definition-noun

by Amy Watkins
1. the act of making definite, distinct, or clear; a defining: The thorny line between plagiarism
and emulation is the definition of hard to define.
2. the condition of being definite, distinct, or clearly outlined: His biceps have great muscle
definition.
teach-er as writ-er- noun with a prepositional phrase
1. an elusive dream. Despite my contempt for her selfish myopia, apparently I've
fully embraced Scarlett O'Hara's procrastinator's mantra of, "Someday, I won't
thin of that now, I'll thin of that tomorrow."
!. wor in pro"ress.
I'm a 1# which is the comment code on our report cards indicatin" that the
student is not fulfillin" his or her potential. I love to write, and read for that
matter, and somehow that means I'm not allowed the privile"e of doin" it until I "et
all my other wor done. $s an %n"lish teacher and a mom to three youn" boys, my
other wor is never done, so I neither read nor write as much as I should. Inspired
by a bunch of conferences with some cra&y, ama&in" teachers and authors, I
started a blo" and periodically I've posted, which is a "ood step. I actually lie a
couple of the pieces I wrote. 'ommittin" to this (ritin" Institute this summer is
another "ood step. Hopefully soon I'll be an )* does e+cellent wor.
really good teacher- adverb modifying an adjective modifying a noun
1. "ives valuable and timely feedbac
!. puts every other element of her life on hold to "et those damned papers "raded,
the ones about which the students don't seem to care.
snark -noun
1.Combination of snide and remark. !arcastic comment"s#.
Also snarky "adj.# and snarkily "adv.#
His commentary was rife with snar.
",our boundless ineptitude is astoundin"," she snarily declared.
I'm pretty good at pretentious uses of objects of the prepositions and
recognizing them. I guess I'm really good at being snarky. That is so not a
talent about which to boast. Last month, I read a lot of end of the year
refections in which my words came back to me. ou see I recognized my
e!treme snarkiness this year and apologized" I e#en made it my $indness
%esolution, but since I ne#er stopped to really refect on the source or
moti#ation behind my snarkiness, I wasn't all that successful in hindering its
manifestation.
I'#e been teaching for thirteen years, and something was di&erent this year. It
might be the episodic mind fog and crashing fatigue that sideswiped me last
'eptember, so I felt defensi#e and scared. (% maybe it was the si! weeks
where I taught from a zombie haze before we )gured out that medicine was
not the right medicine.
I'm really good at being late. I ha#e always been far too committed and
in#ol#ed in where#er I am that I ha#e a great deal of di*culty mo#ing on.
+efore I lea#e the house I'm really good at ,uick throwing in another load of
laundry, taking a second to start the dishwasher, and rearranging the
furniture in the li#ing room to be more aesthetically pleasing. I ha#e a #ery
practiced, although sincere, apologetic stance for arri#ing late, that con#eys,
-es, I know I'm late.- -.o, it doesn/t mean that your e#ent isn't important to
me.- -es, I know it's rude, and I hope you can forgi#e me.- 0y real e!pertise,
though, lies in my 1ollyanna2worthy optimism that ne!t time, I'll be on
time3.. 4o you think the sofa looks better against this wall or angled in the
corner5 Let's see.
6nd that's the problem, once I get late or behind, I fore#er feel like I'm trying
to catch up with myself. If I'm late to class, I'll somehow be late to lunch, late
to the meeting, and late getting home. It's like once I get behind, I can't stop
on the steep slope I'm slipping down. Last year, I slipped right into a giant
puddle of snark, and ne#er ,uite washed it o&.
7hen it came to procedural stu&, the stu& that's written on the board,
displayed on posters, and practiced in a #ery 8arry 7ong way, kids were still
hesitant to ask me ,uestions fearing I'd make them feel stupid, and I guess
that was my purpose, when I really look at it. I wanted them to think and use
their resources and push themsel#es to belie#e that they already had some of
the answers, that relying on someone else, me, to tell them e#erything
wasn't going to prepare them for actual li#ing or true success. Looking back
it seems that I felt justi)ed. I used my snarky comments as a rolled up
newspaper, smacking their little puppy noses and rubbing them in it. 8mmm.
8onesty is a harsh bitch at which to look...

The most important thing I ha#e to do this summer is get my head
around mercy, grace, and lo#ing my students with 9lo#e is patient,
lo#e is kind, lo#e is gentle/ kind of lo#e. I do not need to address
e#ery weakness, nor do I need comment on e#ery mistake. If kids
aren't listening, snarking at them doesn't get them to listen more" it
helps them not talk and fake it better because they're scared. 7hen
twenty2)#e minutes into class, Tyler asks for a pencil because he
forgot his, I do not need to point out to him how sad it is that he
wasted the )rst twenty2)#e minutes or lambaste him for not asking
sooner. 7hen I feel the need to correct their lack of perfection with
a comment, I need to hold it back. They aren't perfect, but we can
make a lot more progress together if I'm willing to show them grace.
I can ha#e high e!pectations and a high le#el of grace and
compassion. I need to get rid of that sense that they deser#e my
snarkiness, or that I need to )! them.
0y 0a! is eight. 6nd, to my ultimate frustration, he is not a remote
control boy. ou see, my 0a! made me a mom, and that means
something, but to me it meant so much more. :p until I had my
0a!, well, let's just say I was not a person I was proud to be.
'o, I owe it to him to make sure he knows what's right or what's
best all the time right5 ;uz if I let him whine and get his way, that
means he will think the only way to get your way is to whine, and I'll
wreck him, right5 (r if I tell him to turn whate#er screen he's glued
to o& and get ready for bed, and he hesitates, seemingly ignoring
me, if I don't freak out and tell him -.ow<- in a #ery stern #oice, he
will think he doesn't ha#e to listen to adults, and I'll wreck him right5
6ctually no, because as a parent, it's my job to help him make his
own decisions, and build his own con)dence, and be his own little
person. 7e ha#e boundaries, but they're not harsh, barbed2wired
boundaries. I ha#e made him so defensi#e that he sees e#ery
comment as an attack. 4amn those torpedoes.
I'm also a rather e*cient bulldozer, using my one2and2a2half scale
size and presence to inad#ertently dominate whate#er group is
blessed enough to ha#e me join. I'm really not as self centered as I
seem, and I'#e gotten a lot better at actually listening, not simply
waiting for my turn. Imagine that222 I was worse. I sometimes feel
like two2ton elephant barreling in to the watering hole, winding up
surrounded by the other thirsty elephants, only to look down and
see that my arri#al stirred up all the pre#iously settled sediment,
making the water unpalatable. 8ow do you smoothly e!tricate
yourself from that one5 I truly and honestly do #alue others'
opinions and I think they ha#e good stu& to say. I guess I think that
if they want to share it, they will, because that's what I'd do. +ut,
that's the thing. .ot e#eryone, in fact hardly anyone, li#es life the
way I do. .ot e#eryone runs around with foot poised to kick any
door that dares block their path. 'ome people approach closed
doors, metaphorical and literal, and knock, or e#en pass ,uietly by.
8mmm. I hadn't thought of that.
6nd I guess that's the whole point. The world is full of other, e,ually
as #aluable perspecti#es that need to be gi#en the time, permission,
and encouragement to fourish.
I stopped writing
now
so you can ha#e
the foor
our ideas are
#aluable, uni,ue
important.
=orgi#e me
That reminds of
the time I3..
'elf refection pro#ides few de)nitions, but thankfully, tomorrow is another
day, and I do gi#e a damn.
6uthor +io>
6my 7atkins, writer, has been li#ing in a self2imposed cage for far too long,
and thanks to the community of writers that is ?071, is breaking free and
lo#ing it< 6my 7atkins, wife, is blessed to be supported by a #ery generous
spouse, ;hris, who challenges, comforts, and supports her. 6my 7atkins,
mom, gets to ha#e the pri#ilege of raising three gorgeous boys, 0a!, eight,
;hase,si!, and @abe, four, who inspire, amaze, and baAe her. 'he/s been
teaching ?nglish in +elle#ille for fourteen years and is looking forward to
lo#ingly guiding Bth graders ne!t year into li#es as readers and writers. 6my
knows that @od has a great plan for her life and hopes it doesn/t ha#e her
writing about herself in third person e#er again.