The Responsibility of Working for Children

This past week I made another trip up to the Mazza Museum.  It is a truly magical place that is filled with children's book illustrations from so many of the "greats" that we all cherish and love.  One of my personal favorites being a scene from Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.  Oh!!  I can just stand and stare for hours. 

Aside from the museum, a weekend conference was held that showcased the following artists:

Nikki McClure

Dan Santat

Brian Biggs

Tony Abbott

David Wiesner

Sergio Ruzzier

Each author/illustrator gives a 45 speech about their process, their path, their work, or anything else that they feel is important to discuss.  And what I have found is that you get something completely different from each presentation that you witness. The audience is comprised of librarians, teachers, college students, and other enthusiasts of children's literature.  See...magical.  The feeling in the room is just positive and the "good vibes" are felt.

But, unlike other Mazza conferences I have attended, there was an underlying message to some of the speeches that moved me and reminded me of my job as an educator.

I was reminded of the responsibility that I have working for children.  And the literature that is there to help me do it.  So what exactly do I hold myself responsible for when it comes to my students?  Well, here are a few things:

I hold myself responsible for helping each of my students believe that they ARE, in fact, readers.  And that even though it is hard, I will help them to get there.
I hold myself responsible for opening up the eyes of my students to the worlds within books.  There is such power in understanding that books can take you places, books can teach you things, and books can change you.
I hold myself responsible for putting books into the hands of my students that will hook them in and they will never want to let go.
I hold myself responsible for using books to help my students to understand the world around them: the kindness that can be shown, the opportunities that are available, and the possibilities that are all around them.

Sometimes we have to step back from the test scores, the lesson plans, the day to day routines and remember what we hold ourselves responsible for and what drives the philosophies that we hold.  I am thankful that I had the opportunity to do that this weekend while being surrounded by the art of children's literature.

Em

What is Mazza?

I just spent the last week at Mazza.  Earlier in the year I had made the decision that my summer would be filled with new learning, books, and inspiration.  And this has held true through a large selection of library books checked out, new experiences in the West, through passion and energy at Nerd Camp in Michigan, and by listening and absorbing the power of illustrations at the Mazza.

The Mazza is within Findley University in Ohio.  The walls are filled with original works of art from picture book illustrators.  Their goal is to promote literacy through picture books and they do so through the free museum, tours, conferences, and many other learning opportunities.

To look at the original works of art by my favorite authors and illustrators...speechless.

When I stand in front of the images above...I get chills.

The Mazza Summer conference was filled with authors and illustrators.  Some I knew and some I didn't.  But I gained so much from each one of them.  I learned about their background, process, reasons, path, and future goals.

There are autographing sessions and dinners each night with the artists.  Which provides another way to get to know, learn, and grow from each of them.

But what is my take away for me to bring back to my teaching and students.  Yes.  It was cool to meet authors, hang out with my blogging buddy Jennifer, and see some of my favorite art works.  But how does that impact what I do in the classroom?

This was an important question for me to ask myself because I was away from my family for 5 days.  I had just returned from Nerd Camp, where I had a fire lit under me for the love and passion of reading that I want for my students and a long list of things that I want to add to my teaching this year.

My answer: Connection.  I don't think I realized how disconnected I had become from my love of picture books.  When I read a book, I am always looking for its teaching value in the classroom.  What can I use this for?  Will it teach inferring, predicting, or author's purpose?

By listening to each author/illustrator, I felt connected to why they wrote the text.  I was reminded to look at the color, the line, and empty space.  I was reminded to pay attention to the words that were chosen and not chosen to be used.

By listening to each author/illustrator, I was reminded how powerful it is to feel connected.  That I can take this back to my classroom.  When we feel connected to the books we are reading, our love and passion grows. Our students love and passion grows.

I am thankful to Jennifer, the Mazza, and the authors/illustrators for reminding me of what it means to be connected.







(This post was purely from my love of Mazza.  There was no other reason that I wrote this post.)