glimpse into a life of an ordinary person

Read more slices at Two Writing Teachers

A tweet from Stacey made me think today

I love the definition. Especially the part "insight into an ordinary person's life."

I love how slice of life isn't pretentious. 

I love how the form isn't tightly prescribed.

I wonder how difficult it was to come up with this compressed explanation.

I wonder what slice of life explanation would look like in a visual form.

I wonder what other categories could be added to this introduction.

Writing a slice is a challenge - choosing the slice, shushing the inner critic, ignoring the comparison monster, managing time to write, finding the right words.

Writing a slice is a celebration - finding the spark, sharing the joy, igniting enthusiasm, spreading inspiration, inviting wonder, connecting to others, patting yourself on the back, appreciating people. 

Writing a slice is therapy - sorting thoughts, taming emotions, anchoring to meaning, letting go, reaching out, looking for what is right in the wrong, breathing.

Throughout all the thinking the biggest question on my mind was "What to write today?"

The first two days of this week have been hectic. We have a Book Week at school and it has thrown off the regular schedule and routines.  The children behave as if they have forgotten everything about classroom behavior. Since I had three days of PD last week finishing some projects and writing reflections compiled to this week. The students seem to have forgotten what they have done or we have discussed previously. Today we had a field trip to a National Library. I feel that what the students produced in the afternoon wasn't anywhere close to what I envisioned them to produce. I felt as if I had failed with teaching and they hadn't learned anything. They whined and complained. I also had a strong urge to whine, cry and complain. (I did a bit, to my friend). I wanted to give up and declare my failure. I didn't. I didn't let the kids give up either. By the end of the day I had few digital mind-maps about family stories and some reflections for a geometry unit. With trepidation I opened the first mind map. Three lines connected to the question why we learn about family stories, about our parents' and grand parents' childhood, brought sunshine back to the dark day. The ELL student wrote that we learn about family stories because

• then we know more about our family
• then we also know what did they feel
• then we also know how they loved their family

She gets the essential idea, doesn't she?

Reading her words brought me back to Stacey's tweet. 

Slice of life is an insight into an ordinary person's life. Through writing, sharing and reading the slices we are reminded of what is essential in our lives and what really matters, both professionally and personally.