My emotions have been heightened as of late. From what I hear, I’m not alone. During these days of COVID-19, we hear stories of incredible kindness and incredible sorrow. These dichotomies co-exist in our world. Always, of course, but they seem even more apparent now.

Last night, a concert aired entitled One World: Together at Home. Lady Gaga virtually united celebrities from across the world to show support for the frontline workers and the World Health Organization during this pandemic. It served as a poignant reminder that we’re all in this together highlighting both the heartbreak and the humanity around the world.

Selflessness and bravery are revealed in times of need. Faith and hope in times of exhaustion and despair. Innovation in times of desperation. Compassion in response to suffering. Deepened connections in times of isolation and unexpected gifts in times of trials.

Amid the challenges you’ve faced, what gifts have you discovered over the last few months? Please share!

Last week, at 8:30 each morning, I tuned into Facebook Live to watch Jacqueline Woodson read from one of my forever-favourite books: Brown Girl Dreaming.

Not only did I savour the time listening to this author read the words of her own book aloud, I reveled in the in-between moments: her spontaneous commentary about books and reading, words and writing, life and love, snow and sun, family, and of course dogs (as they appeared and disappeared unpredictably during her readings).

On Friday she spoke about slow reading. About enjoying the white space between the words. About rereading books. About not rushing our students. About enjoying picture books at all ages, adults included.

Listening to her words – both written and spoken – I feel inspired. Inspired to reread her precious, provocative words. Inspired to read slowly. Inspired to write and tell my story. Inspired to teach and and empower our students. Inspired to be a better person, too.

Her readings last week occurred because of COVID-19. I wouldn’t have experienced this daily inspiration if not for the pandemic, not in this way at least.

So consider this: how can we take this unusual time and turn it into an opportunity? How can we use books to both comfort and challenge our students? How can we inspire our students to read more slowly and savour the words on a page? How can we inspire them to “be kind and love each other up” (in Jacqueline Woodson’s words)?

However you do it, this week, strive to inspire.

During these troubling times, it is essential to find ways to cope, ways to escape, ways to manage anxiety. One of my strategies is music.

Have you noticed that words you’ve heard time and time again have taken on new meaning during this new reality?

John Lennon and Paul McCartney certainly weren’t thinking of COVID-19 when they wrote Let it Be. Yet when I listened to it the other day, I couldn’t help but consider these poetic words in the context of the current situation.

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be. Yeah
There will be an answer, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be,
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

What lyrics or songs resonate with you? What about with your students? During this national month of poetry, invite your students write another verse to one of their favourite songs.

Charles Darwin once said, “If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.”

We can’t control our situation; we can control how we respond to the situation. Poetry and music each week… let it be.

April is National Poetry Month. As we consider online learning opportunities, I’ve been thinking about how we might get our students to play with words through poetry!

Ask students to write a poem by choosing one of the following constraints:

• two words per line
• fifteen words
• three-syllable words
• only verbs
• words that do not include the letter ‘a’
• one word on the first line, then two on the second, then three, etc.

Rather than dictate which constraint your students should use, let them choose from a list like the one above. (You may decide to change the constraints based on the grade level you teach.)

As an example, I have included my latest creation. I gave myself the constraint of two words per line and began each stanza with the same two words: These Days.

These Days by Karen Filewych

These days
I am
at home
self-isolating
working here
writing here
waiting for 
the world 
to return
to normal
or a
semblance of.

These days
I am
walking daily
with Jak
through puddles
and muck
and grit
happily though
despite needing 
daily doggie
baths upon
arriving home.
  
These days
my walks
have become
my only
ventures out
during this
world pandemic
not expected
days home
yet needed
to keep
everyone safe. 
 
These days
will help
me appreciate 
regular life
hugging family
meeting friends
shaking hands
working together
with teachers
with students
in the 
same room.
  
These days
will end
we’ll be
stronger happier
more generous
likely more 
appreciative too
relishing in
a sense 
of normal
a return
to routine.
  
These unusual
unprecedented days: 
life lessons
if we
let them…
these days. 

(Thanks to the The Writer magazine for inspiration this week…)

We’re hunkering down to keep each other safe. In these uncertain days, with an ever changing reality, strong leadership is essential.

In Alberta, our Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Hinshaw, has risen to the occasion and been the leader we need: calm and compassionate, reassuring and real.

I also appreciated Justin Trudeau’s message this morning: he took the time to thank Canadian kids for making sacrifices to keep others safe in this far-from-normal time. Missing out on play dates and spring break plans. Helping their parents work at home and keeping up with school work as best they can.

How are you being a leader in your home or for your class or school? How are you reassuring the children in your life at this challenging time? Are you modelling healthy habits: limiting screen time, taking daily walks, diving into a good book? Are you checking in on those more vulnerable and finding ways to spread some cheer?

Brian Tracy once said, “The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis.”

So today, remember: lead with courage, be truthful and transparent, inspire acts of kindness. We’re all in this together.

There’s no denying it: this is an unusual time.

Events cancelled: major and minor. Businesses and facilities closed. Precautions taken. Misinformation spread. Panic buying. Potential long-term school closures.

It’s been a far from typical week.

Let’s face it. Our students are hearing bits and pieces of the news. Their events and extracurricular activities have been cancelled. Many are watching their parents stock up on supplies. Some families are voicing fear and concern. And in Alberta, as of a few hours ago, classes have been cancelled indefinitely.

If this is a scary time for adults, imagine for our students.

I am putting together some language arts suggestions for remote learning. (Stay tuned…) One of the first things to consider is the opportunity for students to (continue to) write in a weekly journal: the opportunity to reflect and respond, to sort through their feelings, especially given these unprecedented and confusing circumstances.

The platform might be different, but the purpose remains the same.

Take the time to write short notes back to reassure your students. Respect the emotion and perspectives that emerge. We may not know what the upcoming weeks and months will bring, but this is certainly a way to stay in contact, and provide our students with authentic reasons to read and write.

Do any of your students have negative views about reading or writing? Likely someone, admittedly or not.

My fundamental goal as a teacher of language arts is to change these attitudes. How?

First, take time to discuss illiteracy. I tell students about my encounter with an illiterate adult, a parent of two former students, in fact. We brainstorm all the things this adult would not be able to do in her daily life. We also consider the feelings associated with illiteracy.

Then we discuss the opposite! How empowering to be able to read menus, field trip forms, ingredients, prescription labels, and job applications. How empowering to communicate through emails, letters, poetry, stories, or social media. How empowering to learn about the world and the experiences of others, to find comfort and connections, through books. How empowering to participate in the literate world.

Second, it is essential that we make the teaching of reading and writing strategies explicit and accessible for our students. We cannot merely tell them to be better readers and writers. (Oh, if only it were so simple!) We must empower them to become better readers and writers through the strategies we teach: one by one… step by step… day by day…

Flip your students’ negative attitudes. Open their eyes to the wonder of words!

Teachers’ Convention. How is it that a common message emerges each year regardless of the speakers I hear?

Gerry Brooks, Temple Grandin, and Jann Arden. What could these three – a principal, a professor of animal science, and a singer, song-writer – possibly have in common?

All three spoke either directly or indirectly about the inevitability and usefulness of hardship. Gerry Brooks reminds us that “ervybody ain’t gonna like you” and that’s okay. But while these folks are challenging us or confronting us, he reminds us to consider any truth to the claims being made. This honesty with ourselves will ultimately make us better and stronger.

Temple Grandin has faced adversity because of perceptions about autism. As she proved in her keynote, her diagnosis is not a disadvantage. It is because of autism that she thinks differently. It is because of autism that she is able to educate others about the need for (and the incredible contributions of) different thinkers in our world.

Jann Arden has faced considerable hardship in her life, and yet, she is grateful for the experiences because of the learning that followed. While telling her story, she said repeatedly, “Good from bad.”

If I hadn’t yet caught this message, it was reiterated at the theatre last night by dear ol’ Shakespeare: “Sweet are the uses of adversity.”

How does this translate into what we do in the classroom? Quite naturally, I think. As we read about the stories of others, as we discuss the origin of an invention, as we study history, revolution and change, as we try to establish a growth mindset within our students, this lesson endures: Sweet are the uses of adversity.

The last few days at Reading for the Love of It in Toronto (where I met teachers from across the country), I was reminded that teachers are teachers are teachers. Regardless of our geographical locations, we are connected by a love of children, a passion for literature, and a desire to make a difference in the world. Regardless of the communities in which we teach, we are united by both the stories of our students and the stories on our bookshelves.

Stories help us learn about the world, about each other, about ourselves, about our place in the world. Stories keep the past alive and implore us to contemplate the future. Stories expand our perspectives and stir emotion. As Madeleine L’Engle once said, “Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”

I leave this conference with new stories to tell, new connections to nurture, new books to read. (My suitcase is quite literally weighed down by books… books that were not yet with me when I ventured east.)

Most importantly though, I leave inspired to continue my own story. To empower students with the skills of reading and writing. To assist teachers in their endeavors to teach these skills to their students. To teach. To write. To read for the love of it.

Are you a list person?

I am. I create a daily to-do list and take great pleasure in crossing things off. (I’ll admit: I’ve even gone so far as to put something on the list just so I can cross it off.) And if I can’t sleep because I’m thinking of what I need to accomplish the following day, I make a list to give myself peace of mind in hopes of slumber.

Last weekend we saw a play at The Citadel Theatre called Every Brilliant Thing: humorous, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at once. A young boy begins a list to help his mom, suffering from depression, recognize the good in the world. As he gets older the list is abandoned and returned to a number of times.

The play inspired my own list of brilliant things, things that make life worth living. It’s already much longer than this, but here’s a sampling:

A houseful of family.

Snuggles with my pooch.

Sunlight.

Card games with my brothers.

A book that makes me ugly cry.

Writing.

Exchanging manuscripts with Mom.

Throwing the baseball around with Dad.

A day with limited back pain.

Teachers.

Grandparents.

The universality of story.

The innocence, joy, and spontaneity of children.

Well, what about it? What would be at the top of your list?