Morning, all. Slept in a bit. Tired today. Sorry for the short post.

Yesterday, in our ongoing efforts to face our fears of public speaking, the kids began reading their poems in front of the class. As they read, their peers evaluated them on poise, voice, life, gestures, and speed. They, then provided post-it note feedback, pointing out one “well-done” and one “needs work.” The speakers then collected all the post-its, so they could see and process the peer feedback. They then wrote a short reflection, emphasizing what they learned about themselves as speakers and how they felt about the experience. That was the business end of the deal. My favorite part of the deal was watching some of my otherwise quiet kids emerge through their powerful poems, shining bright like the diamonds they are. All kids do, indeed, have awesome in them. The trick is helping them discover it. So glad this proved to be the trick for some. Looking forward to mining for more brilliant moments today as we continue the poems, as we continue the awesome.

Happy Thursday, all.