Mrs. Moore's Musings

Listen. I love words.  I love the sound of the word listen-the soft sounds-the first syllable emphasized-the ending is left almost like an invitation to lean in and be a part of something.  The potential opportunity to receive a gift from someone, to participate in something beautiful, interesting, funny, challenging, confirming, lovely--I love this word.  This is my word of 2019. Unlike last year, this word has, in its soft, gentle way, been shouting at me to be still for a minute and LISTEN.  I was perusing the internet and fell into a tiny, intriguing rabbit hole on a site called Medium that hosts blogs from some fascinating people.  They were posting people's words of the year.  My favorite by far was by Nancy Gibbs-her word was "listen," and the title was, "We risk getting dumber and meaner when we don't listen."  I started really thinking about when I felt dumb and mean.  It was almost always a result of me hearing something but not really lis

Tuesday, Feb 14 in the afternoon, during my 7th hour class, a student looked up and said, “Mrs. Moore, something has happened in Florida.”  I  thanked him for the update, refocused the class, and we moved on, working on our research projects.  As soon as the bell rang, I met with some students regarding their college interviews and we practiced questions.  During these sessions we had heart-to-heart discussions about how senior year is wonderful and horrible.  We talked about how it is never what we think it's going to be.  We talked about the idealism of the year versus the actuality of the year.  There were tears and laughter.  As I headed to my car, I felt really great about my day, and I was authentically excited about my lessons for the next day. On the way home, I turned on NPR (because I’m an English teacher and I don’t want to disappoint your stereotypical view of me--I also wear funky patterned dresses, carry a huge bag, wear my hair in a bun occasionally, and love offic

I am a lover of words and language.  I believe with my whole heart the power words have to heal and to connect.  I have prayed about this, wept about this, and tried to make peace with this.  I have brave students, who have written powerfully, who have used their words to help heal and connect through their true pain.  I have been a coward. September is National Suicide Prevention Month.  I’m still afraid.  I don’t want to be a person who preaches but doesn’t practice.  So, I am writing.  I am writing as real and as true as I can.  There will be grammatical errors and there will be things I leave out that will be important, but I know I need to write and I need to tell my story because I want the world to be a place where no one else is afraid. I am a teacher. I am just a regular teacher who loves her kids.  I have the privilege of teaching Language and Composition.  I am unafraid, in my classroom, to approach difficult subjects because I know I am doing this to help kids think.

I woke up Wednesday morning and did what I always do.  I made a cup of coffee, turned on my local news, and grabbed my iPad.  My husband had sent me a text message at 2am telling me I was right, it was over, and Mr. Trump had won.  It said some other private things that I will cherish forever, but that is private.  I feel like, as a nation, we've forgotten some things can be private.  My husband and I have never discussed who we voted for or why in public forums.  We watched the debates, and as a teacher of language, my students and I discussed both candidates' rhetoric.  We discussed the different media approaches to the election, and had lively, thoughtful discussions.  I would wager that many of my students have no idea who I voted for.  It never came up.  I am a teacher of language.  We analyzed the language on both sides and had wonderful discussions about how both candidates were attempting to address their target audience.  That's my job.  To teach my students to be

Welcome 2016!  For the past two years, I have selected a word to focus on.  I saw a guy talking about it on the Today show, and I was hooked on the idea.  The first year, 2014, was the year my son graduated from high school.  I picked the word "cherish" and I did my best to focus on enjoying the process.  Last year, I picked the word "embrace" because I knew it would be a year of a lot of change. This year, my word found me.  In the last month of the year, I had several things happen that drew this word to me. First of all, I have lost touch with many of my writing friends.  Every time they planned something, I couldn't make it.  I was too busy or it seemed too far away.  Then, one of the most important people I associated with the Writing Project passed away.  He was always planning ways to keep us together as a group.  I felt horrible I hadn't been to any gatherings.  However, at the busiest time of the year, I found a way to make to a writing session.  

HOORAY!  It's my favorite time of the year.  I love New Year's Day, and this entire season-more than any other part of the year (not weather related of course).  New Year's Day is my most favorite holiday of all of them.  It's because it's not about anything other than giving yourself permission to attempt to be better. New Year's is time to acknowledge your blessings and truly reflect on your goals.  My family traditions include sitting around all day and watching Netflix (I'm pushing for an all Gilmore Girls extravaganza of awesomeness-we are on the final season, and I hate it, but I will push on).  We will have a toast in our ONLY NEW YEARS ONLY fancy champagne flutes we got as a wedding gift, I will make black-eyed peas with ham and green vegetables with bacon and cornbread in a cast iron skillet, and we talk and laugh and love each other.  I freaking love this holiday! As you may know if you read my blog, three years ago I stopped making resolutions.