Villify Teachers?

The front page of the Providence Journal ran an awful headline about teachers in Rhode Island.  Once again painting us with one swoop while having no regard for the hard work we do each and every day.  I instantly wrote a letter to the editor- a much shorter version of what is below.  I know many teachers who were outraged at the article, yet still two weeks later-not one letter has been printed showing our side of things.  Although I don't have proof that other people wrote to support teachers, I am fairly positive someone did.  They did post an op ed that once again said teachers are what is wrong with the public school system.

So here is my (long form) version of the letter that Projo obviously doesn't want to publish as it turns the mirror on something that we don't discuss enough...

I’m sure I am one of many writing in response to your front page article entitled “Absent teachers; RI worst in region.”  Like many who have undoubtedly written, I am a teacher.  It is a job I love.  I never feel the approaching dread of a Monday, because it means I can see my students again, and hear about their weekends.  I never complain about the days I am at school until very late (7pm some days) because no matter what the work has to get done, after all I have 80 students counting on me.  I never complain about the pay, because I’m not there for the income, it’s the outcome.  I’m writing to ask you to raise your standards as a paper.  Frequently, the ProJo is seen as bashing teachers, and never showing the positive.  And it’s out there, just ask WJAR who frequently shines a well-deserved spotlight on teachers, or the Providence Teachers Union who through their campaign of #PTUPositivity, their members hear of all the great things happening in our Providence schools.  Yet, the ProJo feels free to write inflammatory headlines in the clickbait fashion we see littered throughout our social media feeds.  We expect more of a newspaper.

You wouldn’t write this headline about firefighters.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about the police.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about nurses.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about doctors.  Why not?  They save lives.

You shouldn’t write this headline about teachers.  Why?  They too save lives.

Now I am sure you are shaking your head thinking that this is yet another teacher employing hyperbole to get her point across.  In response I would ask you to visit my classroom those last few days of school.  Finals are over, at that point if you’re failing there is nothing you can do to bring that grade up.  Many students don’t show up.  Last month, I witnessed many students show up to school these last two days.  They would show up to an un-air conditioned, stuffy building.  School lunch was reduced to sandwiches, and not even movies could be shown as we all handed in our technology.  So why show up?  Because teachers save lives.  For some students, the only words of encouragement they receive is Monday-Friday in their teacher’s classrooms.  We continually tell our students that they’re good enough, and they’re worth it.  And before the naysayers remark that I only feel this way because I am fortunate enough to work in the city, let me tell you how teachers saved my life.

On paper, I was charmed.  Skinny white girl in the Scituate school system, both parents still married, extended family that I would see weekly.  Access to technology.  (And this was in the nineties!)  It doesn’t get much more privileged than that.  However I grew up with one parent telling me that education was important, and the other telling me to rely on my looks.  One parent who would beam with pride if I dared to say I liked math, one asking me what was wrong with me.  One who would pull me out of school based on my childish whims, one parent who worked night so this was done without his knowledge.  Sadly, as with many girls, the words of my mother rang true for me; I couldn’t excel at math, college wasn’t a priority.  In my mind I wasn’t good at anything, and I certainly wasn’t smart enough. 

Miss Amanda Browne who first told me that not only could I write, but that I should.  Sure, it was 5^th grade and my stories were probably horrible, but she told me that it could be done.  Fast forward to 10^th grade and Mrs. Carol Mumford changed my life.  Not only did she say that I could write, that I had talents to offer the world, but she taught me that love, compassion, and free thought belonged in the classroom.  I bring Mrs. Mumford’s lessons with me every day I open my classroom door and greet my students.

I want you to think about your own schooling.  Surely there was a teacher that saved you.  That told you that yes you are worth it, that you could make your mark on the world.  I ask that you stop your clickbait worthy articles, not for me but for the teachers that saved my life.  Not for the thousands of hardworking teachers in our beautiful state, but for the teachers that saved you.  The teachers that told you that you were worth it.  Live up to their standards, because you’re worth it.

When Did the Internet Become so Mean

When Did the Internet Become so Mean?

When you look at that you may laugh.  Part of it is funny.  But there’s some truth to it.  How is it that the internet has become so bitingly mean?  And I say this as a very connected person.  I’m on Facebook, I tweet for my job, my professional development, and a personal Twitter account.  I have an Instagram for my class, and one for personal use.  I downloaded the Snapchat app.  (I still have no idea how to work it!)  I surf news sites, education sites, sites for writers.  Heck, I have a blog, and I freelance as a writer.  I like the internet.  I remember when it was so new we had the dial up modems, but there were so many possibilities!  We would be able to talk to people online, and get information online.  And that all came to fruition; because of social media I have been able to stay connected with friends, and I have been able to reconnect with friends who could have been long forgotten.  I constantly get information online.  And sometimes a news story comes along that unifies everyone; the ice bucket challenge for ALS, the teen who took his terminally ill mom to Prom, or cute lip syncing videos by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. 

And then May 29, 2016 happened and the internet lost its mind.  I’m sure you’ve heard by now, there was a tragic incident on May 29^th at the Cincinnati Zoo.  A child got into the gorilla enclosure, and a gorilla was put down.  It was tragic because a little boy was traumatized and hurt, an endangered animal was shot, and I can’t even imagine what this mother was thinking as she watched her son be flopped around.  All of a sudden everyone on the internet became an animal conservationist.  And an expert on gorillas.  And an expert on parenting.  And began to call for the mother to have her kids taken away, shot, or called a list of expletives that I don’t feel comfortable repeating here.  (You know what I didn’t see?  Concern for the child.  Understanding for the parent.)

I could go into my thoughts on this.  Who is to blame and in fact I almost did.  But then I thought, why.  Why do we have this need to blame somebody?  The mom, the zoo, the child, society.  Why do we need to have an immediate answer and resolution?  Will it make everything better?  Will it change what happened?

Can’t we just read a story without the need to fill the comments section with hateful language about people we don’t know, and will never meet?  With stories like these, where people are thrust into the limelight, and never asked to be, why do we insist on giving them our two cents?

Why are we so mean?

Why don’t we take a minute and think about what we’re going to write?

(And why don’t we proofread-but that’s a different story!) 

I know there isn’t an answer out there for this, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to write this.  And maybe that makes me part of the problem, I don't know.  I do know that way back in the reign of AOL, I never imagined that the internet would be used to spew such hatred.  

Reflecting about this, I was reminded that there are good news stories out there so for your further reading…

Teen Takes Mom to Prom

Toto Lip Syncing Video

ALS Challenge

Art is Vital

Art is vital.  It is around us in the air we breathe.

“It’s okay to feel sad.  But when you do, make films, draw, make something.  It’ll make a world of difference.”  Pete Docter, one of the co-creators for Inside Out said this in his Oscar acceptance speech.  Ever hear something you know will be a classic quote?  It resonated with me that night, I carried it to work the next day, and it keeps popping up, every time we lose someone we value as an artist.

David Bowie.

Alan Rickman.

Glen Frey.

Harper Lee.

Gary Shandling.

Doris Roberts.

Prince.

The list goes on.  And thanks to social media, this generation’s answer to the water cooler, we see the memes, people post their tributes, news articles are shared.  You know what I’m not seeing on social media?  “I can’t believe (insert artist here) died!  They were so rich!” Instead it’s “Purple Rain is falling” or “Always”.  And why is this?  Why in these cynical times where people feel they can hide behind a keyboard, why are these the tributes flowing in?  (And yes, I am sure the posts are out there that say who cares, let’s talk about real issues” but I’m just focusing on how people are grieving.)  These tributes have one thing in common.  Art.  It is the one thread that ties us together as people.  Art.  Whether singing, storytelling, telling jokes, it is a gravitational pull we feel.  We thrive on storytelling, and as cliché as it sounds, there are performers who provide the soundtrack to our lives. 

We need art. 

We need it at home to enjoy.

We need it in our classrooms to learn about the world around us.  To learn about empathy.

We need music in our cars to get through the daily grind.

We need art on our walls to calm and soothe us.

We need stories so we can escape to other worlds, journey to lands afar, step into someone’s shoes.

We need poetry to express our love.

We need expression.

We need the escape.

This is what we need to remember in times like this when we lose another valued member of the arts world.  We need to mourn, we need to remember and enjoy their art, but we need to keep art.  Keep it in our homes, communities, our schools.  Keep it by remembering it, by discussing it, and by creating it.  Create art in your corner of the world.  Create it and don’t stop; paint, sing, write.  The world needs art, and more importantly, your world needs YOUR art.

Art is vital.  As vital as the oxygen that surrounds us.  Don’t believe me?  Look around at the tributes for a lost artist.  If not today, but the next time an artist is ripped from us too soon.  If you’re still not convinced, consider our money.  Let’s face it, Alexander Hamilton was going to lose his spot on the ten dollar bill, until a little musical came out and took Broadway by storm. 

Once more from Oscar winner Pete Docter “It’s okay to feel sad.  But when you do, make films, draw, make something.  It’ll make a world of difference.”  Go make your difference.