The Sassy Bibliophile

Doug Robertson (@TheWeirdTeacher) posted recently on Twitter about his frustration with the quitting martyr teacher posts that always seem to go viral on Facebook about this time of year.  Shared by educators and non-educators alike.  I've seen them, of course. We've all seen them.  I've read them, and I hear their words.  They decide to burn it down when they leave, I suppose, filled with frustration and anger and sadness, too, perhaps. But Doug's Twitter thread really resonated with me, y'all.  And then this morning someone in the thread (@MoniseLSeward) suggested we use the hashtag #WhyIChooseToStay to share our stories. Yeah, I son't know that it was necessarily meant as an actual call to share, but I loved the idea, so here's mine. I just completed year 28 as an educator. I've been a kindergarten teacher, an elementary teacher of grades 2,3,4,5, an elementary school teacher-librarian, an intermediate school teacher-librarian, a middle scho...

"We Can Do It!"   by  US Department of State  is licensed under  CC PDM 1.0  I love Austin Kleon's work. I own & love his books, I subscribe to his awesome newsletter, and I follow him on social media. If you want more info on him, you can check out his website . I was reading his newsletter this morning, and was struck by number 10 on his list--- You are fine without advice and suggestions. . Go read it, because it is awesome. Anyhow, THIS is something I ponder often in education. Make no mistake, I'm not blaming the kids here.  This is a grown-folk issue. Clearly not ALL kids, not ALL Millenials---but many of them---want to do things Right to the point of Perfection , which leads to Anxiety , which leads to Paralysis through Analysis because of grown folks good-intentioned helicoptering ways. We don't want them to get dirty, so we don't allow them to play in the dirt. But without playing in the dirt, they are robbed of making mud pies. ...

My school's original Harry Potter club ( called M.A.G.I.C. for Magical and Gifted Individuals Club ) predates my time at the high school.  It was originally created by the students a few years before my time there, but had ceased to exist in anything but memories.  I was approached to take on the role of Head of Slytherin House shortly after arriving and was immediately all-in, baby! MAGIC was back! If you are a Harry Potter fan, I want to encourage you to start a Harry Potter club on your campus .  Honestly, it is one of the most rewarding things I do in my job.  In part, because it brings kids from all walks of life together in our mutual love for Harry Potter; in part because it is JOYFUL and we all need more joy in our lives. My friend and fellow TALL Texan, class of 2016, Jennifer De Waelsche, presented on our HP clubs at the Texas Library Conference in April this year.  Back at our TALL retreat, I mentioned our HP club, and as a fellow Potterhead,...

Image created in Canva for use on our Instagram! One of the topics I am asked about the most is our Literary Honor Cord program. After moving to the high school from the middle school level, I was looking for a way to both recognize and encourage student readers.  High School years are so busy!  Sports practices, band rehearsals, Key Club service projects---and many of our kids have jobs outside of school---and then, of course, there's the homework. It is just a super busy time.  I was busy back in the 80's when I was in high school, too---and I remember my pleasure reading suffered for it.  I wasn't even battling the ease of slipping into a Netflix binge or spending hours scrolling through social media, and it was more difficult to make the time for reading. So, while I realize that reading is its own reward, I want to be real in my acknowledgement that it can be difficult for our teens (and adults) to be intentional about creating that "white space"in th...