Re Marzullo's Blog

When we go to New Orleans, which is as often as we can, one of our favorite stops is Willa Jean’s in the Warehouse District. In addition to the amazing breakfast treats like the chicken biscuit shown below, they also make a mean Lebowski. Basically a White Russian with a shot of espresso! A perfect way to start the day in one of my favorite cities in the world.

New Orleans is filled with food, art, music, and more food. What else do you need? [image error]

Does Age Matter?

This is year 24 (!) for me in the classroom, and recently I considered for the first time if a teacher’s age matters in terms of their effectiveness. Is it better to be young and energetic and full of fresh ideas from recent college courses? Or is a seasoned veteran, one who can stop a naughty kid with a single raised eyebrow (that’s my super power), better for students? What about a person who comes to education in mid-life and is a new-older teacher? Is that the best of all combos?

I’d honestly never thought about it in those terms, but now it is something I am wondering.

Having been in the field for such a long time, I’ve seen many changes to schools. When I began, I can remember calculating grades on my little calculator (I teach English, so this was rough), and then we had to handwrite the letter grade on carbon copies of reports cards. You had to call in your homework to the “Homework Hotline,” and outside of Conference Week, we didn’t communicate with parents unless there was a problem.

Now when I enter students’ grades into the computer, the calculation is done instantly, so parents and kids can see their scores in real time. Students and their parents can email me with questions and complaints, and we can have conversations basically at any time. Group projects are done via Google chat, Skype, and texts instead of going to someone’s house after school, and high school kids can even do all their coursework online if that’s what they want.

Kids are still kids, but they are different. They walk around with tiny computers in their pockets and have access to all the information they could ever want. Do teachers need to be different, too? Is it better to actually be a digital native when you are teaching them, or is there something to be said for many years of experience with your content and then adapting to new technology?

So, what do you think, does age matter for teachers? If you have kids, do you have a preference for an older more experienced teacher or do you want a young teacher who is just getting started?

Thanks for letting me know your thoughts!  Re

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August has always been my least favorite month. With oppressive heat, back to school, and no football yet, August has very little appeal.

Until now.

This summer we added four hummingbird feeders to our backyard, and August is their “get fat month” prior to heading to South America. Crowding the feeders, these amazing creatures bring a smile and a giggle every time they flit in. They are tiny miracles to me, flying in super fast and landing perfectly on the feeders where they drink their fill.

August may only be halfway over, but these little miracles are helping me get through.

August has always been my least favorite month. With oppressive heat, back to school, and no football yet, August has very little appeal.

Until now.

This summer we added four hummingbird feeders to our backyard, and August is their “get fat month” prior to heading to South America. Crowding the feeders, these amazing creatures bring a smile and a giggle every time they flit in. They are tiny miracles to me, flying in super fast and landing perfectly on the feeders where they drink their fill.

August may only be halfway over, but these little miracles are helping me get through.

Not writing is easy.

All not writing involves is not putting words on a blank page and perhaps not letting twinges of guilt trouble your writer’s conscience.

Writing is a tad more difficult.

For me, writing involves getting up when it’s dark, putting on a pot of coffee, and sitting down to work for an hour or so before I head off to my day job teaching kiddos.

This past fall it became much too easy to hit the snooze button, and I found myself missing way too many morning writing sessions. (I’ve tried writing after work, but that doesn’t work for me since after seven hours with middle schoolers my brain resembles oatmeal).

One day a student at school, let’s call him Stanley, asked about the third book in my Sped Series, SummerSped, and he wanted to know when it would be done.

I knew that Stanley had read and reread my first two books and was a fan, so when he asked about the next book, I felt bad for my slacker-writer ways. I told him “I’m working on it,” but I continued to hit snooze.

The next time I saw Stanley in the hallway, he asked me again about my progress, and I said the same thing. And maybe hit snooze one less time.

I started to feel pretty badly when I would see Stanley (I may have hidden in my classroom once or twice so he wouldn’t see me in the hall), and I had no real progress to report.

The dreaded snooze button was winning!

After weeks of him asking the same question and me giving the same lame answer, I decided to use his motivation as my own.

He was motivated to read the last book in my series, and that fueled my motivation to write it.

Instead of avoiding him in the hallway now, I’ve requested that every time he sees me in the hall, he should ask whether or not I’ve written that day. I’m proud to say that since we’ve started the StanleyQuestions, I’ve only had to tell him twice that I didn’t get up in time to work.

So on these dark winter mornings when I’m tempted to snuggle back under the covers for a few more minutes of sleep, I envision having to tell Stanley that I didn’t work that morning, and it’s enough to get me writing.

What Would Stanley (like to) Do?

He’d like to read a book, so I guess I better write it. :)

Thanks to all the kiddies and adults who helped make this happen! This commercial for the Sped Series makes me super happy! Please check it out when you get a minute!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9amYWdJ2Qw

Writing is hard. Sleeping is easy.

These two facts are always front and center in my brain when the alarm goes off at 5:30 each weekday morning. When I hear the cricket alarm, do I always jump out of bed and hit the laptop writing? Not hardly. I usually hit the snooze button at least twice before I crawl slowly out to face an empty computer screen.

It’s a constant struggle to get out of my cozy warm nest and stumble downstairs to a cold dark room that doesn’t even have the comforting whiff of coffee, not yet anyway.

But I do it more often than I don’t, and the reason isn’t money (ha!) or fame (double ha!).

I do it because when I see kids reading my books in my class at school or see them carrying my books in the hallways, it makes me feel great. I love it that my students realize their teacher doesn’t just talk the talk, she gets up early and writes the words.

I also do it because writing and creating is something that makes me feel good about myself, and who doesn’t want that?

And on those days that I do my early hour of writing AND do my late hour at the  gym? Well, those are the days that even I can’t stand myself!

After spending the last two and a half weeks in LA (that’s Louisiana of course) hanging out while my husband worked on the set of Pitch Perfect 2, I learned that directing a film is a bit like writing a novel.

You film (write) something once and then film (rewrite) it over and over again. The big difference of course is that on a film set the director is surrounded by hundreds of people, and a writer sits alone at their desk. Though I think that both jobs require a strong vision of what the director (author) wants the whole piece to look like. How they want their characters to act and live and appear, and it’s up to the director (author) to make sure that their vision is fulfilled. Not an easy task in either role. I still think my Sped series would make a great kids’ movie, and perhaps Hollywood (or LA) is in Jack’s future!

I got the chance to be an extra (lagniappe for sure!) in the movie, and I learned quickly that making a movie is very hard work. I think I’ll stick to writing for now…mostly because I can do it in pajamas instead of outfits like this one! :)

Recently I was invited to speak to a group of seventh graders who had read Sped aloud in class with their teachers in their reading class. The group of 300 was feisty (as they should be a week before school is out), and I took the stage with a bit of nervousness even though I talk to middle schoolers for a living.

Like a good teacher, I had a lesson plan and a list of things to talk about, standard background stuff about how/why I wrote Sped and some (hopefully) encouraging words about writing. Unfortunately, my planned remarks took about six minutes, and I had a forrty minute window to fill, so the teacher friend who had brought me to the school suggested a Q&A, and we were off!

The kids asked silly questions “Why did you name Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers?” Then some more thought provoking ones, “Why does Bryce not talk?” And we spent those thirty minutes talking about this imaginary world I had created. It felt great to see that kids could relate to what I’d written and to hear kids talking about my characters with such feeling.

It also reminded me again why I chain myself to a laptop on a regular basis.

While Sped may not be on a best seller list or on the Barnes and Noble bookshelf, it does have a place in some kids’ hearts (the boy who shouted “I Love Your Book” and then proceeded to FakeFaint in my presence = Adorbzzz), and that is enough for me, for now anyway. :)

Ms. Moncrieff’s Amazing Class!!

I came home to an email today telling me that I’d been nominated for a Bammy Award – an award for excellence in education – for my Sped books! The notice came out of the blue, and it was so great to see that someone (the amazing folks at http://www.thinkinclusive.us/ to be exact) viewed my books as a contribution to students and teachers. Please take a minute to head over the the Bammy site and vote for me, and I’ll be the one doing the Happy Dance below!

http://www.bammyawards.com/index.php/component/content/article/56-middle-school-program/1330-re-marzullo