There are days when I start writing and I’m not sure where it’s going to take me. Today is one of those days.

There are days when I write in the morning and it’s early evening before I can get back to my writing. Today is one of those days.

There are says when life intrudes on carefully crafted plans. There are interruptions, meetings, meals to prepare. Or maybe it’s just time for a break. Today was one of those days.

There are days when I have so many ideas for my students that I want to talk about then with anyone that is willing to listen. Today was one of those days.

There are days when I’m excited about collaborating, rather than just planning with my team, and there is a difference.

When we collaborate there is a rush of excitement. Ideas flow back and forth. We are not constrained by curriculum documents, school mandates or new initiatives. When we collaborate we create something better than if we’d worked by ourselves.

Instead of the excitement of a project that we are hopeful will engage our students, we get mired in preparing documents intended for others eyes. Documents that we may or may not end up using.

If teachers had a greater sense of autonomy, we would be collaborating on projects and units to engage our students and enhance their learning.

There are days when I despair about the state of education, the world, and life in general. And, then there are days when I am hopeful that we can find our way out of a mess that we may not have created, but are responsible for maintaining.

There are days when writing helps me sort it all out or, at least, by writing I know that it needs sorting.

Today is one of those days.

Cross posted to the Two Writing Teachers Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge.