Sally Gerard

Sometimes hope is the only thing you have, and sometimes even holding onto hope seems impossible. I try to hold onto hope for my students. There are those who are so combative that even asking for their work elicits an angry response, those who just sit and don’t seem to care, those who never do anything productive but put a lot of energy into pretending they are, and those who have home lives that no one can imagine or would wish upon any kid. I want them to succeed. I want them to love learning. I want them to have dreams and goals bigger than they think they can. I want them to believe in themselves and in others.

When I think about the impact of a particular life, several come to mind, but not because of a world-wide impact, but because of their impact on my life and the way I was changed because of them, and the hope they instilled in me. Two particular teachers, Mr. Kolterman and Mr. Kelpe, made a great impact on my life. They taught me about acceptance, about caring to be my absolute best, and about what it means to be a great teacher who cares deeply for students. They taught me how to work hard for something you want, to have goals and to reach them. They taught me to be the person I am meant to be. 

I hope to be remembered as someone who cared deeply for others, as someone whose strong faith in God shone through, as someone filled with joy for the many blessings she had in her life, as someone who loved her children with all her heart and supported and encouraged them to be their best selves and to give back, as someone who loved her partner in life with devotion and a generous spirit-encouraging them to be their best self, and as someone who put others before self and treated everyone with love, respect, and caring, and as someone who found incredible joy and peace in a simple country life.

“Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” (Oscar Schindler) Can one person make a difference? I say a resounding yes!

Pixabay.com

I ask myself constantly why I can’t manage to bring together my classrooms of students in a caring and respectful community all the time. Certain days, everyone is into what we are doing and certain days they aren’t. I’m not sure what makes the difference, but I know there are many factors that play into it: what’s going on at home, how much sleep was had the night before, whether or not there anything to eat, what’s going on with friends/enemies, and a lot of time it comes down to what happened the five minutes before they walked into my room.

I love teaching, but there are days where it would just be easier to feed cattle. Cattle always want what you have to feed them and take it in with unparalleled focus. Cattle follow you wherever you decide to feed them and bellow their impatience for the food. They ingest bite after bite without complaint. They know that if they keep eating until the food is gone, there’ll be more when I come again. Once they’ve eaten their fill, they lie down in the warm sun to let it all sink in, digest, and do their body good. They can get distracted by each other, but for a very brief time and then they are right back on task with their nose happily rooting through the hay pile.

First hike of 2017 season with Elaine.

If there was a cattle care rubric, I would score exemplary. I never neglect them, even when it is fifteen below and my fingers lose all feeling. And they are always into it! I wonder if you can paid for that, or for taking long walks, reading good books, or enjoying cups of coffee.

Brick and mortar school is out for the summer. And I’ve done some reflecting on the year. I learned a lot about finding the line between being too rigid and being too permissive. Sometimes I failed epically and sometimes I triumphed. I grew in making and keeping goals, especially in my writing goals. I also managed to get some snowshoeing in, which was one of my goals from last winter.

I found success in individual students who found their writing voice. I struggled with many students who are dead set against learning or even opening up their world to the possibility. They’ve been long in a box that they cannot find their way out of. I’m proud of the essays and various projects my students completed, but most especially their poetry and writer’s notebooks. That makes me believe in teaching. 

Looking ahead, I want to continue to be innovative in my teaching on-line, to figure out ways to build that community of learners into a writing force to be reckoned with!

Many people go to brunch on Mother’s Day or make their mom/wife breakfast in bed or there might be flowers or favorite little things. My wish for Mother’s Day was to be in the field running an antique tractor and one way disc plow and it was wonderful. With the rain we had last week, it wasn’t a sure bet.

It took me two trips to get both tractors and one-ways up north where we needed to work while my husband checked all the cattle. We made a few rounds before eleven and then had to stop and let it dry a bit more while we went home and managed some other work. The day was beautiful and we had such a great time!

Not to be outdone by brunches and lunches out, we had our favorite supper: grilled salmon and popcorn. Blessings to all you mothers out there, and those of you who have been Mom to me!

Pixabay.com

As my freshmen students have decided to check out and it gets more and more difficult each day to keep them engaged, I had them write about super powers. I shared this:

If I could have any super power, I’d want to have the ability to fly. I’d spend hours soaring like eagles just to feel what it’s like. I’d fly to things like graduations so it didn’t take so long to get there and I could stay for cake and to visit. I’d fly off to meet a friend for dinner or coffee or a movie so I could see my friends more often.

I’d also fly to places I’ve always wanted to see or want to go back to and enjoy more. Places

Pixabay.com

like: Paris, Ireland, Scotland, the national parks, DC, and the Macinack Bridge to name a few.

Teleportation? This would also be a sweet super power if you didn’t want to sight see and you’d have the element of surprise. But, wouldn’t want to read people’s minds-too many stray thoughts I don’t want to see!

Pixabay.com

We are in the middle of our hero unit, studying the monomyth, reading the Odyssey, and thinking and writing about real life heroes and what makes up a hero. It’s been an eye-opener as it always is, but more so this year as my freshmen can’t really name any heroes. They aren’t sure how to quantify a hero or define one. Heroes are not real to them. This week, we’ll begin our final writing project on heroes in our lives. I am hoping to open some hearts.

I asked them to write about someone they know and would consider a hero. And I shared this:

One person I would consider a hero is my sister, Julie. She is brave and honest and lives

Pixabay.com

with integrity. She puts anyone in need over own needs, caring compassionately and passionately for others and giving as much as she can and more.

She is a prayer warrior. She has probably prayed for you without you even knowing, except

that you found that unexpected blessing in your life one day. She has a heart for the people of the middle east, traveling to Syria and other places for mission work two or three times a year.

She loves her family like a mother bear with cubs, even when we annoy her beyond belief. She takes care of our sister, Jana, tirelessly. She sees what can be in each and every one of us and pushes us to be our best, even while she works to be her best.

Pixabay.com

My definition of a hero from the writing warm-up a few days before I wrote and shared this one with my students:

A hero is a “legendary figure endowed with great strength and ability, noble qualities and achievements, shows great courage, daring, self-sacrifice and they are bold. (Webster) I would include that they are humble, willing to take a risk, see someone in need and jump into help, thinks of self last, they can see past today, learn from yesterday, and try to make a better future. They will rescue a baby from a raging flood of any kind and get a little kid’s frisbee unstuck from a tree.