On vindictive self-love, motherf*ckers.

Several women in my life this week have challenged my thinking on our emotional nature and what mysteries we hold. On how our standards are not too high, and how we are not too intense. My favorite math teacher linked to this article, and I will forgive the author her unabashed love for Cheryl Strayed, and/or give Wild a second chance. This list is right there at the thick of things:

So how to get to the big life? Here are my first three steps.

1. I will tell the truth. Always. Never lie. Will continue to respect the distinction between feedback and throw-up. But I will always tell my truth.

2. I will follow my gut. It might not always be right but it’s my true north.

3. I will continue to be humbled by nature. To find my place in the genuine ecosystem and to ensure I never knowingly upset that precious balance. To remain vigilant in awareness.

There will be more steps, no doubt. But these seem to me to be excellent, and fundamental, starting points to living like a motherfucker.

Thanks for these words go to Amy Selwyn, at Medium.com, and to Cathy in Maine.

On Too-True Teachery Things

New Classroom Rules

I will betray myself as a jaded classroom teacher in the thick of it with how much I appreciate this other teacher’s writing, and I am especially tickled by rules 1, 2, and 3. And 5.

5. When I say “Pass your papers up,” what I really mean is, “Pass your paper to the person either to the left or right of you. Or behind you. Or just keep your paper at your desk; it doesn’t matter.”

It’s a sarcasm kind of day. Maybe it means we’ve reached a new hurdle when we can make fun of school with a loving sarcasm and throw up our hands and move on. Somewhere I think is the right balance between an exasperated throw-of-the-hands and a healthy-boundary-feigning-to-leave-work-at-work. I marvel at my own growth in this. I leave a lot more work at work now, year 3. And I bring home a lot less guilt. But it sure does get to me when simple directions, “pass your papers up,” yield all manner of responses, ranging from – yes – the intended behavior, to straight disregard, to games that reward the most papers thrown and magically landed atop each other. Thanks, Julio and Alan.

Also: work on that whole “follow through with consequences when kids don’t follow your directions” bit.