Reflections | Sarah M. Zerwin

Summer 2021 Goals Report

As I write this, I have to report back to work for school year 21-22 in 19 days.

I have fewer than three weeks of summer left. That feels like hardly anything.

I turn to my summer goals page in my writer’s notebook and am dismayed.

Of the nine teaching-related books I wanted to read this summer, I’ve read almost two.

Of the nine specific writing-related goals I crafted for myself, I’ve met only three.

Of my ongoing goal to get to bed each night at a decent time (before 11:30), I’ve only accomplished that about a quarter of the nights this summer.

Of the curriculum planning I wanted to do to feel like I won’t be buried in work in that (meeting-filled) week I’ll have between reporting to work and welcoming students into my classroom, I’ve done nothing.

Sigh.

Coronavirus, a collage in words

This post was also published on The Paper Graders.

What have I even been doing every day?

Today makes a week since we were told to stop going to school. I can remember the week ramping up to the announcement; we were anxious, worried, disinfecting our classrooms every morning, hoping to get the call so we could focus on the social distancing that experts were calling for.

But ever since, I’ve felt unmoored.

Looking back at #NCTE19 (from Tuesday in Colorado in 23 inches of snow)

This post was also published on The Paper Graders.

“Process all you heard today and set your intentions from here on out.”
–Sara Ahmed

I intended to write this post on the plane on the way home, but the internet wasn’t working. I reviewed my notes in my writer’s notebook instead to figure out what I would write about.

I intended to write this post yesterday, but all I could muster after four packed NCTE/travel days was yoga class, and making pizza dough, and Scrabble with my family.

I hope to get this post done today, but the sun is already setting and my body is buzzing from the snow shoveling that sucked up a good portion of the afternoon (we got 23 inches of snow in the last 24 hours). And I’m getting hungry–almost time to make some dinner.

So in no particular order, here are my takeaways from NCTE in Baltimore:

1shea martin’s selfie pedagogy. They defined this as “culturally responsive pedagogy that is not student centered. It’s often filtered by educator’s experience, interests, and trauma.” This is when we have the best of intentions to respond to who our students are and what they need, but we’re standing in the way ourselves, making it impossible to see our students clearly. More nuggets from shea: “The Road to liberation is paved by good intentions.” And “Be okay with letting students drive sometimes.” And “In order to be truly liberatory, we have to make our culturally responsive pedagogy unfiltered and student-centered.”

Sarah M. Zerwin

Teacher of Reading and Writing

Summer 2021 Goals Report

Coronavirus, a collage in words

Looking back at #NCTE19 (from Tuesday in Colorado in 23 inches of snow)