Home Away from Home

I spend a lot of time in the room pictured above.

It is my home away from home. I've made it my own space with a lot of dedication and TLC and a highly flammable amount of paper (there are trees upon trees upon trees in this room). The western wall is a bank of windows looking down on the valley and city below. Shakespeare looks down on us from his large and stately frame on the wall. My little office is covered in art and color and things that I love. There are quotes and thoughts posted throughout the room.

"You miss all the shots you don't take."
"We read to know we are not alone."
"A word / after a word / after a word / is power."
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."
"Embrace confusion. Confusion is where learning happens."
"Learning is hard. Embrace the suck." (A class motto I say a lot to the kids.)

 The outside of the door is posted with large stickers from the dollar store: "Come in. Learn."

I hope that is what my students feel upon entering. That this is a space of learning. Not to merely earn grades or complain or suffer from boredom or bully one another out of our own insecurities. I wanted to create my own dream room for learning and creativity and a celebration of knowledge and literature and writing and reading.

I love this room. For me, it is a place where I get to witness the everyday magic of learning.