“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Thank you for saying that Ira. I adore your witty words and wisdom, and especially your podcast of 'This American Life.' Whenever I have a period of time in front of me, Ira Glass. As I strap up my running shoes, and jog myself the allotted distance, Ira keeps me moving and ignoring my pain. When the night before Christmas arrives, and the load of presents requires time and attention to wrap, Ira keeps me awake. Passing through Wisconsin and Illinois cornfields, driving the miles and miles until my destination, there is Ira to entertain my wandering attention. I thought it so poignant that I spotted this quote on Facebook of my beloved Ira from my friend Lisa who is a creative blogger herself. Because I am about to embark on one of the most creative endeavors of my teaching career, and I want to document this. I hope to have a 1:1 iPad initiative for learning with my English Language Arts students.
But, I know that this at first will take awhile. I expect to have to fight my way through. There are no semantics for avoiding the discomfort of what my journey will be as a digital curriculum learner. I remember using a major publisher of language arts curriculum as my main source of instruction my first year of teaching. Never mind that my student J.T. couldn't read or that Michael came from French Immersion background, or that Autumn was into music....one size, fit ALL! So, just like that, I will start, I will stumble, I will WORK. A lot of work, so that every week, I can finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that I will close this gap between my ambition and the performance of my students. I wish to cure an "equity gap" AKA "achievement gap" and that the learning potential gap of ALL my students will close. My "gap" is between the hope and the reality.
I hope to have a digital curriculum and the tools to make that happen like a 1:1 initiative of iPads for students. Someday. I literally have no clue how that will happen. I will start opening my eyes and looking around. Right now, I have 5 laptops in my classroom. I have curriculum and a textbook enhanced with digital content (enhanced by my team of teachers). I have tried blogs, wikis and podcasts and written a Master's thesis of 'Literacy and Technology in Education.' I have a Google Reader account of blogs I am following of others just like me. I have a long way to go.
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