Reading Specialist Blog

Shovel after shovel deep, very deep I have to bury all of the things inside of me Day after day week after week shovel more, shovel less Let the dirt surpress Let the people stare Let them think that I don't care Shovel after shovel dirt flying everywhere people asking questions But I have no answers They lie there deep Buried beneath the surface Beneath the facade of everything will be okay I can't let them break me Break my barriers Release my secrets covered under the blooming flowers and ripening fruit Let them believe my garden is simply a garden not my hiding place not my escape from the torture of daily life it's just a hobby something to fill the void something that releases frees me into just being me the way God created me All my flaws All my pain All my fears Melting underneath the blazing sun No one will know What is buried deep What is in the roots what the source is it will be our little secret Buried beneath the m...

Writing Goal: Stay on target . . . I mean, topic. For thirteen years, it was always the same. Bud, Not Buddy. The Outsiders. Cousins. Holes. I would try to hype the students up to read these long, lengthy books while I wasn't even sure I was excited to read the books. There were times the students were more excited than I was about the reading. It took me a while to figure out why. It wasn't the length of the book, it was the genre. Most of the books that are selected for the novel study are realistic fiction, nonfiction, or something along those lines. And it got me thinking, where are all of the fantasy and science fiction books? Then I dug a little deeper and looked at our textbook. Where are all of the fantasy short stories and science fiction excerpts in the unit of literature? We have maybe Summer in a Day or Dark and Golden Eyes They Were. The Lightening Thief if we were super lucky. I just don't quite understand the lack of using such rich texts in...

Writing Goal: Work on hook, let's see if it works out. For years, I've cruised around the world. Spain. Italy. France. England. Jamaica. Mexico. But then, Covid-19 happened and it got me thinking . . . Once this thing is over, I have to pick up travelling again. But where? I've been all over the world. Where else is there to explore? Have I really travelled around the United States? Sure, when I was young, I traveled to New Jersey, Georgia and . . . Wait, isn't that it? I must have been to other places. Florida once or twice to Disney World. New York City. Boston. New Orleans. Huh. I have traveled up and down the east coast. Sure, I could explore there more, but there is one place I wanted to travel to: California. And so, after restrictions were loosened, I booked my cruise with Holland America. Play Cruise Ad here! No? Oh okay, I'll paint the picture. I know what you're thinking: This isn't what I thought of when you said California....

When I graduated college, I really thought I could juggle writing a blog, teaching and writing novels. Ah, the ripe naivite of being 21 years old. I was passionate and ready to conquer the world back then. I had the passion for reading and writing and really thought these kids just needed some help to read. Then reality slapped me across the face so hard my neck cracked back. It was harsh, cruel but just what I needed to see that things are never so simple. So you may wonder, what's with the title? 11 years later since when? Since I stopped writing. I was still teaching, writing and reading, but I stopped writing a blog. Then I would say eight years later, I just stopped writing altogether. I'm sure you know how the story goes. I just need to focus on my career, my students, my loved ones, and etc. You make all of the excuses in the world that sound good and feel right at the time. You try to fool yourself with telling yourself, hey I'll get back to it. Bu...