Stories From Sudan

Hello everyone!

Wow it has been a while since we met in this space. I have missed you here. But like you, I have been mired in work. Although, I have been complaining (a lot and often), it has been an absolute pleasure to read all of your feature articles. I was blown away by your talent, your dedication and all your hard work. Your articles are amazing. The world needs to read them!

I have created a new blog called Stories From Sudan. I would like to have as many of your articles showcased there as possible. The plan is that once they are all submitted and posted, I will share the site with the Dave Eggers and Valentino Deng as a gift.

Because we want to showcase work that we are proud of, which reflect our hard work, there will be some criteria for what makes it to the site. You can work on your article until it meets the following requirements. It must have:

• scored no lower than a 5 on any criteria. If you did score lower, you can work with me to write another draft and have it ready for publication. 
• been edited one final time. Please resolve all my comments and be sure to work on the areas I recommended.
• citations for all your names, quotes, facts, dates, stats, numbers etc....
• a title, headline and by-line. 
• any tags that are relevant to your article.

Please make all edits on your google doc and email me your final draft by June 6th. I will then add them all to the blog.

It would be great to have a few student statements about this process:

• reading the book
• learning about Sudan
• messages for Dave or Valentino or the people of Sudan or readers

That we can include on the sites About page.

poetry- you are not alone

As we continue to write poems in grade 8, I wanted to share a quick exchange with you, to remind you that you are not alone if you are frustrated or struggling. Here is an email I received from a grade 8 student last night:

Hi Mr. Raisdana,

I am sitting here and sitting here racking my brain with this poem..

In my mind i know how i could write this story, but i cannot get it from my head to the screen without being unhappy with it.

I dont think i am going to be able to have my draft done for tomorrow (i also didnt get home till very late tonight) But may i please talk to you tomorrow and discuss as to how i can 'make' this poem.

I was hoping poetry would come a little more naturally to me, as i enjoy this unit.. just struggling at the moment.

Really sorry

thanks

 Here is my response: 

Just bring what you have and we can workshop in class. This is what poetry is about. It can be hard and that is okay. It doesn't always come easily, even for the pros. It takes time, blood, sweat and tears. You are, after all, finding a way to reveal your soul and paint the world in a way no one has ever seen before. This shouldn't be easy.

Hack away at it and we will get there.....thanks for sending me the email. At least I can see that this poem is on your mind and that matters. It is in you and wants to come out, we just need to find a way to let it out.

Mr. R

Every Kid

This past weekend, I attended a conference for middle school teachers, principles and parents. We spent a lot of time talking about you. And what makes you tick! My biggest take away was that in order to inspire you, connect with you and find ways to teach you, I must first connect with you. Building relationships is crucial to learning.

This doesn't mean that I need to become your best friend, but it does mean that I need to make an effort to know all of you. Speak to each of you. Have a vested interested in every single one of you. I know there are many of you I barely know:

What are your passions, favorites movies, what kind of music do you listen to, favorite subject, etc.....

It can be so difficult to make these connections when on average I see more than 80 of you a day. This conference reminded how important it is that I make the effort to talk to every kid, everyday. I know, I know it is almost May! If only there more than one of me.

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by Intrepidteacher 

So what can you do to help your teachers break the ice and connect? What are some ideas you have on how to build closer student teacher relationships? Would love to hear your thoughts.

He Said That?

As we get set to begin our exploration of Shakespeare, I thought it would be fun to share this poster I found online.

Guidance

What do you think?

There Is A Difference

I spent all day today talking with you, grade seven and eight, trying to help you (teach you) the things you need to know to think clearly and articulate your thoughts and emotions in writing. It has been exhausting, but in that good way. That feeling that we are working hard and learning and growing and possibly enjoying what we are doing.

I may be deluded, and I can live with that, but it feels like we are immersed in the "Good Work." I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you how proud of you all I am. The topics we are studying and the tasks we are doing are not easy or simple. They require you to push yourselves and work hard. As you have done all year, you have risen to the challenges and are producing some amazing work.

I said to a class the other day, 

You can either think of yourselves as middle school kids writing in English class, or you can think of yourselves as writers. There is a difference.

I see you as writers. I know you are tired and stressed, but keep up the good work.

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by Intrepidteacher  

Final note, after class today as you were leaving one of you said to me,

Thanks for all your hard work Mr. Raisdana!

I cannot tell you how happy that made me. It feels nice to be acknowledged for the work we do. All this writing, reading, research, marking, feedback is hard for me too. It felt great to be thanked for my efforts. So thanks again for the enthusiasm and effort you are all putting forward. It has been noticed and appreciated.

Nine more weeks and we can all take a well-deserved break!

Too Old For Fairytales

Hi everyone!

Miss me? I miss you guys. I am busy trying to read all your work, leave comments and feedback and get all caught up before next week. While I was hard at work a fellow teacher and friend from UNIS school in Hanoi shared some amazing student work with me.

I though you would dig the inspiration from fellow grade 8's around the world:


Too Old For Fairytales from UNIS Hanoi on Vimeo.

Pretty amazing huh?