Slicing and Caring

Time for the weekly Slice of Life at the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Tweet at #SOL14  

       Thanks Stacey, Tara, Dana, Beth, Anna and Betsy!

        Much of my life consists of caring, caring for family, for my students and colleagues, and for myself. I care also about my country, and about the earth. I do what I can every day to make a difference for someone or something. I spent the later part of Monday evening watching CNN, wondering if they should be sharing so much about Ferguson, Missouri, and the terrible conflict that community is enduring. It feels invasive, yet perhaps we should know so we can respond as human beings who want better for everyone. 
        My community is worried, a little, about coyotes in the neighborhood. They are concerned that the leaves are collected in a timely manner. I'm not sure what to do. Both things, actually, are important. Yet, there seems to be something more important I'm missing, because tragedy continues.    



        Here is a beautiful post I bookmarked in October, and I'm sharing it as my slice of life. In my part of the world, my work, it is a personal goal to do something about the dearth of literature about diverse peoples. I share with students and with colleagues. I purchase as much as I can.
         Early in the writing is a quote from this post: Why does diversity matter? The answer to that question should be simple and straightforward: because everyone deserves to be a hero. Because everyone deserves to be seen. Because representation matters.

          And  Junot Diaz is quoted too: If you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. I hope as teachers and writers we can make a difference.

Here is the the link, at the NaNoWriMo website.

And I'd like to thank Tara, at A Teaching Life, for the nudge to speak.