Nice note from a new Voice:

The workshop was potent, and so was the coffee.  I was up most of the night trying to process all the information, experience, wisdom, and talent from the Community Voices workshop. 
 
Why didn't we all come away with names and email addresses for all the other Voicettes?  I did get a few.  This is an interesting situation, at least according to my friends clamoring for details.  In a way, each new Voicette has been thrown, or dove, into a public fishbowl.   (I'm thinking of the fish in The Cat In the Hat, balanced precariously on the cake and the rake.) 
 
We aren't dancing with the stars, but we do have goals and strengths, ambitions and fears going into this year.  Part of me was screaming, "What in the hey-ho were you thinking?," all through your inspiring session.
 
I'm not asking for a public forum for the Voices as we learn to tap dance.  I'm just suggesting an online meeting place.  It doesn't even have to be a padded room.
 

 

Nancy Ruder

Padded walls or not, this blog can be a way to meet the other Voices. Sign up and then add this blog to your Neighborsgo world.

We just introduced our 2008 Teacher Voices and our Student Voices. Now, we’re looking for new Community Voices volunteer columnists. In addition to being the stars of the Thursday Sounding Off feature, Voices columnists also participate in a writing workshop and other special events. They also, of course, write columns — usually one per month. Please help us by spreading the word. Some of our best Voices columnists have come to us through Sounding Off and recommendations from other Voices.

Thanks for your help. Here’s a column I wrote recently about our search and selection process.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/askeditor/stories/asktheeditor_18edi.87809de9.html

And here’s all you need to do to apply:

1. Write a little about yourself and put together a list of current and previous civic involvements. How would others in the community describe you? What is unique about your background and experience? Why should we choose you?

2. Share a previous writing sample or write something new on a current topic. A writing sample should be 600 to 650 words.

3. Jot down three other topics you would like to write about.

4. E-mail the application to voices@dallasnews.com. Please include your address and phone number.

5. Deadline to apply is 4 p.m., Oct. 10.

This is additional information that wouldn't fit onto my voices column regarding today. It provides suggested quality literature for all age groups--one list for each "reading ladder rung" that I mentioned in my column.

 If you would like to read the column, you can find it here:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/opinion/stories/DN-east_boor_18edi.ART.East.Edition1.26b66ee.html

Happy reading!

 Suggested Reading List:

First Rung: Easily digested, plot-driven books. Normally best for children ages 5-10, but 
also wonderful for family read-out-loud sessions. You will be (pleasantly)surprised at 
how much different the books are from the movies.

1.Raggedy Ann, by Johnny Gruelle
2. Paddington Bear, by Michael Bond
3.Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
4.The Phantom Toll Booth, by Norton Juster
5.Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, by Lewis Carrol
6. The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
8. The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
9. Ramona, by Beverly Cleary
10. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Second Rung Books: Often factual, most of the time historical fiction.  These blend plots 
and ideas, and are a great transition for readers ages 10-14.

1. Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
2. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth Speare
3. Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
4. Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
5. The Lord of the Rings (trilogy), by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. The Chronicles of Narnia (series), by C.S. Lewis
7. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Emmuska Orczy
8. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle
9. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom
10. The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth Speare

Third Rung Books: mostly about ideas.  Great for readers ages 13-15 and up.  Although all 
three rungs provide a god basis for family discussion, this third rung is by far the 
best.

1. Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
2. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
3. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Doestoevsky
4. The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis
5. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
6.The Diary of Anne Frank
7. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
8. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
9. A Man For All Seasons, by Robert Bolt
10. Lost Horizon, by James Hilton 

There's a lot of work that goes in to choosing and processing the new group of Teacher and Student Voices. We're a few weeks away from introducing them formally on our pages, but here's a sneek peek at the faces readers will be seeing a lot more of this school year. 

(It's a video of me copying the images to help the photo desk know who to pop into our library system.)

It's a little bit sad, and a little bit exciting.  In a way, being a teacher is like never having to grow up.  We are all very excited...like the kids...to get out of school in June...and come mid-August, it's a bitter-sweet ending to a summer that has been in some ways too short and in others...well, a great break, but it's time...

As a teacher, I always look forward to August, a new set of faces, new names to learn, new minds to mold...

Somehow, as I get older...I see things differently, though.  I find myself  wondering about the lifecycle and the endgame...

Tomorrow is a new day, the beginning of a new year, and time goes on...childten grow up, we grow older and the circle continues...the cycle continues...

Community Voices Jesus Chairez, formerly of Old East Dallas but now living in Mexico City, and Gary Schepf of Irving both recently had columns appear in The Dallas Morning News.

How did I know? Both created neighborsgo.com profiles, and my Google alert for "neighborsgo.com" flagged both.

Good point about the introductions, Liz & Lydia, but that's what this blog and site are for! Speaking of introductions, two things:

1) You can find the staff directory of neighborsgo editors here.

2) You can find a funny blog post about name tags here.

Whew! We just ended our first workshop, and my computer survived. This was actually the first time I used my computer/PowerPoint in the workshop, and it went pretty badly. I won't lie. The cables are broken and at one point, the computer went kaput and said something about dumping my phisical memory. Everything seems OK so far.

But everyone was very gracious and patient, so thank you for that. We keep trying to make these workshops better, so if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it.