KATHLEEN NEAGLE SOKOLOWSKI
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Courage Doesn't Always Roar:
​The Quest to Be Better Each Day 

Writing about a Place- #SOL21

5/17/2021

9 Comments

 
Today I taught a lesson to my students inspired by Poems Are Teachers by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater. We brainstormed a list of places that we've been  that are special to us. On my list was my grandparent's house. Tonight I tried to write a model to share with my students. This is what I came up with:

The House on Dianne Street

I remember
the house on Dianne Street
second from the corner.
I remember
the porch 
and the rocking chairs
and conversations.
I remember 
my Grandy's garden
colorful flowers
lovingly tended.
I remember 
his rose garden 
on the side of the house
and the rose that bloomed
in December
the year he died.
I remember 
the kitchen
where we had 
bubbly grilled cheese
on summer afternoons.
I remember 
the dining room
and cups of tea
with something Grandma baked
always a sweet treat.
I remember 
the den upstairs
and watching tv
Golden Girls
Jeopardy
Seinfeld.
I remember the pull-out couch
and Saturday night sleepovers
and coming home 
from dinner out. 
I remember
the balcony
leading to my grandparents' room.
I remember 
the comfy chairs
near the window.
I remember
the piano 
where I played 
the only song
I knew
"Heart and Soul."
I remember
the smell of the closets. 
I remember the fun.
I remember the laughs.
I remember the love.
So many visits to the house on Dianne Street,
my grandparent's house. 
They aren't there now and so 
I don't visit Dianne Street anymore
but that house
second form the corner
permanently lives in my heart. 
9 Comments

#SOL21 Discarded

5/11/2021

2 Comments

 
"She threw it out," my student tells me. It is the end of the day- dismissal time- and many of the students have already left. A few students remain with me in the classroom. My student- I'll call her M.- is telling me about a gift she gave her teacher last year, in another school, in another state. 

"I did chores at home to earn $5 to buy her a teddy bear. But then she threw it out," M says. 

The other students and I can't imagine a teacher throwing out a teddy bear given as a present.

"Maybe she didn't mean to throw it out- like she did it on accident?" a boy suggests.

M. shakes her head. "No she knew she threw it out." 

I am flabbergasted at this teacher's actions. M. did chores to earn the money to buy a teddy bear, only to watch her teacher throw it in the garbage can? Of all the cruel behaviors of teachers, that might be the worst I've personally heard. 

On my worst teaching day, I've never thrown out a child's present, bought with the money they earned, in front of them. 

I guess that's something. 
​
2 Comments

    Author

    Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski
    To see my previous posts, please check out ​http://couragedoesnotroar.blogspot.com/

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