Jody+Thomas


 * The Fifth Genre: by Jody Thomas**

I recently attended the Annual Conference on Literature for Children and Young Adults sponsored by KSU. This year the planners presented an author's panel featuring Taylor Mali, Matt de la Pena, and Phil Bildner. I especially enjoyed the talent and the sense of humor of educator and author, Taylor Mali, who at the book signing told my friend, Molly Davenport, that if they were to marry, her name would be Molly Mali. I was very impressed with his passion and zeal for life. I hope that his life is a happy one. His style of poetry and his vivid readings by heart were impressive. I bought two of his books and could not wait to get home to read them. There is absolutely nothing "stuffy" about his work, and that is why I like it. Taylor's work is clear and crisp when he describes real-life things. In some ways, he reminds me of Shel Silverstein's lively cadence. Taylor gave me a refreshing new perspective on the importance of exposing my future students to listening, experimenting, designing, examining, and producing their own poetry. Poetry does not have to rhyme. Poetry is about what we do everyday. Poetry is a way for young people to exclaim to the world, "I am here . . I'm alive and rambunctious . . I have something to say . . . and I am not going away . . . listen to me!" Taylor's book //What Learning Leaves// and the //Last Time as We Are// will be read in my classroom forever. Thank you, Taylor, for waking me up to poetry! Jody: I enjoyed this conference as well. All of the authors were interesting because they all had different things to say about writing, which helps me because I do not feel like I'm a great writer but instead a reader. The highlight of this conference and the author's panel was the inspiration that each author brought to the table to give us hope that we are going to touch a child's life, or maybe even an adult, and that will be something that they will remember for the rest of their lives. I also bought his two books and found them to be extraordinary. I cannot wait to take his poems, some of them, into the classroom to share with my future students. Oh, by the way, I think we will get married so I can have a cool name like Molly Mali. :) 4/5/11

= **Genre #4: Shara and Her Dragons ** =

Once upon a time there was a little bond-haired girl with crossed eyes. She had a difficult time focusing on doing schoolwork. Something always took her away from the reality of a noisy classroom. It was her dragons. She preferred the many fierce and mighty hard-scaled friends who held “power.” First, there was the European Dragon who is abandoned by its mother forty-one years ago and lives in Northern Europe. Second, there was the mighty Arctic Dragon who instead of blowing fire, it blew ice crystals that were sharp. If one pierced you-it was instant death. 

Then, there was the dragon with retractable claws-watch out! His cousin, the Cryolophosaurus also called the Carnivores Chantiar Kaij, lived 5,581 years ago, was the legend of water dragons, and was known for making strong tidal waves. And last, there was the Shadow Dragon who wore a crown of sharp horns.

When I look at this little girl in the cafeteria all alone quietly eating her lunch, I understand why dragons are her friends.

Cited Work: Illustration by Jennifer Walker from Google Images. Web. Mar. 23 2011

Oh Jody! I can't wait to hear more about this little girl. I hope you have made a connection with her and let her know it is OK to be different. People can be so harsh to students who don't "fit the norms". See you soon! ~Ashley

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A Vignette on a Rainy Day: Like raindrops, daily stories of children trying to make their way in world fall upon us.

 * In first period, I delivered another one of my daily fifteen-minute lessons on figurative language (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, alliteration and onomatopoeia), and how these elements can enrich our writing. Today, it was //hyperbole//, pronounced (hy-per- bo-lee), and that it was not a type of Italian pasta pronounced (hyper-bo-lay). We laughed at that. After my presentation, Ms. Voltz, my fabulous CT, had some concerns regarding the progress benchmarks due in days. She encouraged the students to stick with it and improve their scores. She used the figure of speech "Sometimes you've got to take the bullet." She quickly asked the class if they knew what the idiom or hyperbole meant. One little girl piped up with, "It means that you have to face up to your responsibilities." How insightful, I thought.**


 * In the second period class, I began the same lesson. There was one student, Brandon (little does he know that he is one of my favorites) who continued to talk. It was like he could not control himself. I quickly diverted from the lesson and asked, "Brandon, do you have a question?" He responded, "No, I'm okay." As I continued, I heard Brandon's distracting murmur again. Firmly, I announced to the class that I did not like taking points away from my students, but sometimes, I had no choice. The big warning caused the room to go silent. I resumed for a few seconds when Brandon started again. This time, there was no mercy, poor Brandon got nailed - minus four! He became silent, and I noticed Brandon's body language and facial expressions becoming distressed. Now, Brandon is a boy who thinks of vegetables as dessert, is proud of becoming an Eagle Scout, and who has boasted about rescuing a severely abused cat and giving it a loving home. When the class transitioned to their ad campaign group project, Brandon came to me, and I asked the question, "Are you okay?" He bowed his head and told me that he was having a rough day.**


 * There is something sacrosanct about a private conversation just outside the classroom in the hall. Brandon was open in telling me that he was anxious about school, and that his dad lectured to him about his improvement well past his bedtime of 10:00; therefore, he arrived late this morning. He was disappointed in his scoutmaster for blaming him for something he did not do, and to find out later that the scoutmaster was in error. No apology to Brandon was made. He was sad, plain and simple as he tried to make sense of the adult world. Our western culture tells children to "toughen up, get over it, life isn't for sissies, and get a thick skin." Oh, and how about this one? "If you think you've got it bad, let me tell you //my// story"! I learned something very valuable today. Life sends us "bullets," and yes, we have to own up and take responsibility; but kids need to learn "how" to take those bullets and go forward. Being human is sometimes being sad.**


 * Jody, I think you've brought up a very insightful point. The fact is that you never really know what is going on inside a student's head (or life, for that matter). And unless they choose to view us as people they can put their trust and faith in, they may never open up. It's so easy for us to get upset when they are misbehaving or aren't choosing to act up to our standards, but if I've learned anything from young people, it would be that it is never as it seems. And we can't take that for granted or choose to overlook it. I think it is wonderful that Brandon was able to put his trust in you in such a profound way. That speaks volumes about the impact that you're making. I have a couple Brandons myself. And while sometimes, the easy route says 'Tell them to suck up it, and close their mouths', the truth is that students are people (despite the fact that they sometimes choose to act otherwise haha), and they are in range of a whole slew of emotions. And they go through very real problems. Just something to think about I guess. Great job! -Adriana Vanderheyden**

Jody, I love hearing and reading about your work with students. I think that you are such an inspiration and can definitely have some kind of influence on this child's life. Brandon seems to me the type that could possilby distract other students in order to quit thinking about his own problems. Just a thought. I like that you pulled him out into the hall to dig further into his reason behind disruptive, constant talking. Teachers are such an empowerment to students and the students may misbehave on occassion in classrooms, but they are really watching how we teach and how we act. I think you set a good example with not only Brandon, but I think you let the other students see how you are going to handle certain situations. Great story, Jody! Molly Davenport


 * Oh Jody, this just was just awesome to read! I am having a similar situation in one of my classes. I like how you handled the situation. I'm sure it was hard taking away four points from him, but an example had to be set. When you asked him after class what was wrong, he obvioulsy trusts you to open up to you like that. We are not only there to teach English, but to teach life lessons as well. I try to incorporate life lessons in my lesson plans everyday. - Ashley :) **