All In! makes it better.

Teaching is hard these days, certainly harder than when we first started.  Heck, LIFE is hard these days.  Epidemic-level number of students come to us with anxiety and social emotional needs.  Our news feeds are full of violence and hatred.  Parents are scared, and so are we.  This is HARD.  And because we are who we are, because we choose to stay in education even when the job description expands to include counseling and trauma care and responding to the sound of gunfire, because we love our students, we find ourselves asking, "how can we help?"

And this week we realized something: the way we can help, the way we can make things better, is to keep on doing what we're doing:  All In.   

She was so, so happy!

On Thursday, October 25th, we invited our 2018 Literary Leader for the ceremonial unboxing of the 2019 All In book.  Prior to her visit, students ventured guesses and waged debates as to what the book would be.  Teachers pleaded, central office staff pried for intel, and the Crazy Reading Ladies sat back and enjoyed every suspenseful minute.  The video team news studio was tense as Grace peeled back paper and tape, digging through piles of tissue paper.  When she finally unearthed Ruta Sepetys' Salt to the Sea, a cheer erupted and cries of "I KNEW it!" were shared.  (The kids ALWAYS know exactly what it was going to be....after it's revealed.  All of them.)

And as much as we enjoy the lead up to the reveal, the days that followed are what we really want to share.  

What's it gonna be, 6th grade?

Reveal day happened to land on the first of two half days for parent conferences.  Through the magic of our PCC and our local Barnes and Noble, we were able to set up a table in the school lobby where families could purchase a copy of Salt to the Sea.  The conversations that happened at that table will keep us going for a long, long time.

Sixth grade parents, who have heard about the program from friends and neighbors told us they were excited to live this experience with their children. They commented on how eager they were to know the title, saying things like, "You guys kept this going for a long time! Every day I'd be like, 'Did they reveal the book yet?' I was dying to know!"

Truth is, this was a pretty short turnaround, but we do love messing with people.

Reveal Day banter. We amuse ourselves.

Seventh-graders have a special bounciness about them. They've been there, done that, and they are choosing to do again. We've earned their trust. They know the book is an opportunity; but more importantly, they know they're gonna love it. One dad plopped his money on the table and declared, "We are officially All In!"

Our eighth graders are already emotional (and it's only October.) They know what this All In! means - it's their 3Peat Year, an honor bestowed on the middles who have participated in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. This year is particularly special because we chose this book for them. They began this journey with Between Shades of Gray and together, in Salt to the Sea, we will "finish the story."

We sold out. Twice.

Parents told us how much they loved getting the chance to read with their child, having something to talk about, to learn about, together. "How did I not know about this? I went to college! When I read Between Shades of Gray I was devastated. I never heard a word about it. It's only because of you that I know any of this happened. I can't wait to read this one."

One mom began an "All In! All In! All In!" chant as she approached the table with her eighth grader. With three kids through our middle school, this mom has participated in six All In! iterations. Her son is in 8th grade now...this will be her last. Her eyes filled as she took her copy of the book. "I think this is so incredible, what you guys do. I read the books with my kids...I read them all. Lord, we even got through The Hobbit! I'm going to miss this."


When Mary went to the 6th grade wing for her own son's conference, she overheard a conversation happening with another family in which the student was sharing what makes middle school better than elementary.  Chief among the reasons - All In.  All In makes it better.  

All In! 2019 - Reveal Day!

Thursday night, Erin and Mary visited Barnes and Noble to stock up on books (The cashier asked if we were buying the exact same books.  Yes.  Yes we were.  Hey, Kiddo, Bridge of Clay, and People Kill People if you're curious.) While we were there, we ran into students who proudly held up their copy of The Book, smiles as wide as could be.  We heard from parents who said they had to leave work early to bring their child to the bookstore so they could start reading as soon as possible.  Some parents would read with their child, some good-naturedly admitted they'd have to wait until their child was through, but almost every adult said they'd be reading, too.  Time and again, Erin and Mary said, "You're going to love it.  It's our favorite. We just can't wait to talk to you about it!"  It felt so good to be able to share our passion with so many people.   

Our Literacy Leader before heading back to the high school.

That brings us back to reveal day, to the anticipatory moment when Grace revealed The Book.  It turns out it wasn't as suspenseful as the CRL believed it to be.  It would seem that there was a glitch with the news that morning, and the title of the book was inadvertently revealed at the start of the broadcast.  Oops.  We were unaware, so we carried on with the show, and revealed the book with as much pomp and circumstance as ever.  And you know what's amazing about that?  460 students knew that our surprise leaked early, but not a single one told either Erin or Mary.  Not a single one.  After the reveal, students smiled and waved and talked out how they just KNEW it would be that book, but not one of them told us that our moment wasn't as big as we thought it was.  If you know middle schoolers, you now they absolutely love to point out mistakes, but not a single one breathed a word to us on Thursday or Friday.  It's like they knew that we needed that moment...like they knew that they needed to take care of us.  And they did.  ALL of them. 

This week has been a reminder that, when life leaves us feeling lost and overwhelmed, there is something we can do to make it better.  We can lean on each other, on our students, on our community, and we can go All In.