"Nobody Got Up Early in The Morning and Could Draw Perfectly..."

Christopher Myers is an author that I've grown to admire. One of his stories, "Wings", is included in the basal readers we're provided with. For me, this is one of the best pieces of children's literature ever: the illustrations, the premise, the themes.... sometimes I think this text belongs in the hands of the adults more than the children!One of my passions in teaching is to teach my students that they are smart, that they can learn. Convincing kids that they are capable learners is hard work, but with all due respect to those test writers lurking out there, it is the most important thing that I teach.Sometimes I am not quite sure my students believe me - and why should they? After all I grew up in a white middle class family and socio-economic situations were so much different than most of my students.  Still, we keep trying to meet on that common ground.Christopher eloquently speaks about the portrayals our students see of success; how our students don't always see or know what it takes to be successful.

Nobody got up early in the morning and could draw perfectly.

Check out this video  on Reading Rockets to hear, in Christopher's own words, the valuable lessons our kids need. Advance to the clip labeled Hard Work to hear Christopher speak about effort in whatever you do.