Heading Your Way, Boston. #NCTE2024, Soon After Teaching a 3-Hour Turbo and Finding a Ride to the Station (Amtrak Style)

I don't know if I am coming or going, but definitely know I need to be leaving today, as there are two presentations Thursday and a rehearsal, so I need to get there sometime today. I have my Amtrak ticket, so now all I have to do is pack and have an Uber get me to the station. Karal will be going to Pam's and even though I haven't hinted at a departure, I can tell by her behavior she already knows I'm leaving and she's not amused. 

Ah, but before I depart, I had to teach a Tuesday night graduate course, come home to do laundry, and ready a turbo Philosophy course this morning into the afternoon (I think I'm ready...it's the nature of the teaching/conference season). 

Last week, I had students each contribute a teaching absolute that they might wish to defend in their philosophical statements due after Thanksgiving. We've read a variety of philosophers, visited schools, and even found time for David Eggers' The Eyes and the Impossible - which was a wonderful pairing to bring another angle of literacy to the course (and

something Jennifer Dail and I are writing about in an upcoming collaboration). I always love getting the 'statements' from students as they start to position their beliefs about teaching and learning...a document that will pivot and grow over the years as they continue a career in teaching (these students are mostly juniors and seniors, so they have a ways to go). 

The seagull and the starfish are intentional. 

In all truth, however, I'm looking forward to sitting still on an Amtrak train for a few hours, simply embracing a moving office where I can catch up on other materials (including a couple of books I'd like to have in my repertoire before presenting this weekend). 

Meanwhile, Chitunga will be flying in this weekend, Alyssa arrives next week, and there's a holiday to host at my home. For those of us in literacy (and I'm not even doing LRA this year or ALAN) this stretch is rather insane. 

Here's to all of us. We got this.

Tied Up Another Loose End Before Heading Out of Dodge for #NCTE24. You Know You're a Teacher When....Well, You Find the Way to Make Things Right

I've been so lucky to have Dr. Michelle Caruso-Walker in my teacher institute (she's a rock star) and that she sent her boys to our summer program...apples don't fall far from trees because her two boys are brilliant like her. Sammy was in Little Lab, but when POW was published, I noticed that James didn't have his piece in. After investigation, we learned he designed a cover for his novel, but never typed his piece from his notebook for the publication. I absolutely hate that, so I had him send me a copy of his notebook. 

I typed it up and added pictures, then dropped off a framed version of his story and a copy of POW at their home. He deserves to look up at his writing achievement in the same ways all 238 kids published this year do. He put in the time and creative energy and I'm so glad I could find a frame, get it to the printer, and send it his way (well, drop it off).

It crushes me not to see kids celebrated and applauded. His story was about a bear, a tiger, an ape, and an elephant escaping a zoo. It was fun and reminded me of The One and Only Ivan. 

I'm hoping to see his mom in Boston this week as I present, amongst many things, on the work of POW from 2023. It's still too early for 2024. 

Anyway, this photo made my night last night, as it also made Max's day, who edited and proofread all of POW for the team. Not sure how we missed the fact James never had a chance to type his work, but the power of community finds away to always pull together.

Got My Hairs Cut to Ready Myself for @NCTE #NCTE24 This Week. Been Grading Like a Madman so I Can Be Fully Present When It Begins Thursday

After Nikki's wedding, I quickly got on my barber's calendar for November, knowing I'd need a fresh cut before NCTE. It's been a marathon arranging for presentations, keeping up with classes, and arranging the return when Thanksgiving begins. Not sure I have all the parts in place, but I am trying to pretend I do. That's why I snapped a photo of my haircut as I was leaving. 

I have such a pin head, just like Juliette Catherine Alanis Madonna Potatohead Houdini Scrappy Doo Olivia Dennis used to have (that was my first dog). 

I still need to trim the eyebrows. I'm getting the Crandall caterpillars with tremendously long hairs that grow overnight. It's so weird. 

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I cooked on the grill so I had food before I depart and also got a wonderful hike in. For the most part, I graded from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. finally finishing before I went to bed. It really has been a fortunate autumn this year, and even with a frost or two, the flowers are still finding away to bloom...even neighborhood roses. 

This morning, I have to get laundry in, pick up my sports coats from the dry cleaners, and find something red to wear for a special event in Boston. I'm also biting my teeth that all the transportation and accommodations are good to go, as it's not just me but an entourage of CWP folks attending. I imagine Wednesday night my phone will be blowing up that people arrive to the hotels and I'm told, "They don't have a reservation." 

Now I know they have one, but these are things Directors worry about. 

That and eyebrow hairs which I should be trimming in 3...2...1

When You Run Into a Previous Young Adult Literacy Labber in a Parking Lot (She Drives Now), You Do a Selfie

Well, at least I do, because I also work with her mom, and I hear how the senior year is going and all the complexities of applying to college. Wishing Frankie the best with her applications and the decision-making. She deserves all her heart desires as she's always been one of my favorite readers and writers, always engaged with the storytelling around her.

I spent all of Saturday grading, with a short lunch at Centro in Fairfield with two graduate students who are full-time teachers. I don't have them this semester, but we wanted to catch up on thinking, teaching, writing, and doing better for the world. 

Frankie just happened to be in the same parking lot stopping to get Starbucks coffee. I had to snap a photo for her mom. 

I graded late into the night and will go back at it today, as these essays need to be finished (as they lead into the final projects due in December). I know my time to be there for them will be short this upcoming week and next week is short because of the turkey thing. 

I also need to cook for the week today, so I can pace myself and the packing for Boston. I think I'm ready with presentations, and it will be great to see so many colleagues from across the nation to catch up on classroom practices and strategies. I love, too, to have a Fairfield entourage with me.

Okay, weekend...you flew by too fast, but here we go once agin. 

Counting Down to Getting Rest & Time Away from the Hustle & Bustle. I Look So Forward to the Winter Break

I realized something last night as I was yawning and trying to keep my eyes open. I'm exhausted. This body has gone 13.5 years with little, to no break, especially with 3 years of R&T winter break commitments and another 3 years of covering winter session for classes that needed instructors, as well as May/June classes that needed the same. This preceded the July/August run of CWP work, only to be followed by two semesters and more winter sessions. There have been zero moments to simply "let it all go." 

This year, I've said, "No." I'm not teaching all those extra courses and I'm giving myself a mental break. Now I'm seeing the conference season, followed by the turkey break, followed by Fall semester closure, and then time to rest. My countdown has begun and although I'm not used to unwinding and sitting still, I am looking forward to not have to be in pre-mode 24/7 and/or grading what comes in. 

I'm taking a mental break and I can't wait. 13.5 years led me to the promotion as a full professor and I'm rewarding myself by separating from the work for a short while (well, the teaching part. I will always be writing and planning). I just won't have to do that on a clock, especially when I should be getting rest. This time, I rest...and Chitunga and I will plan a way to do this.

I see the light (in all this day-light saving time darkness). Bry-time, sleep, and not the constant need to be on my computer sorting through emails and responding to students who are also exhausted from the demands of winter/summer sessions. 

I'm prepped for NCTE next week and now need to grade so I'm ready for Tuesday/Wednesday classes, then travel to Boston. In my yawns, I'm counting in my head. Things will and must slow down.

I Finally Put a Month's Worth of Laundry Away. I Probably Wouldn't Be So Bad If I Got Rid of a Few Baskets

I think my problem is that I know I have four baskets, so I simply pile the laundry into them into the laundry room, until I realize, "Crandall, you have a problem." It's sad, but I see such rituals as a waste of time getting in the way of all the other things needing to get done (mostly mind-oriented, finger tapping stuff of the keyboard. The laundry can wait.

Ah, but it's all put away, and I was dog-sitting Jake, so I had to mongrels insisting that lying on huge piles on the bed was a game that involved them (Karal especially thinks playing with the dryer balls and socks is extra-funny). 

Also funny, was the competition of both dogs lying on top of me while I tried to work. That's over 100 pounds of fur thinking they possess me...like I belong to them.

I do...well, I did for the day.

Next week, a CWP-Fairfield crew and I head to Boston for NCTE and I spend most of yesterday getting the presentations together. I know we're only supposed to have one presentation, but somehow each year I end up being placed on many. My intention is to uphold the greatness of the teachers and students I work with, but still the National Writing Project remains at the epicenter of the conference season. We tend to congregate together and find spaces for one another in our sessions. 

Now it's time to factor in travel, making sure everything is packed, and that all are able to get onto Amtrak and into their hotel rooms. We don't leave until next Wednesday, but the preparation actually begins in January as everyone scrambles to get a proposal or two in. It isn't until summer you find out so many others put you on their panels/round tables, too. It's all good. It keeps me honest (sadly, not young). 

But now it's a Friday and I really need to grade, so that's what I'm going off-line to do for a while. Then comes the weekend which is typically more of the same. 

30 degrees last night. Yes, I'm becoming the Weather Channel because I'm feeling the temperatures drop in my bones. 

Ah, Kathy Silver. At least my dog and I weren't skunked this week. That would add a bonus I don't think I'd want right now.

I'm Late to the Trader Joe's Phenomenon (Resisted Since Santa Fe, New Mexico), But I Get It Now, Especially the Convenience of Good Treats

Trader Joe's currently has miniature pecan pies. They were inexpensive, so I got four (well, they come in four) and I thought I'd bring them somewhere as a treat. Nope. Tried one. Ate one for breakfast four days in a row. Then, I brought some to one of the classes I teach...that, and their gingerbread sandwich cookies. 

Lethal. 

Dangerous. 

Should be barred and made illegal.

They were devoured in a matter of seconds (note: those with nut allergies abstained, as they should). And I'm thinking of my mom and dad, and how I brought them Trader Joe's groceries ONCE and they got hooked. As soon as I had a miniature Pecan pie, I knew I wanted to share with my parents. So good...like a love nudge from the kitchen. Tinier than a bagel and more than a cookie. Dang miniature delicatessen wrapped in a package of four. 

Amazing. 

Ah, but today, I need to move from teaching and into writing, planning, delivering, and dog-sitting (Pam's having a book club meeting at her house with finger foods). I get Jake which is a total treat. And my class of 28 was thankful for the snack midway through dissecting educational philosophies. 

I call it a win-win-win-win (that's for each pie in a box)