Several years ago, one of my colleagues was sharing how she had been exposed to drafts of Robert Frost’s poetry and what a profound impact it had on her. As a lover of Frost’s poems, she was used to reading them as a finished product in all their glory. Seeing the poems with words scribbled out, numerous corrections and edits, and frequent searches for the perfect word reminded her that Frost was not simply inspired by a muse as he sat down and composed beautiful poetry. Alas, he was human. A human who needed to scratch, scrape and claw his way through his poetry to find the perfect words. The lesson my friend learned was that Robert Frost had a growth mindset. He didn’t do one shot poetry; he worked and struggled to improve, revise, and grow.
The best thing about this realization from my friend was that she didn’t keep it to herself. Like all good educators, she not only learned from her experience, she shared it with others so they could grow too. I happened to be one of the people she shared it with. It made an impact on me and sparked my thinking. I wrote it down in my list of blog ideas and there it waited…until now.
As educators, we know the importance of having a growth mindset and that excellence doesn’t happen by chance, but by hard work, endurance, and grit. However, I think sometimes we forget that truth when we think of the “giants” of poetry like Byron, Angelou, Dickinson, and even Frost. We may think of them as people who had a natural gift for writing and forget that they put blood, sweat, and tears into their works to make them so great. When we share these examples with our students, we can show them that ALL people need to work for improvement. And when you are feeling frustrated with your own writing skills, perhaps this story of “Frost Revisions” will remind you that nobody is perfect…at least the first time.
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and thought has found words.” – Robert Frost
“Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.” – Robert Frost
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve leaned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost
- Monday, February 24: Students of the Month Assembly 9:05, Achievement Team Meeting (Ringler) 3:20 PM
- Tuesday, February 25: Achievement Team Meeting (Mcguigan) 8:15 AM
- Wednesday, February 26: Bill Roberts in the Lounge 8:00 AM, Elementary Principals Meeting 1:00-4:30 PM
- Thursday, February 27: Staff Meeting 8:05 AM, All Principal Meeting @ Churchill 3:00-4:30 PM
- Math Theme: Problem Solving
- Monday, March 2: Celebrate Monday Assembly 9:05 AM
- Tuesday, March 3: Achievement Team Meeting 8:15 AM
- Thursday, March 5: 2nd Grade Module Feedback Meeting in AM, Kindergarten Parent Information Night 6:00-7:00 PM
- Friday, March 6: Jon in Lansing for MEMSPA Board Meeting 9:00-3:00 PM
The Spark of Learning 