I am always interested in reading what other writers have to say about writing. Even if they are writers I do not really read.

For example, here’s a quote I just read from an interview with Mary Higgins Clark…

The first thing you have to do is write. So many people tell me, “I’m going to write a book as soon as…..” The three fatal words are as soon as…. As soon as I learn to use the computer. As soon as I quit my job. As soon as the kids grow up. As soon as the dog dies. But trust me, as soon as the kids grow up and the dog dies, there will be a new set of excuses not to write which will be equally valid. If you are a morning person, get up an hour earlier and use that time to write. If you’re a night person, go to bed an hour later. But don’t say you’re too busy, because you’ll always be too busy!

Now I do not believe I have ever read a book by this woman — but something like 100 million other readers in this world have, so even though she may “not really be my thing”, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have something valuable to offer me on the professional advice front. (In Mrs. Clark’s defense however, I betchya she has read The Hoopster so NAH! LOL!)

The big point to this all is that when it comes right down to it, she is SO right. I mean so many people ask me about being a writer, how one becomes a writer, where do I “get an agent”, “land a book deal”, and so on they it seems as though they forget one thing.

You need to write.

And write and write and write.

I only mention this because summer is coming and there are scores and scores and scores of folks who “have that book that they have always wanted to write… as soon as…”

Is that you? If so, when do you think the “as soon as” aspect of your life is going to disappear? Because time will. If you do not get started in 2010 the year 2011 will still arrive. Me, I’ve got books I’ll be working on all summer.

Mary Higgins Clark does, too.

Do you?

Putting your butt in a chair and actually writing is the how authors who have sold over 100 million copies of their novels do it, it’s how I do it (goodness do I wish that I was in the former category, instead of the latter in the first part of this sentence) and it’s how the runaway bestselling book of 2011 was tackled.

You can’t hit any home runs if you don’t swing the bat.

The “as soon as…” syndrome — will it bite you in the butt this summer?

Schools are so understaffed on the admin front that sensible evaluations of teachers that are thoughtful, timely and fair to all parties involved seem almost like a pipe dream.

Take my school, for example. We have 4 admins on our campus: a P and 3 VP’s.

That’s for something like 150 teachers.

So if each educator were to get 8 classroom visits (two per quarter; that doesn’t seem unreasonable, right? I mean not if you are to reasonably try to gain insight into a situation — I mean that’s only once every 4 and 1/2 weeks) that would mean that a total of 1,200 classroom visits would need to be made.

This means that each admin would have to do about 300 visits per school year.

This means that each admin would have to do something like 75 visits per quarter.

This means that each admin would have to do about 8 visits per week.

That’s two classroom visit a day with Fridays off from classroom visiting.

Seems reasonable for all right? (I can already hear the chuckles.) At least if you are going to be able to draw and fair, verifiable and rational conclusions.

And then, instead of using silly check sheet rubrics, they might actually be able to provide some support and guidance to better steer the direction of the campus ship.

I know, more pipe dream.

(BTW, this is assuming that the admins actually know how to be an effective teacher themselves — a great leap of faith in and of itself. And by so much of the verbiage they use, I often doubt whether some of the people who oversee teachers actually could do the job of a classroom educator.)

Anyway, how far are we away from those numbers?

I am reminded of Frost: “Miles to go before we sleep.”

All right — let’s go in from a different angle. The P.E., the arts, the R.O.P. classes and such — do they even get/need a visit? I mean come on, if it ain’t gonna be tested, why should an admin waste their time, right?

Ya think they are walking though the cooking class asking where the “Daily Objective” is written on the front board?

And the “core” classes? Aren’t we merely getting cursory walk-throughs that seem as if they are merely judgement based fly-bys? After all, my first was this January — and school started in late August.

Also, are we really hopeful to get more of them? It’s like a little game. Admins come in and do their thing. We do our thing. And then, when that thing is done we both look forward to going back to doing our original thing hoping not to cross paths again over this matter — cause there are other things to do.

Note to self: new book title idea.

Sensible Evaluations of Teachers… and More Farces from the Front Lines

Is there such a thing as “bad” kids?

Walking the halls of school and chatting (as I get to do) with teachers from all over the country, I often hear the term “the good kids”. They are the ones that (this is my own, rough definition here; one I am drawing by assumption) come to class, behave in a civil manner, make an attempt to respect authority, do their work and strive for [so called] “admirable goals” like good grades, graduation, becoming well educated, going to college and so forth.

Good kids are, well… good kids. We all kind of understand who they are.

But if there are good kids, by definition, that must mean there are also “bad kids”, right? It really is a question I am not sure I know the answer to.

I mean, the bleeding heart California liberal in me wants to say, “There is no such thing as a bad kid.” And a part of me wants to truly believe that. I really do.

But to work in an urban, title I school you see kids that deal drugs, commits viscous acts of violence, show absolutely no regard for authority on campus, actively seek to destroy our school through vandalism, graffiti, and so on… and generally show absolutely no interest whatsoever in pursuing any academic aspirations whatsoever. To some kids, school is nothing more than a social venue where they get their kicks causing mayhem, chillin’ with friends and trying to score a little nooky from the hottie they just made eye contact with in the hallway.

And when other campus employees refer to them as the “bad kids” I often find myself biting my tongue. I mean I work hard not to label kids good or bad — in my book, kids are kids are kids and they vary along such a diverse continuum that there really is no way to generalize them with such imprecise vocabulary words. Yet… when other campus employees use the term “bad kids” and are referencing the type of students that demonstrate behaviors like the ones I just listed, is it really unfair of them to call these young people “bad kids”?

I wonder.

And if not, is there even such a thing as a “bad kid”?

Some folks will blame the parents of the child and talk about how they are being raised. Some people will blame the kids themselves for not acting more intelligently, responsibly, properly. Some people will blame the school and teachers for not being able to do a better job of reaching these students. However, this is a different discussion.

The question is, is there such a thing as a “bad kid” when you work at a school.

And are we ashamed to admit that “yes, there are” out of a fear that we will be transgressing some sort of “moral spirit of what a teacher ought to be” if we do indeed cop to the idea that some kids are just “bad”.

I couldn’t be more fired up to say that I just got a bid for a new book of YA fiction of mine from a HUGE publisher — one of the biggest — and to say that I am tickled would be a gigantic understatement.

So how did it happen? Here’s a backstage look at the process. (Maybe it’ll be of some benefit to you on your own quest to do the same thing if that’s your aspiration.)

1) I wrote a book.

I can’t tell you how many people I meet that tell me they have a great idea for a book. I can’t tell you how many people I meet that tell me they want to write a book. I can’t tell you how many people I meet that never write that book.

Put your butt in a chair for hundreds and hundreds of hours. Without that, there is no need to even read on.

2) I wrote the book that I genuinely wanted to write.

If you are going to be a writer, you have to stretch. You have to reach. You have demand as much from yourself and your abilities and your character and your stories as you possibly can each and every outing.

Otherwise, it’s gonna stink.

That ultimately means, you have to write the book that YOU want to write. Trying to write vampire stuff right now because vampire stuff is hot doesn’t seem like a great recipe (to me) for success — which is why my new book is NOT a vampire book. Of course, if writing about vamps is your thing, then by all means, go for it. But if you have a deep itch to write, let’s say, a little book about apostrophes and comma placement, you gotta go for it. Why? Cause there is just no way to truly predict what will be successful in the world of books, a la’ Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

Like I said, write the book that you genuinely want to write and don’t guess the market… it moves too fast and is entirely unpredictable.

3) For this book, I took a chance.

Right now I am at the stage of my publishing career where I can write a chapter or two, briefly give an overview outline of the rest of the book and take it out to my agent to submit. Why? Because I have a track record that proves if you pay me to write a book, I will write that book and meet the deadline to which I agree.

But for this book, I spec’d out the whole thing. The whole darn thing. (NOTE: To spec means to write on speculation, speculating that someone is going to want to buy your novel, so you complete an entire draft as opposed to a mere proposal.)

So why is this a “chance” for me? Because if nobody liked my book, it means it would sit in a drawer and all the many, many, many hours I spent writing it will have — well, I won’t say “gone to waste” cause there is no such thing as wasted writing, IMHO, but still… if I can sell a book based on 3,000 words why on earth would I want to write 52,384 words to see if it was going to sell?

My answer was (to myself) because I REALLY wanted to write this book and I REALLY believed in this book and I REALLY felt it was worthy of publication. That made it a REALLY fulfilling experience for me. After all, the joy is in the work, right?

(Also, I REALLY think it’s going to do quite well. At least, I hope.)

But still, I wrote it on spec putting all of my own chips on the line, betting on myself to deliver a something that multiple people would want to publish. And being that it was a complete novel, it makes it all the more attractive to potential buyers because they get to see exactly what they are getting. (Instead of me selling an action adventure book about teens who take over the CIA and then switch the novel 8 months after the contracts have been signed to a love story about a dying geriatric couple in Montana who hope to build a strong fence for their cattle before they pass.)

Don’t laugh, shit like this happens all the time to book editors.

Anyway, in order to try and take my writing career to the next level, I bet on myself to deliver, the upside of which is that it has opened a lot more possibilities.

4) The process was long and slow and hard… and then really quick.

I’ve been thinking about this book off and on for a few years. I’ve played with different stuff for a few years. I finally sat down to write it and despite whatever fantasties anyone might have about writing a novel, at some point, it becomes, tough, hard, long arduous work.

However, this book might have been my easiest in a way because it’s a YA comedy — and like a total doof, I spent many hours all by myself laughing my butt off with no one else in the room. (My feeling is, if I don’t laugh, then why is a reader going to laugh? I mean, if I don’t “feel it” who will?)

That also means that the long, hard work was also tempered by a heck of a lot of fun for me.

But like I said, the process was QUICK as well.

I showed my agent a draft. (After having a bunch of kids read it all over the country, that is. See I have a whole host of fans that I give “sneak peeks” to in order for me to make sure the novel is working the way I want it to, assimilate feedback, and so on. I rarely care what the adults think. But the teens for whom I write, their opinion means everything!)

My agent got it on a Friday, read it over the weekend (he’s GREAT!) and then gave me feedback on a Monday. Essentially, he thought it was terrific, knew right away he was going to be able to place it with a good publishing house, but also told me that it needed a re-write at the Chapter 18/19 mark because a little bit of the character’s motivations seemed muddled and in need of a bit more thought and attention in order to make sure we could drive the plot home with both the requisite force and deft touch.

I set right to work the next evening. (BTW, he was right. You gotta trust the pros with which you work and while I am free to disagree with his insights and opinions — after all, it is my book at the end of the day — I don’t want to let my own ego get in the way of ever making my books better projects — and when I heard his thoughts I knew he was right — I could do better… and so I did.)

Took me a few weeks to get it absolutely right but when I re-submitted it to him, POOF! he gave it the stamp of approval and made a plan to take it out to a variety of publishers.

That’s when the real excitement starts.

About 2 weeks ago a host of editors got the submission from him. 2 days later I heard from one of my previous editors — just a gem of a person — that she loved the book and would be “taking it to the acquisition committee” on Wednesday to float it up their flag pole because she was on board 100%.

At this juncture, a bunch of people have to read the book at her publishing house. (Book publishing is a team game.) Next move for my agent was to then notify other publishing houses that we already have great interest.

Next thing you know, we are “getting reads” all over New York because it’s in the air that this book is going to sell and if you want to buy it, you better hurry.

That was last Friday. Wednesday we got the first offer and by this Friday, the deal will be sealed just in time for a hopefully Happy Thanksgiving.

(My goal was to sell this book by Feb 2010 — so it came in months early.

Anyway, that’s the tale behind this book.

NOTE: I know I haven’t spilled the beans on any details at all yet about the book. Just waiting to have a deal in hand and the such. With the internet the way it is, goodness only knows what can happen. But I promise to reveal all the details when the time is right, maybe float the first chapter to everyone for a sneak peek and tell a few more tales about the publishing process as well as the writing and re-writing process as it unfolds.

Sorry for the long post today, but there was a lot going on. And all of this is happening right at the start of NCTE. Exciting stuff!

A few weeks ago I talked about H.R. 1895 and The Stand Up Act in regards to providing more strict guidleines for teen drivers.

It just smacked of complete common sense. Well, banning txting and driving is next up. This seems, to me, to be another one that just elevates itself to the level of NO-BRAINER.

See, when I click on this article and see a picture of a tow truck in a swimming pool, I gotta kinda laugh. Then again, I am not the 68 year old lady that went to the hospital as a result of this txting tow truck driver who caused one heck of an accident.

And alerting teens to the dangers of txting has gone international. Check out this PSA aimed at young-ins to scare them into keeping their eyes on the road and not their phones when operating a vehicle. (Warning: this thing doesn’t pull any punches. It’s gruesome!)

Are we, as teachers not responsible to bring up these issues in our class? I mean, I know it’s not necessarily “standards-based” but still, is there not an almost moral imperative to teach right from wrong, as well as skills, in the modern day classroom? (BTW, this could easily lead to a standards based assignment, whether you want to tie it to reading comprehension, a written reply, and so on.) But does every little thing have to be standards-based?

Kids need to know that txting and driving is SUPER DANGEROUS. For me to teach this, to discuss this, to hammer this home, do I have to “lesson plan it out according to the California state standards” or is there room in my classroom for just some lessons about life? And when the national standards people meet in the secret halls of covert “We know what’s bestness?” are they taking things like this into consideration? I really wonder.

Will I get “merit pay” if I happen to save a kid from a fate worse than choosing incorrect bubbles on a standardized state test?

I mean, I hate to say it, but dontchya get the feeling that the higher-ups would prefer I spent the time teaching gerunds?

Cause as we all know, gerunds save lives.

I can’t say I am the biggest fan of Facebook. Maybe I am just from a different era, whatever. And not to sound like a snob (I know, too late for that, right?), but I can’t say that I am all that into striking up really long social network conversations with people I only kind of knew as bare associates 20 years ago. But ever since I joined Facebook once upon a time ago, I get all these “remember me” notes that seem to require 15-20 minutes of thoughtful written response if I am going to reply to all the questions appropriately.

Like the kid in from my 11th grade chemistry class. Do I really need to run down my life’s story of college, dating, marriage, parenthood, career, what my siblings are up to, and so on just because he hit me up on the web?

Does it make me an arrogant sounding jerk to want to take the attitude, “Knew you once, buddy… and it was brief and kinda awkward then. Not really looking for a cross country pen-pal now who is approaching me as if we are long lost pals that once travelled the globe together before being tragically separated by a typhoon in Singapore… but now Facebook has reunited us again — HALLELUJAH! — so let’s rekindle, huh?”

And the thing is, I talk to more and more people who feel almost exactly the same way. (At least people over the age of 30, that is.)

Thing is, though, I LOVE nings. Maybe it’s because they are specialized and populated with people of like-minded interests discussing subjects which authentically intrigue me. On Facebook I get to learn that Cecilia is considering whether or not to put hot sauce on a chicken sandwich right now whereas on the nings people are speaking to subjects of real interest to me… and they are doing it thoughtfully, passionately and out of their own “I want to do this” willingness. It’s not homework. It’s not guilt. It’s not, “Oh darn, I gotta respond to the ning again.” It’s not obligation. It’s voluntary participation.

And it’s not updates on things like, “a blue car just drove down my street.”

Facebook is the reason that the acronym WTF carries so much weight for me on the internet. Because when I see Jesse has just mentioned that “the tree in his yard will be trimmed by noon on Friday” I scream to myself, WTF!

Who cares? Why are you posting this and why am I reading this?

Facebook to me now feels like a chore. People are poking me. People are inviting me to join groups. People, strange, distant, once-upon-a-time people are kind of intruding on me in a manner that is almost directly opposite to the way people communicate with me on the ning.

I still want to give Facebook a chance but… well, I log in less and less and less these days and when I do I almost never feel good about my experience over there.

Yet the ning… I feel intellectually stimulated by it.

Nings rock. And, Facebook, because I now feel as if I am blowing a bunch of people off by not replying to them just because they are trying to connect with me in a bit of a vapid way, Makes Me Feel Like a Wee Bit of a Jerk.

For those who wonder why we need Sex Ed taught in our schools, I offer this story, the tale of the teens who mistook a woman’s lovemaking cries for assault and promptly beat the crap out of the man with whom she was amorously copulating.

But the question arises as to which school personnel are qualified to handle such a delicate, senstive class. Good thing we have teachers such as this person, the elementary educator who “accidentally” spliced in a few seconds of her own sex adventures in a take home DVD of school memories for the kids to relish.

You gotta wonder what the summer project was, dontchya?

At the end of the day, all I know is, it’s a good thing we have stable leadership in this country — as this person clearly personifies. Otherwise, who knows where we’d be.

(Caribou Barbie… where do they make this stuff up?)

But sex ed wouldn’t just be about the birds and the bees. We could teach hygiene, personal responsibility and how to properly circumcise yourself, a lesson most obviously needed as this man proves when he uses a set of nail clippers to do a job most certainly requiring shears.

Is this not a textbook definition of the old saying, “Never send a boy to do a man’s job.”

Procreation: We need the pros.

“Honestly, California has lost its way.”

This quote doesn’t come from me. It doesn’t come from my compadres in the Golden State. It doesn’t even come from a person who is known for making blustery, large, sweeping statements like this.

It comes from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaking to dozens of mayors, superintendents and school board trustees at San Francisco City Hall this past week.

Ouch!

And then he put some spank on it.

“California used to lead the nation in education.”

That’s right… used to. But now, as we all know, California looks like some sort of mushy-brained prize fighter from an era gone by who still thinks it has the chops to be in the ring with a ferocious opponent — yet its face is being turned into hamburger meat by the opposing educational forces it now faces.

Used to… Damn if that don’t slice to the core.

He also said that, “Our dysfunctional adult relationships have hurt children in far too many places.”

Gee, I might find that grossly offensive it it wasn’t so grossly true.

Duncan also slammed Schwarzenegger’s proposal to lop seven days off the school year, saying students need to be spending significantly more time in class to close the achievement gap. I’ve been saying the same thing for months. I mean by Arnold’s logic, if cutting 7 days of school is going to be fiscally prudent, why don’t we just cancel the entire 2009/2010 school year — that might be downright profitable!!

Thing is, as my state and my peeps out West get body-slammed by Duncan, there’s one thing we all know to be true. If you were to take a look at the top of the mountain, the tip of the iceberg which is above water and not the whole glacier, there’s no one who wouldn’t agree that the state of California has some of the most wicked, most phenomenal, most cutting edge, leading thinkers and educators on the planet. In a definite amount of places, California rocks like no other.

Heck, if we were Rhode Island, we’d be slam-dunking on fools like Kobe Bryant at a Laker game!

But we can’t seem to find a way to spread the love we have at the top all around. The upper tiers have it — and they have it good — but the rest of the state is getting pummeled.

“It’s often at times of crisis we get the reforms we need,” Duncan also mentioned. Well, we certainly need reform. And we certainly are in a crisis. And being that he was pretty much right about everything else he said, I certainly hope our Secretary of Education is right about this one, too.