Teachers. What will I be doing this weekend? Meeting and working with teachers. Why? Because it's NCTE proposal season, and (cough cough) we have numerous writing projects we are working on (some much more pressing than others).
So, I will be in Canisius Hall hosting a CWP open house for conference proposals, syllabi, book chapters and a special journal we've been invited to write for.
Yes, teachers are awesome. Yet, National Writing Project Teacher Leaders are beyond awesome. They are willing to do whatever it takes to make things happen. In them, I see me as I first fell under the mentorship of Jean Hicks. I hear the voice of Sue McV who said from the first second she met me, "When the time comes, you'll need to do the National Writing Project summer institute. It will change your life."
It has. It did. And it is my mission to offer such joy to others (paying it forward every second I can.
In the meantime, it dipped below freezing with wind chills in the teens. I was fine running yesterday morning because I was bundled up, but the afternoon winds picked up and walking to and from my car was a whipping, hurtful experience. It cuts against the skin like a blade. Now I am thinking I will have to finally retreat indoors to the gym (which is good for me). I will stay warmer, sweat more, exercise longer, and work on more than my typical 5K run.
Middle-age girth accruing as I type.
This morning, however, I am thinking of my K-12 teaching friends who've been back since January 3rd, who have many more students in a day than most academics have in a year, and who, if lucky, get five hours of sleep a night.
I packaged all of that with me when I went into higher education and I will continue the hard work - the K-12 teacher work - in everything I do.
And I hope others will stand beside me as champions for all that you accomplish each and every day (with what The Great Whatever knows is not compensated salaries, compliments, or bureaucratic support).
You are the best.
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