It's been a long, LONG time since I've connected with y'all via this medium. I don't know anyone who had a stellar year last year. There were some pretty specific things that made my year one of the worst, and a very concrete way for me to measure that. My program has been going through some changes over the past couple of years, and I can't say I'm happy with them. Last year the specials' teachers did not have enough time in the schedule to see each class from each grade (we had three classrooms for each grade except for first). So, the solution was to create two groups, A and B. Each class was split in half, and one half would join one half of the other two classes. For example, we had three third grade classes: 3J, 3K, 3M. Half of each was put together to form Group A, and the other halves made Group B. So while classroom teachers had between 15 and 18 students, we had upwards of 22. 23 sixth graders in one class, 23 fifth graders, 22 kindergarteners. Suffice it to say, it was a nightmare. We did manage to do some fun and productive things in the 2021-2022 school year, despite the challenges! I tried to plug through, but it was exhausting. How did I know I had lost my motivation? By the amount of English I was speaking. The less energy I had and energy I wanted to expend meant that I slipped out of what I consider good teaching. I know my students learned something, but it was NOT my best year.
IF you've known me for any amount of time, or have read my blog, you know that I have struggled with depression for a very long time. And when I come out of a particularly difficult time, I always have the same realization: I didn't know how bad it was until it wasn't bad anymore. And that's exactly how I felt during the first few days of school this year. So I'm putting last year behind me. I did what I could with what I had, and while I'm sad it had to be that way, I'm not dwelling on it, nor am I beating myself up. It is what is is, and I'm just gonna keep on movin' on. Come back soon to see posts about my first couple weeks of this BRAND NEW YEAR! Bises.
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![]() Well, we made it! 2020 is behind us. What a long haul!! But 2021 is going to be incredible! And here are a couple of great ways you can start your teaching year. Free conference? Yes please! Internationally recognized speakers? Um, yeah! Hours of amazing sessions with rock star presenters? YESSSS!!! PD in your PJs? Absolutely! Here's what's out there for you. Practical and Comprehensible![]() This is a FREE conference from 8-11 January 2021. Seven videos will be released on each day and will be viewable for 24 hours. BUT you can still access the videos after the weekend with a pass. I have a BRAND NEW session for this conference that I am psyched about: "2 Weeks in a FLES Classroom." I walk through what two weeks look like in my kindergarten classes, and older grades. It has some concrete steps, simple ideas, and important things to consider when structuring your classes. Oh, and there are some super fun Brain Breaks! ![]() There are a couple of ways you can access the videos for "Practical and Comprehensible." The first is to register to watch the videos for the 24 hours they are up on the site; that is completely and totally free. BUT you can also purchase the All Access Pass* for only $27, and THAT which grants you lifetime access to the videos!! This is my second year presenting for Comprehended! (formerly "Comprehensible Online"). The format this year is a little different, and I think it's going to be great! The conference begins on 13 February 2021, and you can purchase a three, six, or nine month pass, with the option to purchase extensions! How cool is that?! I have three sessions: a pre-recorded video on reading strategies for younger students with the extraordinary Kristen Wolf (La Loba Lista) We make a killer team! My other sessions are two of my "regulars" and will be live with Q&A. So come join me to talk Clip Chat (sometimes known as Movie Talk) and elementary curriculum design. I have received A LOT of positive feedback about both of these presentations and I'm happy to be able to do them again. This is a conference chock full of sessions on strategies, research, demos, grading and assessment, curriculum, and more, you can check out the program here. But prices rise in two weeks, so go sign up now!
*This is an affiliate link. I will earn a commission at no cost to you if you choose to make a purchase.
I only recommend what I love/believe in. See my affiliate disclosure for details. I have been a SmartBoard-o-phile for years. YEARS. I was the first person in my school to procure one, and it changed my life. I loved all of the interactive possibilities: the screen shade, the "lock and move" feature, the "click and appear" animation. I cannot begin to tell you how many Notebook files I have. Notebook is the amazing software for the SmartBoard, though I know teachers without SmartBoards who have used it.
OK, for iOS, you have two options. The easiest way is to simply export the NB file in PDF format. You lose the interactivity, but if that doesn't matter to you, then this is a fine solution. The other, which I mention in my video, involves a website called Smart Notebook Viewer and Reader. But, to be honest, I have no idea why anyone would bother with this; it basically gives you the same thing as a PDF file, except you're viewing it in a browser window. (The first thing I discovered for Mac users would have brought the pages of a NB file into GS as images, but if you watch the video, you'll see that it just doesn't work.)
So, grab yourself a cup of coffee, settle down on the couch with something brainless on TV (don't tell anyone, but my guilty pleasure is RBOBH!), and set up your PC to do some file converting! Good luck, and let me know how it goes. Bises. People keep asking me how things are going. My honest answer? The things that are good are really fabulous and the things that are bad are really terrible. I have been trying to take a step back and embrace the good, but the bad brings a true sense of loss and mourning. The way our schedule at MCS is set up in order to minimize "unnecessary" contact. One "specials" teacher will spend two weeks with one grade; this week is my second week with first grade, then I will go to second grade next week. (The PE teacher, who is currently with kindergarten, will start his two-week rotation with first grade next week) So, going through the rotation K-6 means that I will next see my first graders at the end of December. I'll let that sink in for a moment. I strongly believe that the best way to improve as an educator |
I had originally thought I needed to let it go.* But now I recognize that I don't have to let it go, but need to embrace the change à la David Bowie. Hopefully this "sabbatical" will provide me with other ways to reach my other students, both those whom I see in person, and those in families who have chosen the remote option. Maybe then I will have a sense of how to provide for my home-school students. | |
I'm back on my filming game, producing videos that can serve all students, regardless of their proximity to 22 Church St. (And some of them will feature, for sure, Dizzy Izzy!)
If you are frustrated, I hope you can find a change in perspective that allows you to find the silver linings. They might need to be polished, and they might not be big, but I really think they're there!
If you are frustrated, I hope you can find a change in perspective that allows you to find the silver linings. They might need to be polished, and they might not be big, but I really think they're there!
And I leave you with this final thought.

(I still haven't watched Frozen, but Kristen Bell has some hysterical videos, and her husband Dax Shepard produces one of my favorite podcasts. There's your wormhole for the day!)
| Like many of us, I have been spending a lot of time thinking, processing, and reflecting, wondering how to move forward during this time of both distress and hope. I am disgusted and horrified. But I have been paralyzed. I have had overwhelming feelings of self-reproach and self-condemnation. Those feelings compelled me to attend a protest last weekend in Pittsfield, MA, and that shifted my thinking forever. |
It is time for me/us to stop thinking and start acting.

I walked away with a changed perspective that afternoon. I want and need to fight the systemic racism, white supremacy, and the misdirected systems of power in our schools. I am ready to read, research, and reflect, and act.
I recognized my guilt, I owned it, and I am prepared to do the work to move past it. This is NOT about me or MY feelings, except for the fact that I am enraged. (Thank you to Bryan Safi and Erin Gibson of the incredible podcast "Throwing Shade" for helping me articulate this sentiment.) It is time for me to stop thinking and start acting. It is time for US to stop thinking and start acting.
I recognized my guilt, I owned it, and I am prepared to do the work to move past it. This is NOT about me or MY feelings, except for the fact that I am enraged. (Thank you to Bryan Safi and Erin Gibson of the incredible podcast "Throwing Shade" for helping me articulate this sentiment.) It is time for me to stop thinking and start acting. It is time for US to stop thinking and start acting.
I refined this post yesterday morning as I watched the extraordinary CNN/Sesame Street town hall. I am paraphrasing Dr. Jennifer Harvey here, but one of my take-aways was this: the dangerous part of white privilege is thinking we can just sit this one out. Additionally, I learned that the notion of being colorblind means that you are ignoring who people are, inside and out. Everyone has their own experience and emotion surrounding the events of recent weeks, but my experience and emotions will never allow me to know what it feels to be a BIPOC in the US today. I acknowledge that, I recognize my white privilege, and now I must delve into learning more and helping this country change and advance.
The dangerous part of white privilege is thinking we can just sit this one out.
Pictures from the Black Lives Matter protest, Pittsfield, MA, 31 May 2020

I have a long way to go on this journey but I am proud to get up and start running, and I will never shy away from that. I know I am late to the game, but I have ordered White Fragility and How to be an Antiracist, which I will be reading and discussing with friends and colleagues when they are no longer on backorder. (If you do not own them yet, consider ordering them from these black owned bookstores). I donated to the GoFundMe to help save The Frugal Bookstore in Massachusetts. I just learned about We Buy Black and will explore it in depth. I set a monthly donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center. I pledge to continue to educate myself and move forward. This is an incredible list of action steps for white people to work towards racial justice. On Monday, I will contact my legislators (by phone, NOT by email) to tell them to advocate for criminal justice reform, civilian oversight of police, and the allocation of taxpayer funds towards community services. And finally, I will continue to VOTE.
My discomfort is moving my thinking forward.
This is not just a blip for me. I am committed to moving forward and working towards progress. And as a teacher, I know I am responsible for helping my students (in a primarily white community) become anti-racists. I am proud of ACTFL for compiling this list of resources for language educators that address issues of race, diversity, and social justice.
If you are on Twitter, I suggest you follow A.C. Quintero, Adrienne Brandenberg, Dorie Conlon Perugini, and Abelardo Almazán-Vázquez, who have been vocal for a long time about the need for racial and social justice. |
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And finally, as a passionate vegan who always researches restaurants before travel, this will be the first place I consult when mapping out my dining: VegOut magazine’s list of black-owned vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants around the country. On Instagram, Bad Ass Vegan (John Lewis) is one of my absolute favorite follows. I have learned a lot about the depth and breadth of social justice from him, especially from his “MIDNITE MOTIV8ION” posts.
I can do better. I WILL do better.
What are YOU doing to work for racial and social justice? Bises. |
Author
Allison Litten, the 2019 VFLA TOY, teaches French at the Marion Cross School, a public PreK-6 school in Norwich, Vermont. This is her twenty-third year teaching, and twentieth at Marion Cross.
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