As a way to get my students to think about the short story selections they have been reading to prepare for their argument essay, the warm-up question today was to name their favorite so far. It is not false humility for me to report that I was shocked at how many students chose the story that I had written.
For the second year in a row, I included the short memoir as an option, and I also read it out loud to each of my classes. But that was last week, and coming back today after two days out for Heidi's eye surgery, I had almost forgotten that it was one of the choices. The young writers in my class had not forgotten though, and when the final tally was complete, my story had garnered more votes than the other 9 combined!
The competition wasn't shoddy either; it included the likes of Shannon Hale, Eve Bunting, Jack Gantos, Jacqueline Woodson, and even Langston Hughes. I spent the day shaking my head and blushing a little-- I know I have the advantage of proximity and familiarity, but it never hurts to get a little validation and appreciation.
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