Celia Door Has Hit a Wall

This project has been on pause for awhile.

I know why - it's NOT my passion. I don't believe it's my place to be putting up thoughtful quotes or passages or poems in the girls' bathroom at school. I don't believe my work is good enough, and I haven't been able to fix it up to make it better.

Pity party over - now I need to realize what my next step is.
     --> Ask for more help from someone who already has this type of passion. I'm going to ask Janelle at work for help. She will be my mentor once school starts. She and Kristie head up the "Girl Up" club at school. Of course they can give me direction!
     --> Use what I've learned so when I ask this of my students, I know what I'm asking. I won't be asking for weekly blog posts. I will check in with students, or they can check in with me through blog posts, vlogs, sticky notes, emails, see me during lunch - whatever they choose. I will keep tabs on their progress, even if they don't blog regularly about their project.
     --> I have not failed. I've only stalled. I've heard it say that "Done is better than perfect." Well, I know it's not perfect, but I do not have a deadline, like my students will. So I can wait until I think it is MORE perfect (like turn that last line upside down - thank you, Sheri) before I'm done.

What's my passion, then? Living life to the fullest. Figuring out how best to teach 7th graders. That's really what I've been working on all summer. That's what can fill many hours of my day and I won't even know the clock is ticking. I'm on my fifth professional development book of the summer, and I've read copius young adult books so that I can better talk with my students about good books. I've collaborated on documents to help me choose the best books, connect my classes to authors and other schools, and even teach grammar better. Teaching to the best of my ability is one of my passions. I can never learn enough. I can never create enough resources for them. And it looks like I have a difficult time pausing for a bit of poetry...

I'm glad I took this challenge of the #20TimeAcademy MOOC this July. I have learned a lot about what I want from my students, and I will be better able to guide them on their own journey as a result. I will finish this project. But I'm still calling it a success, even though I don't have a product - YET.