My first guest blogger: A Dog Lover and ELA Wizard...Lauren Stephens

Hi! I asked the English instructors at our school if they would write a guest entry for Trace the ELA Teacher, and I got two takers! This first piece was written by a gifted and hard-working educator, Lauren Stephens. Lauren is active in our ICTE organization, so I knew of her before she started teaching at our school, masterfully engaging the 8th graders. :) (Many of my freshmen students have credited their love for reading to Mrs. Stephens.) I really like the piece she wrote (see below). It is timely, as it acknowledges the melancholy that goes with the loss of summer's freedom and excitement about the coming year. She writes, "I am wondering...can I hold onto this sense of peace?" I hope you also enjoy's Lauren's interesting and soft reflections on this unique time of year. 

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Lauren's thoughts on the losses and gains that come with the new year approaching!

I've been sitting in my classroom for a few hours now, slowly piecing it back together in preparation for the new year. While I am always sad to see the summer go, this is one part of the school year I honestly relish. The summer months root me. I give my full attention over to the parts of my life that are usually rushed through during the school year. I read what I wanted to read for hours on the deck. I took the longest route walking my dog each morning.  I learned how to install bead board and what kinds of birdseed would attract goldfinches to my yard. It was bliss. The window of quiet helps me see my work as a teacher through a lens that I struggle to hold onto once October rolls around. 

I'm left wondering...can I hold onto this sense of peace? Do I possess the ability to filter through the noise of initiatives, emails, and the dreaded sense of comparison that comes once contract hours begin? I'm really not sure, but I know creating a list of what I hope to root my practice in as a teacher will be helpful in prompting regular reflection. 

1. I read The Stuff You Have to Know Stuff by Kelly Gallagher in June and it absolutely hit the mark for me in working toward a solution for challenges many of my students will have with lack of background knowledge. I plan to have students read a short nonfiction article most weeks and practice growing in the nonfiction reading standards throughout the year instead of designating that growth to a particular unit. 

2. If I want my students to develop an identity as writers, I have to model my own recursive process in front in of them. I don't really follow the "writing process" in a strict sense of the word. It's a helpful format to refer to, but my brain doesn't often work in a lock-step format. I jump back and forth between steps. That's ok, and it's good for our students to see the organic way ideas develop. This provides permission for branching out of the linear format into a route that feels more natural for their own voice and agency. Basically, if I am going to ask my students to write something, I will be writing that same piece alongside them and sharing my own process as we go.

3.  In a similar way, I have to model my life as a reader for my students. I have preferences. I ditch books if they don't grab me in the first fifty pages. I read some books quickly, and I slog through others. Carving out time in our week to discuss what we are reading, get recommendations, and notice the writing techniques we are trying out in the books we are reading is invaluable when it is prioritized. 

4. This final hope for my school year is the one I know I will struggle with the most. I have always struggled to share much of my personal self at work, especially with my students. This likely comes from spending my early years teaching seniors who were only a few years younger than me. I drew hard boundary lines to set myself up for successful classroom management, and it worked. It worked so well that students I had taught for three years were floored when they noticed the engagement ring on my finger. "You had a boyfriend this whole time??" the senior girls screamed when they noticed mid-lesson. I've struggled to loosen these boundaries over the years enough so students can actually know me. Age isn't really a factor anymore, and I'm much more confident managing a classroom than I was at twenty-two. I know I'll build stronger connections if I do and be a happier person throughout the school year. I'm still a little fuzzy on how I'll make it happen though.

One more sweet and slow week ahead of me before the pace picks up. For now, I'm feeling grateful for the dog snoozing peacefully next to me and the place to think and reflect meaningfully. 

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LAUREN'S info: I’ve taught for ten years, with five of those being at the high school level and five at the middle school level. I currently teach eighth graders at an Iowa middle school. I’ve taught everything from mythology to yearbook, but most of my time is spent in the general English Language Arts classroom. One thing that has surprised me most about students is their willingness to go over and above what I could have imagined for them when given choice and trust. 

Thanks for considering Lauren's reflections and strategies. Have a great year, Lauren! I hope all of you have a super school start as well.