NaNoWriMo: My Favorite Month of the School Year

NaNoWriMo:  National Novel Writing Month.  It's this insane idea that you can write a novel in a month.  I discovered NaNoWriMo in grad school (another Raymond Johnson contribution) and as a writer, or non-writer, or wanna-be-writer, it has always served me well.  But the past two years I incorporated NaNoWriMo into my eighth grade English narrative unit and it was been my favorite lesson/series of lessons ever.  The young writers program has great curriculum to help students or anyone who wants to try to write a novel.  The first time I saw the young writer's handbook, I wished I'd gotten something like it during my mfa program.  Last year I managed to draft a YA novel, and this year it's historical fiction, but what amazes me most are the stories, the sentences, the scenes from my students.  Here are a couple samples.

from Shattered Glass by Denise:   

At school it was like he wasn’t even there.  Teachers always skipped his name as if they were seeing right through him. 

Sam hated his life he hated the way they treated him like a ghost, as if he was the one who died in the car crash.  

Sometimes he would wonder if he had died and his ghost was still lingering in the real world and he just didn’t realize it. 

from Sports Addict by Hunter:  

Yelling. That's the noise that I wake up to every morning. My parents fight non-stop like two wild dogs. Every time I make a mistake, in school or just “mis-using” my knife at the table all I can hear is my dad and mom yelling. “Clyde Little this and Clyde Little that.” It’s all thanks to my stupid choice and addiction.

These are only a few lines from two of 60 novels my English students worked on last year and there are 65 more in progress right now.   Best of luck to anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year; I really should get to work on mine. 

Through Eyes Like Mine Mix Tape

So I was inspired by Raymond's 50 State Mix Tape and decided my forthcoming literary work (otherwise knows as Through Eyes Like Mine, a quiet book passed on by most major American publishing houses) needed a soundtrack.  So in order to build on a little buzz for the book's release here are some songs to set the tone for the book.

Through Eyes Like Mine starts with an epigraph of the first line from this song.



It's a Small World at Disneyland was the only ride I wanted to ride when I was two and made my first trip to the happiest place on earth.  Too bad I wasn't so happy.



Failure in our family was congratulated with an evil grin and the chanting of "Dunt, dunt, dunt, another one bites the dust."



Chet, Laura and I were in a production of The King an I at a small theater in Bend.  Maybe Anna inspired my teaching career when I was four.



My third grade crush and I both loved Devo.



For some reason my childhood memories of this song aren't of Cat Stevens, but of church on Sunday morning.  We went to St. Francis every Sunday.  Never missed.



The other song that plays pretty constantly through the memories of my childhood is the score from To Kill a Mockingbird.



Chet introduced my whole family to U2 in the mid 80s.  I remember hearing this song blaring from his bedroom.



This mix tape got me really excited about getting back to work on Overdue Apologies, the middle school memoir that's next in line.  There will be some fabulous 80s pop in that one.  Hope this odd collection of tunes makes you want to read my quiet little book.

My Decision to Self-Publish and Why I'm Sticking With It

After finishing my MFA I had a pretty solid manuscript in hand. It felt done. It felt different and real and I didn't cringe (too much) as I read over the draft months later. So I shopped it, landed an agent and thought, there it is! My book, written, sitting with an agent and she will make publishing happen!

Of course things didn't quite work out that way. My agent was great. She got the book to editors at big houses who read it and although they thought the book was beautifully written, it was a little too quiet or not quite what they were looking for.

That's okay. I didn't write it for any of them anyway! I wrote it for me, but I also wanted Oprah to pick my book for her show and now she's almost done with her show and won't be able to promote it.

Bummer.

But from what I hear, the publishing world is all sort of wacky turvy right now. E-books and e-readers and Snookie getting a book deal. Snookie. And it's so easy to self-publish. And so affordable. I can do it on my own.

Except then I have to do it all on my own.

So, I read and reread my book. I edited, revised, proof-read, read again, reread, reread and still, STILL there were mistakes. I made more changes. I printed proof copies. I shared it with my circle of talented friends who write and read. I heard from them and I made more changes, read, reread, revised, proof-read, added, deleted read again and again and again and again.

I designed a cover. I thought I liked it. I didn't. I changed it. I liked it again.

I'm waiting on what I hope will be the last proof copy. I'm really excited. I'm ready to send it out into the world. I hope to move 10,000 units. That's not so much. Wait, that's a ton.  

I hope you might want to read it.  

It's coming.  It's coming soon. 

Through Eyes Like Mine.  A book.  My book.  By Noriko Nakada.

Who's the Boss? all grown up...

Maybe I haven't given enough credit to Who's the Boss.  I watched a few episodes when Samantha and I were both little tomboys, but as we both grew up, we grew apart.  And although I can still sing the song, "A Brand New Life" from the opening credits, I can't recall the plot of a single episode.  But seeing where the cast is today makes me think back to that show with a little more nostalgia.



It started with Judith Light during that first season of Ugly Betty. Then I joined Twitter and realized that my long-lost bff just might be Alyssa Milano.  She's a sports fan, a Dodger fan, and an animal and human rights activist.  Her tweets are entertaining, helpful and informative. Then, that Tony Danza started teaching.  In a fall rife with teacher-bashing and public school criticism, Mr. Danza's show Teach, helped remind me how rewarding, frustrating and humbling my job is. Thanks, Mr. D.

My take on Waiting for "Superman"...

I had the opportunity to attend a screening of Davis Guggenheim's documentary, Waiting for "Superman" and I wasn't sure I wanted to go.  I'd heard so much bad buzz about the movie's portrayal of teachers, teacher's unions and charter schools, but decided to see it (for free) so I could make up my own mind. I walked into the movie knowing a whole lot more than most people do about education, so I'm not sure what the general public will think, but I hope they'll walk away with this:  ALL OUR KIDS deserve a quality education.
 
However, the movie suggests that charter schools working outside the constraints of this system will get us there.  But as the movie concludes, most of the students lose out in charter school lotteries. This shows that charters cannot provide a quality education for ALL OUR KIDS.

The movie suggests that the answer is effective teachers.  If we can just get rid of these union contracts and fire ineffective teachers, our students will thrive.  But who decides which teachers are effective and which aren't?  Will superintendents like Michelle Rhee determine teacher effectiveness? Principals? Value-added measures?  And if we can find a real way to measure teacher effectiveness and get rid of bad teachers, who will take their place?  How can we be sure that a new teacher will be any more effective than the old one?

The movie suggests we reward good teachers.  The DC teachers are portrayed as insane when they refuse to accept merit pay based on a value-added measures (VAM).  But what about Emily, one of the film's children, who doesn't test well? With VAM, would a teacher be willing to offer Emily the education she deserves or simply make her a better test taker?  Are we trying to educate our students or just teach them to take tests?  With our students and schools already deemed failures based on NCLB testing standards, do we really want to reward or punish teachers based on their ability to improve student test scores? 

Guggenheim wonders if a movie can change public education.  He attempts to convince the audience to care about OTHER PEOPLE'S kids.  But I don't know if the stories of a handful of poor kids who can't afford private schools will convince Guggenheim's intended audience (people who have already turned their backs on public education) to come back.  His portrayal of schools is simply too bleak and the successes too few to restore hope for those who assume their local schools provide what Michelle Rhee describes as a "crappy education."

From working in numerous "failing" schools, with "failing" students in a "failing" district, I see an awful lot of success.  I still believe that at every school, there are good teachers and at every school (even those charter and private schools) there are not-so-great teachers, but a kid can learn from every single one of them.  A student's experience is what they make of it and rather than abandoning this "failing" system, I'm sticking around. I doubt this movie will bring anyone back to their neighborhood school, but I will continue to work in a local public school. I will work hard for my students and their families.  After all, that is who I work for.  I work for students just like the ones portrayed in this movie: Anthony, Emily, Daisy, Francisco and Bianca. They aren't OTHER PEOPLE'S kids to me.  They are ALL OUR KIDS.  They are MY KIDS and they all deserve a quality education from a quality teacher in a quality school.

The reforms we need will strengthen all of our schools, not just a handful.  They will involve listening to parents and communities.  They will require us working together rather than forcing us to compete for space, funds, teachers and students.

The movie is right.  All of our schools need help and maybe, despite all of its failings, this movie will bring all of our schools (not just a handful of charters) the attention and care they deserve.

The First Day of School

A few years after I started teaching middle school, I walked across the south field on the first day of school.  It was early, before students arrived, but my principal was there and she asked me, "Are you nervous?"

I was still fairly green as a teacher and attempted to sound seasoned.  "Nervous, no, but I'm excited."

"Really?" My principal responded.  "Oh, I still get nervous and I promised myself if I ever wasn't nervous for the first day, I should retire."

Almost a decade later, that principal has retired, but I imagine she's still nervous for all of us heading back to school tomorrow.

So, am I nervous?  Yes, and I'm bracing for the year to come.  I glance at the names on my class rosters. These students are strangers to me, and that is what I'm nervous for.  That is the suspense that will keep my mind spinning with the preparations I still need to make to start the year.  Because by the end of the week, those names will reveal faces and slowly, those faces will share their stories.

As the first day bleeds into the first week, month and semester, many of my 100 students will share bits and pieces of their lives with me and it is these stories that will keep me from falling asleep in the nights to come.  We will make it through that first semester and we will work through to spring. Then these students will graduate and head off to high schools across the city.  These students will fade away and they will take their stories with them.

That's one of the hardest things about being a teacher.  I get this glimpse into so many lives but I so rarely get to hear how the stories end.  Fortunately, I've had the summer to rest up, to reflect on the stories I've heard this past year, and to make room for new ones.

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I'm nervous.  I'm nervous, excited, and anxious to hear the stories of this new school year.

Fertility Update

Last year I over-shared that David and I were trying to get pregnant in Fertile Soil.  Well, we're still trying and this fertility business, apparently, can get a bit tricky.

At first, when we found out each month that I wasn't pregnant we'd celebrate with an "I'm not pregnant" cocktail (usually a greyhound) and toasted the month to come.

But now I'm tired of cocktails and ready to get this next chapter of our lives going.  We're staying positive and taking a look at medical options but that's the news for now.  No news.  And until there's something more exciting to report, here's a thought-provoking video on fertility/infertility.  It sheds light on this struggle many couples face.


What IF? A Portrait of Infertility from Keiko Zoll on Vimeo.

Time Flies

It's already been over a year since I started Noriko's Random Bits. 32 posts and 18 followers later I'm still waiting on that book and movie deal. I guess I just have to keep blogging.

In my first six blogs I got very kind feedback via Facebook (thanks all of you who have been with me from the start) and slowly started to build a readership. Then, with Fertile Soil, I received two blog comments all the way from China! Thanks, Dalian Clan and Ni Hao Flennaugh.

According to my labels I've written most about writing, Los Angeles, middle school and NaNoWriMo but that's probably because of all those New LA Life posts of the YA novel I was working on this past fall and winter. The posts receiving the most reader comments on blog and Facebook were two entries relating to food. "Hot Dog!" ~Jimmy Stewart, It's a Wonderful Life received 13 comments and Chocolate Chip Cookie Confessional 9. One of my more serious posts, Cockroaches, also brought numerous comments and amazing support. Thank you all for letting me know I wasn't writing or living in a vacuum.

I even started a second blog! These are my sporty reflections on the world and even if you don't like sports you might want to check it out. http://throwingcookies.blogspot.com/

Again, thanks for reading along with me. If you aren't following any other blogs, check out my blog list. There are some amazing bloggers out there and you might discover them before their movie or book deal comes through.

My top 3 LA Food Trucks

It's taken months and months of grueling research, but it was worth it to find a few gems among the food trucks in LA. I still need to track down that shave ice truck and with new trucks starting up all the time this entry will be out of date as soon as I publish it. But here they are: my top three food truck orders as of July 27, 2010 9:50 am. These are the best of the best which means I stalk them on twitter and have to exhibit all sorts of will power not to eat them daily. Seriously. It's a good thing that Kogi line is so long or I might live off those tacos.

1 Kogi BBQ Truck
http://twitter.com/kogibbq
David always gets their Blackjack Quesadilla (that green sauce is so tasty) but I love the tacos. A trio of short rib, chicken and spicy pork por favor! Something about the kim chee, meat and sauce wrapped in a tidy tortilla makes my brain confused and happy at the same time. Oh and their tres leches is a chocolate gooey mess of yum.

2 Buttermilk Truck
http://twitter.com/ButtermilkTruck
Okay, the red velvet chocolate chip pancakes are so good that it's hard for me not to skip right to dessert every time. But the brick (chorizo gravy, cheese, fried egg, choice of bacon or sausage and hash browns) and the breakfast sandwiches (biscuits with an over easy egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage) are so good I haven't even had the chance to try to breakfast sliders yet. The Hawaiian bread french toast is another dessert option that is oh so tasty.

3 Coolhaus
http://twitter.com/COOLHAUS
I love ice cream. I love cookies. I love the Cool Haus's gourmet take on the ice cream sandwich. The only reason they didn't place higher is that I have such a hard time placing my order and I always have sandwich envy both before and after. David loves the snicker doodle with red velvet ice cream and I am a fan of the chocolate cookie with dirty mint ice cream, the chocolate chip cookie with mascarpone balsamic fig ice cream, or the oatmeal cookie with brown butter with candied bacon ice cream. I just saw some new flavors in their site though. Sea salt caramel and coffee toffee will be sandwiched in my mouth soon.

Honorable mention: delicious but easier to resist
http://twitter.com/dogtowndog
The Morning Commute and Fennel Dogs are super tasty.
http://twitter.com/BorderGrill
The carnitas tacos are quite delicious too.

Follow them on twitter or check out their websites for a tasting near you.

London, the Ghost Map and Cholera

My mom gifted me Steven Johnson's The Ghost Map for my birthday this year and I cracked it open while on a trans-Atlantic flight to London. Johnson's nauseating descriptions of city life in the mid 1800s, of cesspools and open graves, made me so grateful for our modern waste management systems. His careful unfolding of overlapping urban lives around London's Broad Street pump during the hot summer of 1854's deadly cholera outbreak illuminates how one devastated neighborhood helps unlock cholera's mystery and saves millions.

Although some parts dragged and others seemed redundant, The Ghost Map shows how early city planning and the sound scientific research of Dr. John Snow and Rev. Henry Whitehead made cities more livable and safe. It gave me a new appreciation for clean drinking water and how long it once took to understand the transmission and treatment of a deadly disease. The crowded sidewalks of those Soho Streets and the paved embankments along the Thames over 150 years later show The Ghost Map's lasting legacy and make me so very glad I am unlikely to suffer from death by cholera.Snow's map marks each cholera victim with a black bar. This geographic representation helped prove that contracting the disease was connected to the Broad Street water pump rather than the foul stench in the air.