Category: burning questions

Creating Genres

The Sandwich Board as Satire Genre

Who names the genres? How are genres created? Are we allowed to make new ones? The answers are we do, all different ways, and absolutely yes!

My husband shared this article with me. Forever interested in genres, it sparked my thinking about the genesis of genres:

The Hottest New Literary Genre Is ‘Doomer Lit’ (Stories about climate disaster have entertained us for years. Now, they’re getting more unforgiving and dire.)*

*there is a mention of 4 **** in the article which is dipped in clickbait sauce, and is a shame, because the rest of the article is excellent.

Invent your own:

Here are some of the standard genres: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-the-different-genres-of-literature-a-guide-to-14-literary-genres#the-14-main-literary-genres And yes, this Wikipedia article lists many genres and sub-genres.

Why You Should Create Your Own Genre

3 Ways To Build Your Own Genre

What are some of your favorite genres to read? Listen to? Watch? If you could build your perfect genre, what would it be?

Kelly Love, Mermaid MD

How do we encourage and foster creativity in ourselves and others?

“I want to do a series of non-routine tasks, that require social intelligence, complex critical thinking, and creative problem-solving.”

well, well, well…how about we continue the conversation about ‘career and college ready?’ My mental pebble in my Sunday slippers is this concept of training students for ‘jobs that don’t exist yet.’ The jobs exist now. Right now. The problem is companies don’t want to pay for employees to ‘do a series of non-routine tasks.’ They don’t want to pay anyone at all. Wages have been stagnant for decades, and though the job market has grown and unemployment is low, skilled trade workers are hard to find.

My older son is sitting on a double major in Russian and German, with a minor in Math, and is thinking about becoming a teacher. My younger son is attending a community college and working weekends as a custodian for a local school district. I have no idea what the future holds for them because I have no idea what my and my husband’s future holds. It’s been…stressful. The social safety nets are ripped, and the Herculean task of moving toward healthcare uncoupling from jobs seems impossible, no matter what progressive politicians promise. Lobbies and corporate interests are monied monsters. In other words, I don’t know what my sons are going ‘to do’ with their degrees.

So how do I “sell” education’s value to a group of 13 and 14 year olds who are well aware climate change is real and dangerous conspiracy theories become factual lies? When we have a curriculum that teaches the test questions, and not a lot of ‘creative problem solving?’ I am thinking the answer is right in front of my nose: ask them. Just–ask them. Here is what we ‘have” to learn, now let’s seek out why, and how it helps us–and add what we ‘want’ to learn. John Oliver’s quote is going to be my mission statement for teaching and creativity.

I’ll share my 99 Problems document, and keep asking ‘What if?’ as if our lives and futures depend on it. (Because it does.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ccdytPCXW3LoZ2GhJmExp-QWhmYfVcBa2zsFM4LOjzY/edit?usp=sharing

break it down break downs

“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.” 
― Audre Lorde

My friend John Spencer recently explored and wrote a wonderful piece about the “superhero” culture of teaching. It’s targeted toward new teachers, but his advice and insight are valuable for us veterans, too. I’ll pick up the conversation at that point–some advice for us more seasoned teachers.

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Although, if I think about it, I am not a good source for advice on this topic. Currently, my stress and worry levels have maintained a steady red-zone cortisol bubbling brew in my brain.

Justin Minkel recently wrote an article for EdWeek: Finding the Courage to Teach Past the Fear of ‘Getting in Trouble’–and it shook me.

And the recurring advice I’ve received over my 13 years is ‘shut the door, teach, get to know your students, and do what’s best for them.’ All that is true. But something else is true: when you do shut the door, take note of what is going on–be your own observer. Walk into your classroom with fresh eyes. Sit in the seats where your students sit. Work next to them. What is it like to be a student in that room? Ask them.

“A lot hinges on the fact that, in most circumstances, people are not allowed to hit you with a mallet. They put up all kinds of visible and invisible signs that say, ‘Do not do this,’ in the hope that it’ll work, but if it doesn’t, then they shrug, because there is, really, no real mallet at all.” —Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals
I have always been a teacher who fears the mallet. I worry about “getting in trouble,” a phrase that seems more appropriate for children than adults, which I nevertheless hear from fellow teachers with alarming frequency.
Seventeen years since I started teaching, I still get nervous when my principal walks into my room with a clipboard or laptop for an unscheduled observation.
Why?
I love my principal. I know she’s not out to get me. Yet the anxiety—sweaty palms, a tight throat, a sudden awareness of how incredibly messy my classroom is—has not faded with time.



I, too, get nervous when admin comes in the room. I’m sure she’s not out to get me, either, no more than any teacher, but her first priorities, as they should be, are that all students are learning. And what ‘learning’ might look like to one educator versus another is critical to objective conservations. Admin come from a wide variety of teaching and instructional experiences, and even if they spent years in a classroom will still come to other teachers’ classroom with bias and judgment. Because they are…wait for it…human. As is everyone in that room. The teacher. The student. Everyone. Some things get checked on the clipboard, and some things do not.

Oh–and the self-care thing? The hardest thing about that is to not let another’s mallet beat your spirit. I have witnessed young teachers say “I don’t want to get in trouble.” Heard them break down in anxious tears. And for some of my younger colleagues, I have become a cautionary tale–that when you get older, it won’t matter how much growth on test scores your students have gained: if admin doesn’t “like you,” you’re out. Painfully, heartbreakingly, in a long-protracted battle.

Let’s find out what happens.
Will we get fired? Will we get a written reprimand that goes on our permanent record? Will we get the stink-eye from our principal for the rest of the year?
Or will we keep our jobs, because the teacher shortage is real, and it’s really real in high-poverty schools? Will it turn out there is no permanent record, and even if there were, nobody “above” us in the hierarchy has the time or inclination to write up that reprimand? Will we find unlikely allies, including administrators who prove their own courage and commitment to the children in our care?

Yes, actually. You might get fired. The teacher shortage is real but not: districts don’t want to pay the salary scale for veteran teachers. It’s all about the money. But it feels personal and raw. Being on a provisional contract this year is more terrifying than I could have ever imagined. With the information I had, I based my decision to change districts; I’m an NBCT, National Writing Project Fellow, WABS/STEM Fellow, provided PD for colleagues, multiple attendances for the NCTA, and am currently attending Mentor Academy for teaching mentorship. None of that matters if my learning targets aren’t properly worded. But heck, if even Tom Rademacher can be let go, who am I?And his post on keeping good teachers is spot on.

A few weeks ago, I was informed that even if I hit Distinguished in all categories, I could be non-renewed. At that point, what is the point? Do I just give up? Of course not. Being a teacher, to me, is a sacred duty. It’s my Night’s Watch vow. And most days, I love it, and some days I don’t. Both moments require reflection: this is key. Reflect on when things go right as often as when they don’t.

Self-care requires mindfulness:

Keep in mind: everyone has an agenda and mission. Take a moment and clarify, write down, what you think the mission statements are: your admin’s, colleagues, students, parents, and yourself. And then check in with each stakeholder and see how close you are, and adjust.

  1. Seek clarity from admin if you truly do not understand what they are requiring from you. It’s their role to be clear, objective and precise and offer instructional support. That’s their job.
  2. Seek clarity and feedback from your students, and make transparent and public. Middle school kids can be downright mean and if you have a disgruntled student (thinking of one right now) who whispers and derides you (your age, clothing, mistakes, etc.) call it out in a future moment and make general. Use it as a teachable moment.
  3. Seek clarity from your colleagues: if you participate in a functioning, supportive PLC, include 20-second celebrations. Ask them for advice and insight: what are they seeing, or not seeing, where you might have a blindspot? If your PLC is not functioning or safe, seek out a network on social media.

Most importantly: remember your ‘why’–it is a beautiful and inspiring why. Our “why’s” are our heartbeats–not just our teacher selves, but our whole selves. What we do and believe for ourselves, our families, friends, and then our work.

disrupting mockingbirds.

TFW I asked for help on teaching To Kill A Mockingbird and received so much support and guidance.

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Is anyone going to understand, aside from other teachers, how amazing what happened is? For all the ills of social media, there is so much good. Note to new and veteran teachers: find your PLN (professional learning network) via social media, and expand your thinking and horizons.

Here is what happened: my district uses packaged novel units based on another district’s work, or now a business, called EL or Expeditionary Learning. The program has many benefits, one of which each student (or scholar as they are known in the district) receives a copy of the central text. There are four modules, each with more lessons than is possible, and the intent is to provide some flexibility and professional judgment in the how to teach, but not the what, and the assessments are ironclad. We first taught Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, and I followed the pacing guide and time frame and came out of it three weeks ahead of my PLC colleagues. No matter–I forged ahead with more essay and creative writing until winter break began on December 21.

Well, break is over on Monday, January 7th, and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is our next Module of Study, titled “Taking a Stand.” Being a Grants/Wiggins fangirl, I am all about the concepts of Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions. But–

…but–To Kill A Mockingbird?

My relationship with the novel is probably typical of a little white southern girl with liberal, progressive parents–I loved it. I loved Scout. I loved the bravery, and the characters, the mystery, the strength, and the suspense. I can’t remember when I first read it if it was a choice or assigned, but I see a wavering fog of memory of some teacher and I connecting over my lightbulb moment of why Mrs. DuBose chose to go off her morphine toward the end of her life. The novel taught me so many things, and I am grateful to Harper Lee for this novel. And to this day, it holds a special place in my heart. However, we paradoxical humans can and should hold two or more truths at once, and over the past year or so (long before I knew I would switch districts and be mandated to teach the novel), many respected educators questioned and criticized this novel. I learned and listened to new perspectives and considerations, many of which hold important truths. Truths about race, racism, misogyny, and injustice masquerading as justice.

#edchat #ncte #disrupttexts Looking for help in pulling all the pieces together:— Kelly (@mrskellylove) January 2, 2019

One of the focuses will be https://t.co/OvUczzQe6W— Kelly (@mrskellylove) January 2, 2019

I had this amazing professor in college. He was Sri Lankan, teaching the required Brit Lit class from the POV of colonized people. He gave us “Heart of Darkness” and said:— Tom Rademacher (@MrTomRad) January 2, 2019

“This book is a racist piece of crap. I want you to read it because I want you to know what a racist piece of crap it is.” We read the book and had amazing discussions, using it as a central text to talk about white gaze and other things. So, teach, but teach context.— Tom Rademacher (@MrTomRad) January 2, 2019

I’m just listening in but I do think if you have to teach a problematic text, then you teach it as a vehicle to learn a critical reading process that allows kids to identify other problematic texts out in the world. Because they WILL encounter them.— Jess (@Jess5th) January 2, 2019

When Jess@Jess5th tweeted this –I knew I found the center focus.

The responses received fill my heart. With the deepest of gratitude, I must acknowledge @MrTomRad, @Jess5th, @debreese, @Ebonyteach, @CrazyQuilts, @Caitteach, @ShanaVWhite, @JenniferBinis, @spencerideas, @TheJLV, @ValerieBrownEDU, @triciaebarvia and if I missed anyone, my apologies. You all came to the conversation, and this-this is what I’ll share with my scholars first — we are all learning together, and trying to do better, and ask the big, tough questions.

The plan, such as it is, when we come back on Monday, January 7, in the midst of adolescents who’ve been homebound for two weeks (most of them) caring for younger siblings and doing whatever it is kids do over rainy breaks when resources are limited, and the building expectations PowerPoints that must be shown, is to let them first take and get reoriented, but also–share what happened. How other teachers discussed their ideas, openly and freely. I intend to pair this text with my #projectlit collection, of course, and allow students to find their own relationship with To Kill A Mockingbird along with other paired texts and discussions. I want so much for them.

If you would like the resources and ideas shared, please go to Twitter and follow me, and click on the discussion thread: @mrskellylove

Resources:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sg5itwdpj_gWT1NDDebgyJLWhvM8T4aQ5k5sIZQoKLs/edit?usp=sharing

This is a draft–just trying to organize the scope and sequence: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c4BmPo53CFhk3dFi6PuTQr9ln_OvJaeQzjWgzLzW5xI/edit?usp=sharing

https://disrupttexts.org/portfolio/2-disrupting-to-kill-a-mockingbird/
#disrupttexts To Kill A Mockingbird https://disrupttexts.org/portfolio/2-disrupting-to-kill-a-mockingbird/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkQXV6d7f-9NoZR6Ma4z-WtU9gQy4BvHB_mrVbCvxkE/edit?usp=sharing

For fun…

We teachers have full, wonderful lives outside of teaching. I think. Sure we do! YES! We most definitely do! And why let all the wonderful folks such as Barack Obama create a list!? Here’s my challenge, inspired by @jarredamato, the leader of #ProjectLit:

When a friend posted Obama’s list today, I immediately went to i-Tunes and grabbed some of the songs I liked. Dang, I used to be such an aficionado of new music! What happened?

via GIPHY

Whatever.

Here are the list of movies, books, and music I added to my collection in 2018:

Books:

My Goodreads name is k love (I think) and I read 47/100 of my reading challenge books. *Shrug* https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/11069938

My favorites came out of the #ProjectLit collection:

Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha)

Dread Nation (see link)

Dread Nation

Long Way Down: (see link)

Long Way Down

And:

Movies/Television:

What did we watch? Well, Black KKKlansman, Black Panther, Hereditary, A Quiet Place, Isle of Dogs, Bird Box, (read the book first, dang it!) Game Night (eye roll), Solo and whatever comes out on Netflix. Shows include Ozark, Sabrina, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, The Haunting of Hill House, Making a Murderer, Jessica Jones, Series of Unfortunate Events, Vikings, Game of Thrones, all of the American Horror Stories, Better Call Saul, Barry, and started Dark. (I feel like there are some missing, but oh well.)

Music

Some songs I added (not new to 2018 necessarily, but new to me):

And I highly recommend the Kill Bill soundtrack.

In addition to consuming media, I like to create media, too! I love to write and make collage images.

@cmclymer tweeted this fun thing – what would your two accessories be?

A toy company makes a replica action figure of your likeness. What two accessories do they include?— Charlotte Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) December 27, 2018

So thank you, Jarred and Charlotte, for some fun ideas. I’m not anyone important, but I am a teacher, and living my best, creative life helps me, my family, and my students. It is my personal oxygen mask.

Highly Qualified.

I hope my legs don’t break…walking on the moon

There is a question that is difficult to frame correctly, and even speak: are educators encouraged to be curious? To be investigators and scientists of our world? Moreover, what obligation to we have to ensure our students (within our intellectual and academic abilities) have access to the best education possible? And how do we define “best education?” Is it a willingness and acceptance of humility and reflective failures? To demonstrate acuity and mastery with rhetoric and logic?

(Thinks internally: get to the point.)

What if…

…a teacher who teaches world history only “believes” the world is 6,000 years old?

…a science teacher who “believes” in intelligent design theory or creationism?

….an English teacher who can’t explain the difference between Charles Dickens and a Hallmark holiday movie?

…supporter of STEM/STEAM but doesn’t think we went to the moon?

…or the world is flat?

…or a history teacher who believes Trump is helping our country?

…a science teacher who doesn’t understand how vaccines work?

…a counselor who doesn’t have access or the will to support gay, pregnant, homeless or other children in crisis? (And I have never met one of these types of counselors, lucky for them.)

…a referee who cuts off a child’s hair in a pique of openly displayed racism and hate?

…a teacher who puts his faith before a student’s identity?

…or a teacher who tries to call out racist culture and is targeted by the very hate groups he spoke against?

I mean — look! LOOK AT ALL THE COOL STUFF WE KNOW!

We, teachers, stumble constantly, there is no doubt about that. One of my favorite teacher-writers, Tom Rademacher, (@MrTomRad) uses a blend of humility and unapologetic know-how that provides many of us the comfort and discomfort that we may not always get it right, but dangit, we’re trying! Another one of my favorite teacher-writers is Mrs. Hall (@MrsHallScholars)

She uses her ‘warm demander’ voice — the gentle but urgent voice to encourage not only her lucky students but all of us who stand in her light. Think I’m being hyperbolic? Follow her and you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s what I’m wrestling with now: I am having a difficult time understanding how teachers/educators promote racism, ignorance, and don’t use facts, science, and reflection as part of their practice, no matter what they teach?

Bear with me while I work through this.

PS Why I chose some of the links: we are learning new things about new things all the time, and learning new things about old things, things we’ve done, researched, probed, analyzed, accomplished and litigated. It’s fine to have faith, beliefs, and abstract notions of beauty we cannot see. Carl Sagan was a master of straddling the gulf between science and power of belief. But please, please: be a thinker. Be curious. Be a questioner. Be a healthy skeptic. But please: be smart about it.

School Shopping.

ProjectLIt books.jpg

Is Teachers Pay Teachers “bad?” And why do I have an image of my #ProjectLIT progress? I’ll pull it all together, promise.

Yes, sometimes it is. It can be the junk food, candy display at the check-out counter, along with the pulp magazines and other impulse buys. Worksheets=bad. (Even when students beg for them: that’s a good sign you’re actually teaching.) Teaching authentically, making fresh, home-made lessons every day is tough; we can’t even write down all that we do because we’re busy doing it.

There was a time in your life when you had friends, enough time to read a book, and energy enough to stay awake past 7: 30 p.m. That time is not fall. In fall, we uncover the work of the rest of the year, we discover and ask questions we have little hope of answering.

Rademacher, Tom. It Won’t Be Easy: An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching (Kindle Locations 887-890). University of Minnesota Press. Kindle Edition.

Over the course of the summer, I’ve spent upwards of $700-$800 on teaching books, supplies, classroom necessities, trying to fund my ProjectLIT books for students,  buying at least one copy for myself of each of the books, etc. I spent almost $40 on To Kill A Mockingbird resources from Laura Randazzo on TpT.

Why? Why would I sully my teaching reputation by buying (*ew*) resources off of Teachers Pay Teachers?

Well, Laura Randazzo has pretty great stuff. And I’m out of time. I take her resources as just that: resources. I look them over, tweak them as needed to supplement my own. This is the first year I will be required to teach a prescripted curriculum. I have four modules with accompanying novels. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of them. I loved it as an adolescent, but also see that it has many issues I am very much looking forward to discussing with my 8th-grade students. Oh, and did I mention I’m going to a new district, new school, and new culture? I’m thinking about how to best navigate those conditions, too. Knowing who I am there is no way I will not be as prepared as possible, leaving room for the unknowns that will inevitably come up.

In order to best use my professional time so I can have the energy and will to do my best with this novel for students, I now have time to free up and look into #disruptingtexts 

This. Is. Really. Important.

Let me repeat: I now have the time and energy to delve deeper into what’s important:

Atticus has been and continues to be problematic and so many white people don’t want to admit it. His advocacy has limits. He’s not willing to question the very system that has allowed Tom to end up in this racist situation. In the face of pure racism and bigotry he doesn’t see the need to publicly disrupt the legal system. Yes, he defends Tom. Yes he questions Mayella. No, he doesn’t go beyond that. He doesn’t protest. He doesn’t say he’s going to take on the court system. He doesn’t say he’s going to make structural changes so this stops happening. He doesn’t use his privilege to bring about change. He lets Tom die. He is a part of the very system that let Tom die. I was encouraged by how many white folks in our chat mentioned it, though, so there’s hope in progress.

But there are many problematic and downright unethical sides to some materials posted on TpT: one of my favorite PLN colleagues, Cheryl Mizerny, had this happen to her: 

That is way not cool.

If you are a careful consumer, you can use TpT to your advantage as a resource, just as many of us use Twitter, Facebook groups, and teacher blogs as resources. Blaming TpT wholesale does a disservice; being nuanced about issues helps. Consider the bigger conversation about how we pull all of our resources together, how we can create our own curated content/playlists to better serve and support one another. Shaming teachers doesn’t work any better than shaming students.

I am getting stingy in my old age. I am trying to be careful about how I spend my professional money and time. If you want something from me, I’m here for you. But I’m not going to be lectured about my own time and money on what resources I find valuable. And which ones I don’t.

For what it’s worth, here are the teacher books I read recently:

These are amazing. Helpful. And I will definitely be using many of the ideas from these as resources.

I wish I had written this, but I am a woman, and probably couldn’t get away with all the cussing: (I am still pondering the question if women teachers can be funny, too.)

One of the most practical, well-written books I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time. Since I am required to teach whole-class novels, this is my just-in-time save:

Another godsend by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle:

A

And my big question to students this year will be about how lying affects us:

Oh, last thought: please do not think for one minute I am not conflicted about asking for DonorsChoose donations. Jeff Bezos gets richer. My friends and family roll their eyes at me. Everyone is charity-fatigued. I get it. I really do. But dangit, I really want to have ten copies of Dread Nation to teach to my 8th grade ELA/SS students! I mean REALLY!? Civil War…Zombies…Girl Hero Who KICKS IT! Friendship! Just buy my students a book or two.

Summer Series of Saves: Teachers Talk.

Be centered on what matters to you. 
Just wanted to capture a wonderful chat I stumbled onto–good ideas and inspiring to focus on what matters. And: I want to share with students that teachers walk the walk–we want our students to love their reading and writing lives as much as we do.

Living history.

What, you may ask, is a “DBQ?”

Well– it’s a framework for responding to a question, like a CER (claim, evidence, and reasoning statement) or SAR (short answer response). DBQ stands for Document Based Question.  (Anytime I see a tweet or other social media post that incorporates real-time events and teaching I go a little happy crazy.)

When teachers request ideas for content, sometimes I get a little…something. The world is right there, right now–happening. In real time. We are this moment in time, in history, affecting outcomes and futures.

If you’d like to use DBQs, CERs, SARs, etc. fantastic! Looking for what to talk about is the easy part. Agreeing and objective…now that’s where the fun is!

Overview of Short Answer Responses and Funnel Paragraphs:

Saving Summer: Amygdala and The Brain

Teaching is stressful, there is no doubt or debate. And it’s also joyous, satisfying, and filled with discovery and success.

But let’s get back to the stress for a moment so we can move forward with more moments of joy, satisfaction, and discovery.

My buddy Sharon and her Brainiacs are developing a PD session for SEL/Teachers/Students. Tangentially, I’m developing the digital curriculum, along with her and other colleague’s input. When we talk about preparing students for their futures, not our pasts, we must have a deep understanding or exploration of what is happening to our brains in the digital world. We must share this knowledge, so students can adequately reflect, practice mindfulness, and know when to take on that “big view.” Elena Aquilar’s post, “5 Simple Lessons for Social and Emotional Learning for Adults” was a deja-vu moment–my husband was just advising me of these ideas yesterday while we had street tacos at the local lunch truck. Take the big view:

“Lesson 4: Observe Your Emotions”

We are not our emotions. If we can practice observing them — seeing ourselves experience emotions from 10,000 feet above earth — we are more likely to make decisions that don’t emerge from them. We might notice that sometimes they’re powerful and gripping, and sometimes they’re lighter and less sticky. It helps to practice non-attachment to emotions. They’re just emotional states and they come and go — and remember that we have some control over these states. Sometimes I visualize my emotions as weather patterns: There are storms and calm skies, heavy rain, and light winds. They always change. I visualize myself as a tree experiencing these emotions that come and go.

An article posted in the New York Time’s by Lisa Feldman Barrett, “When Is Speech Violence?” walks through the key points of amygdala hijacking and the effects of chronic stress.

“What’s bad for your nervous system, in contrast, are long stretches of simmering stress. If you spend a lot of time in a harsh environment worrying about your safety, that’s the kind of stress that brings on illness and remodels your brain. That’s also true of a political climate in which groups of people endlessly hurl hateful words at one another, and of rampant bullying in school or on social media. A culture of constant, casual brutality is toxic to the body, and we suffer for it.”

A school year is a long stretch of ‘simmering stress.’ Whose job is it to maintain the physical and emotional safety of a building? In truth, everyone is a stakeholder. Building trust and relationships that can find strength in discourse and dialogue, strong respect and cordial working relationships are the desired culture of any building. And as the Stoics believed, it is not what happens to us that affect us, but how we view and control our thinking about events. What if we all pledged to think about the school stress as a means to practice our own care and mindfulness?

In the meantime, I’m reading a book my husband recommended to me a few months back, The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, first published in 1973. Yeah, not exactly a little light summer reading, but it’s what I need right now: hefty intellectual grips by which to grab onto the rocky surface, and climb up. Getting a new perspective or two is a great way to get that higher view.

And though I can’t control others behaviors, I will strive to speak the truth, ask questions, seek answers and common ground.