A Poem for a Monday

Those Who Love
by Sara Teasdale

Those who love the most,
Do not talk of their love,
Francesca, Guinevere,
Deirdre, Iseult, Heloise,
In the fragrant gardens of heaven
Are silent, or speak if at all
Of fragile, inconsequent things.

And a woman I used to know
Who loved one man from her youth,
Against the strength of the fates
Fighting in somber pride,
Never spoke of this thing,
But hearing his name by chance,
A light would pass over her face.

Time for Another School Year

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Today I have the shakes. I'm not sure that I'm ready for another year of coaching. Its demanding work, for sure, and I'll have my hands full at NHS.

There are some great things going on around me. The English teachers and the ninth grade academy are embracing sustained silent reading. Our students will get an hour each week of reading for pleasure. Now if I could just make everyone see the correlation between more reading and higher test scores. I feel like its written on the wall in bright red spray paint. But it must be in invisible ink because few people can make the leap.

High school students don't read for pleasure much anymore. There are other things to be done. I want to change the climate. I want to bring back books for fun. I believe that reading for fun will make testing a conquerable beast.

I'm glad that the English teachers are embracing SSR. Sharon Draper is coming to the school in November and each student will be getting a copy of one of her books. This will be a big visit for NHS. It has the potential to bring reading to the forefront of the minds of our most stubborn students.

But today I have the shakes. I'm going to sit quietly and read for pleasure and hope that I am ready when tomorrow dawns. I guess I have to be. Its coming whether I'm ready or not, isn't it?