Fears of a Recovering Addict

I think I now know what addicts endure when they are attempting to break a most heinous and life-threatening habit.  I would like to believe that in a rehabilitation facility, a person decides they will change a negative behavior.  They check in.  They meet with like-minded individuals who want to make a major change as well.  They talk with therapists or counselors of some sort who give them sage advice on how to let go of their past, which most likely was toxic to them and the people around them that they cared about the most.  They have group sessions with other addicts who talk about their feeling and they do not feel alone in this scary world of conquering their fears and letting go of habits they learned to lean on because they felt so right(sometimes they had good intentions in their past lives.)  The environment is euphoric and it feels so safe because it protects them from the big, bad outside world which helped to get them in the precarious situations they found themselves in as addicts. 

However, there comes a time when they must leave this haven and go back into the cruel world which helped to make them addicts in the first place.  And they must be strong on their own, never forgetting all of the lessons they learned at this establishment.  They have to remember the talks, the sharing, and the new ways of thinking they adopted while being at the facility. 

Yet, sometimes, they get themselves in old situations with old friends and the good times roll too quickly, and they are back in a reckless spiral again.  They are repeating their bad behaviors and they abandon all they worked hard to overcome.  On the flip side, there are a number of these addicts who decide that although there are challenges with this addiction (which doesn't necessarily leave us) they want to change and be different and have a better existence.  They want to also help other addicts who may be going through the same struggles in their lives, in which they refer them to this rehabilitation clinic, which is excellent at changing people and giving them a new way of seeing the world in which they live. 

When these people feel weak or discouraged, and they feel as if they will revert back to their old ways, they call or tweet or Skype or have coffee with a friend they made in the clinic, that can encourage them and make them remember that they are not alone and it is hard in this world, but to remind them that they are amazing and will pull through. 

This is what I feel SI has been for me and will continue to be for me.  Because old habits are hard to break, I am afraid.  I do not want to revert back to the way I thought about teaching before.  So, I am counting on my counselors (Lil, Sally, Lacy, and Steve) to be there to continue to guide me on this invigorating path of renewed teaching and I am counting on all of you (my fellow SIers) to be there to talk me through a weak moment(Tiffany, Tonya, Meredith, Robin, Jenny, Erika, Sarah D., Nick, Ben, Erika, Jessica, Mary Ellen, Sarah S., Kendra, Ashley, Kim, and Wendy). 

As a recovering addict of "not-so-good-but-could-be-better-teacher-of-writing", I must also do my part in continuing to hold on to this new beginning for myself by remembering some of these lessons I don't want to ever forget:



1. Conference with my students and talk encouragingly about their writing.
2. Write encouraging and thoughtful comments on my students papers.
3. Have students write narratives about their own thinking on their writing pieces.
4. There are no "bad" writers.
5. It is important to share your writing with people.
6. Use great literature, music, and art to stimulate thoughts and ideas in my students' writing (as well as my own).
7. Find the beauty in children's writing and celebrate it.
8. There are multiple stories that exist and everyone's story should be valued.
9. Technology is not frightening.  It is a wonderful learning tool if used with care and not excessiveness.
10. Take grammar with a grain of salt because there are so many ways to use it.
11. Daybooks are essential tools and a catch-all for our most brilliant ideas and treasured memories.
12. Focus on the journey of learning my students take through the writing process, not the grade.
13. Revision is hope and second chances.
14. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.  Always remember the story of the one being saved.
15.Teaching is a heroic thing and our students are heroic people.
16. Continue to learn through inquiry.
17. Be a great listener.
18. Never stop reading.
19. Never stop writing.
20. We are all writers.


THANK YOU SI!!!