"Woman Strength"

      I  mentioned a book in my previous blog....Keeping Katherine: A Mother's Journey to Acceptance, by Susan Zimmermann. Our school board offers a two-day workshop, the Literacy Odyssey Conference. Each day is divided into keynote speakers and turn-out sessions (think "mini-classes"). The day starts with a speaker...then there are two turn-out sessions...lunch...another turn-out session...and then closed neatly with another keynote speaker. Day Two is just like the first day.

NO pre-registering for classes is required. Only for the conference, itself. TEACHERS GET TO PICK OUT THE TURN-OUT SESSIONS THEY WISH TO ATTEND...yeah...on THEIR own...trust me, VERY novel idea down here (sarcasm intended).

In addition, Barnes & Noble sets up a temporary store, featuring book selections written by authors who are teaching the turn-out sessions and who are the keynote speakers. It's a wonderful opportunity to meet children's authors and illustrators, and if you buy their books there (at a discount, no less), then the authors and illustrators will sign them.

You must understand...this is any teacher's idea of Heaven.

     Teachers WANT the books they learn about, and they want them NOW...no fuss, no Harry Potter kind of waiting. Meet famous and up-and-coming-almost-famous children's authors and illustrators!!?? Get your OWN autographed copies??!! Manna from above!!!

Oh, ok...in the spirit of good reading, every child in my home has to have his own autographed copy, too, if I can find one I think they'll want. I've been known to stick the phone to my ear to find out. Sometimes it's a book that does not have author and/or illustrator attending. For Son B it was another book in the Artemis Fowl books, and for Son C, it was the last edition of the Gregor the Overlander series.

And for "Mom" here...you're kidding, right?? Mom hits and buys the Motherload of Books (what did you expect me to say??). Bless my hubby's page-turning heart, 'cause as an avid reader, he knows not to complain.

So home comes...

     SIGNED Jerry Pallotta books (Icky Bug Shapes, The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Multiplication Book, One Hundred Ways to Get to 100, Apple Fractions, Twizzlers Shapes and Patterns.) Most of you out there will not understand. BUT...you teachers, wipe the drool off your screen there. (By the way, forewarning...teachers, Jerry said he's had the contract to write the books that include Cheerios, Hershey's, Twizzlers, M&Ms, etc. He warns to buy the books now while you can because his exclusive rights to include them in his writing have expired. Why?? Because the companies see it as promoting childhood obesity. After these books sell out with the top names on them, he can no longer print them. We know how excellent they are for math, etc. So grab them while you still can.)

Another "Mom fav"...The Greedy Triangle, by Marilyn Burns. Not a signed copy, but I'm just as happy to have this to use in my math class.

Newbery Medal-winning author, Jerry Spinelli,  was there. Teachers will recognize his titles: Loser (SIGNED copy!!!), Maniac Magee (Newbery), and one of his latest, Stargirl.

Other authors, illustrators, and/or presenters included Mike Artell, Rob Bolster, and E.B. Lewis...and many, many more that I've had the pleasure of hearing and meeting over the past four years that I've attended this training, including "the grandfather of it all who started it all", Bill Martin, Jr (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, etc), now deceased.

Two people stood out to me this year. Actually, three. One woman, Kathy Morris of igivuwings.com, presented prevention and intervention strategies that work for students with developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders. I had high interest in what she had to say, both professionally and personally. Teachers are seeing more and more students with a broad spectrum of disorders. More autistic students are being mainstreamed. One of our own sons is ADHD and is mainstreamed. Kathy's own twin boys were born with challenges. One has CP and the other is autistic. My favorite story she told was the day that her husband walked out the door telling her that was it...she could have the children and the house...he was out of there. She said, "OH NO you don't, Buster!!! That's MY privilege! I'M outta here!" They're still happily married!

One of the keynote speakers was Shelley Harwayne. Teachers may recognize her as an author of books about getting children to write. (Learning to Confer, Writing Through Childhood, Lifetime Guarantees, Going Public, Lasting Impressions, Living Between the Lines, and The Writing Workshop: a World of Difference.) Shelley used to be the superintendent of District #2 in New York City. Might not ring any bells to you, but that's where 9/11 happened. Shelley was there that day when the unexpected happened and she had to suddenly become boss and mother to all of her employees and children in her district. Just think of what it would be like to try and keep an entire school district and its children from panicking. AWESOME woman! Read her books, and if you ever get a chance to hear her, you will sit in fascination, hanging on to her every word. Low-key, hilarious, and powerful.

The last person I met that day who made an impression on me was Susan Zimmermann, the one I mentioned in my last blog. She wrote a book, Keeping Katherine: A Mother's Journey to Acceptance. In her story, Susan tells the story of her life with her daughter, Katherine, who has the mysterious disorder Rett syndrome. It is a devastating neurological disorder. I don't want to tell everything. I think Susan tells it better, chronicling her personal journey to accept the changes in her life and her family's lives.

All three of these women left their personal mark upon me. It often amazes me when I see how others persevere. I marvel at how they do it. Where do they get the strength? What keeps them going? How do they continue to love and keep their relationships? How do they keep moving...day after day after day??

While I listened to these women, I suddenly felt embarrassed at all the times I felt I couldn't accomplish something or couldn't tolerate it. My eyes welled up with tears constantly while Kathy, Shelley, and Susan spoke. My tears still come as I type this. Children in my past came to mind that I had in my classroom that I started to think were unreachable, either  personally or educationally. I thought of the three children who have their own special needs that we are about to adopt. My mind flickeredto the times I'd think I couldn't take one more moment of idle chatter or frantic movement from my ADHD son. Not that I'm perfect...I still get frustrated. Oh, trust me, I do. Just ask my hubby or son. But it gave me pause. It made me think...just when you think you've got it bad...yes, things COULD be more difficult. They COULD be worse. The funny thing is...I think these women realized that, too, with all that they had on their plates. They not only survived, but they came through it with grace, maturity, quiet pride, and an enduring AND endearing sense of humor. How humble, but alive they are! I feel so small in comparison.

I bow to their "woman strength".

Tags: Kathy Morris, igivuwings.com, Susan Zimmermann, Shelley Harwayne