I'm making plans for a beautiful school year.

As a teacher I get to make New Year Resolutions not once, but twice a year. Every August marks the start of a new school year and another chance to set goals and intentions for my teaching career and all other parts of my life. 

Here are my resolutions for the 2017-2018 school year:

In my classroom is a quote board and I don't care how cliche it may be for an English teacher to have one. The first quote I post each year is by author and poet Sylvia Plath: "I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am."

Not far from the quote board is a portrait of Plath. When seated at my desk poring over lesson plans and pitiful thesis statements, I glance across the room and look into her eyes. They seem to say to me, "Keep going."

While a student at Smith College, Plath once wrote herself a list of Back to School Commandments, beginning with three rules on how to behave around her new beau.

Image via OpenCulture

Inspired, I decided to pen commandments of my own for my love and my labor.

Image via B-Metro.com

Sometimes I feel as if I’m caught in a love triangle—writing and teaching both tugging at my heart. I was born to teach, but I didn’t realize this until after working in education for seven years. When I was a girl, I named all my dolls and other toys, arranged them in nice, neat rows in alphabetical order, and then launched into a lecture on whatever struck my fancy at the time. The classroom called me early in life, but I didn’t know it.

But I was also born to write. This I’ve known since the day I wrote my first poem. I was only 7 or 8 years old, so it was terrible, and I’m sure it included the line “Roses are red, violets are blue.” But it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the written word. And it was this love that led me to study journalism. I had dreams of working for Essence magazine and one day starting a print magazine of my own.

But a career in education was still whispering in my ear, flirting with my future plans. In graduate school at UC Berkeley, I was a graduate student instructor, or GSI, and taught a communications class for undergraduate students. I was charged with breaking down the complicated concepts and theories the professor discussed in her lectures. I did such a good job that students assigned to other GSIs would ask to come to my class, willing to sit on the floor or stand in the back if there weren’t enough desks.

I applied for Teach for America. I was accepted by Teach for America. I turned down Teach for America. I had also been offered a job as a features reporter in a city that I loved with the man whom I love. Writing won my heart again...

Read the entire article at B-Metro.com. 

Editor's Note: This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

Being a teacher is tough. Your lunch breaks are 20 minutes long, you can't even use the bathroom when you need to and nearly everyone from parents to politicians blames you for the downfall of society.

But May is that time of year when folks actually thank us teachers for the jobs we do. Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day and highlights a week-long celebration of us educators. I've already received heartfelt notes of thanks from parents and students and even some delicious cookies.  

Whether you're the parent of a school-aged child, a college or graduate school student, or simply someone who appreciates the sacrifice and hard work of educators, many people are giving thanks to the teachers in their lives this week. And this is a great time to go out and buy those end-of-the-year gifts too.

Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not in the education profession for gifts and I suspect no teachers are. In fact, I didn't even know students gave teachers gifts until my first year as a high school English instructor. But, trust me, the memory of a thoughtful gift can certainly get a teacher through a long night of grading papers.

If you're shopping for your favorite English teacher and you're not sure what to buy, I'm here to help. Whether you're shopping for end-of-the-year teacher gifts, Mothers' Day gifts, graduation presents, or gifts for bridal or baby showers, Swoozie's should be your first stop. This quaint and cozy shop specializes gifts for all occasions and offers superb customer service

Here are five fabulous gifts for your favorite English teacher, all found at Swoozie's Birmingham. 

Personalized Journal 

Most English teachers not only enjoy reading great literary works, but spend time writing great works as well. Add a personalized journal to your favorite teacher's notebook collection. Personalized journals are $19, plus $6 shipping and are usually delivered in 7 to 10 business days. Swoozie's offers personalized agenda books too. 

Kate Spade Office Supplies

Teachers can organize their desks in style with Kate Spade office supplies. At Swoozie's you'll find pencils ($20), binder clips ($18), notepads ($8-10) and more. 

One of my favorite items is this Kate Spade notebook inspired by The Great Gatsby ($14). 

Gift Book 

Every English teacher loves to read, but every teacher needs a break from dense literature every now and then. Swoozie's has an impressive gift books collection which includes The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal for Mothers ($16.95) and Stuff Every Woman Should Know ($9.95). 

Box Sign 

Right now Swoozie's has a section of its store dedicated to gifts for teachers. It features box signs ($9.95 - $14.95) for your teacher's desk, including a hilarious one that states: "I will not yell in class, I will not throw things, I will not tease the other kids, I am the teacher..."

Travel Tote

OK, if you give your child's teacher an expensive travel tote (this one is $136.95) at the end of the year it will probably be considered bribery. But if your wife is a teacher and you give her this tote as an end-of-the-year gift that would be considered a smart move toward maintaining a happy marriage. (I hope Mr. Bowser is reading this.) 

Now it's time to get a gift for yourself. Register to win a $20 Swoozie's gift card. All you need to do is leave a comment about your favorite teacher. You'll also increase your chances of winning by following Swoozie's Birmingham and WriteousBabe.com on Facebook and Twitter. Contest ends at 5 p.m. on Friday.

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Yesterday I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Actually, I celebrated all weekend, spending time with family and friends and eating entirely too much cake.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was a big blue poster I found tacked to my classroom door Friday morning.

Several of my female students worked together to create for me a fabulously feminist birthday card complete with a drawing of Beyonce, a portrait of Frida Kahlo and sketches of Hester Prynne and Kate Chopin tossing patriarchy in a trash can! And the messages they wrote to me brought tears to my eyes.  Many of them said I was their favorite teacher or the best English teacher they've ever had. One student said that when she feels hopeless or incapable of doing something difficult she thinks of what I would say to her. Two of the girls called me a queen! But little do they know, they are all royalty in my eyes. They have no idea how much they inspire me.

One young woman (the mastermind behind the birthday poster) wrote: "You have helped me grow into myself." But this is exactly what all these girls have done for me. They've helped me become the woman I was meant to be.

In a TEDxWomen interview that I love, Gloria Steinem defines aging as "becoming more of my authentic self." But she goes on to point out the irony of aging for women. When we are girls we are fearless and fierce, climbing trees and plotting plans to rule the world. Then, Steinem says, we are stamped with gender roles and become confined by society's stereotypes of what a girl should and should not be.

But then we age. And as we age we become more and more liberated from the notion that it is necessary to conform. We become that fierce, fearless girl again. "You're the same feisty person, but now you have your own apartment," Steinem says with a laugh.

My students, particularly my female students, remind me of my teenage self. And though young Javacia was full of the insecurities that most teen girls battle, she was also full of dreams and dogged determination. She believed every "No" could be turned into a "Yes."

And though I didn't have my own apartment, I was fortunate enough to have a room of my own and this room was my queendom. My room was my sacred space in which to create. My room was where I wrote songs, speeches, short stories and poems. I wrote in my journal every day. Blogging didn't exist so there were no thoughts of pageviews or landing freelance gigs. Back then I was a true artist, writing simply because I loved to do so. I wrote simply because I couldn't help myself.

I am becoming that girl again, which is making me a better woman.

And I want to be a better woman not for myself, but for all those girls I have the privilege and honor to teach.

I just hope they know how much they're teaching me, too.

Mrs. Bowser in her classroom

I came to a frightening revelation the other day -- I am a role model.

I never set out to be, but if you are a teacher you are a role model, whether you like it or not.

Chances are, you're a role model too -- whether it's to your colleagues, your children, or even your neighbors.

Instead of shirking this responsibility as so many celebrities attempt to do, I have decided to embrace it -- even though the thought of doing so is terrifying.

This weekend I spent some time thinking about how to be a better role model to my students in hopes of offering suggestions of how you can be a better role model to the people in your sphere of influence too.

Don't pretend to be perfect. I am vulnerable with my students and while some may consider this a weakness, I do not. I admit when I mess up. I ask my students for help (especially when some piece of technology in the classroom is, once again, not working). And I don't pretend to have all the answers. If I don't know something, I say so. Being a role model doesn't mean having it all figured it out. No one has it all figured out. My students need to see that it's possible to be confident and successful without being perfect. The people you're influencing need to see that too.

Listen. In my class I do not stand up and lecture every day or even most days. Instead, my English classes involve a lot of discussion of the literature that we study. I sit down with my students and we talk about the literature -- the symbolism, the implied stories, the historical context, and the relevance to current culture. I listen to what my students think about the works we're studying and I respect their opinions even if they have some really wacky theories about what really happened at the end of The Turn of the Screw. Listen to the ideas of others. You'll help them feel empowered and you'll probably learn something too.

Listening and being vulnerable are two things I believe I do well. But there is always room for improvement. There are some things at which I need to be better.

Keep reaching out. It's natural for a teacher to be closer to some students than others. Some students only talk to me about literature and essay writing while others cry on my shoulder after breaking up with a boyfriend or having a fight with their parents. I never let such relationships influence my grading, but I do need to get better about striving to build meaningful relationships with the students who are all business too. I need to have more conversations with them between classes about the books they love to read, their favorite subjects in school, and their plans for college. I need to make sure they know they're important to me. Likewise, keep reaching out to the people around you -- even the people with whom you don't feel you have much in common. Make sure everyone around you knows you respect and honor them for who they are. I believe that will encourage them to respect and honor others too.

End negative self talk. The student population at my school is predominantly female, so I am a especially mindful of the kind of example I'm setting for the girls in my classes. I need to be sure that I never say negative things about my weight or my looks in front of them. I would never want the young women in my classes to take negative things I say about myself and repeat those phrases to the mirror. So please make sure you're promoting positive self talk around the girls in your life too.

What tips do you have to offer on being a positive role model? 

Image by Lauren Harris of Afro Girl Talks

Mrs. Bowser, what's Beyonce Week?

I had to answer that question about a dozen times last week because the completely ridiculous, yet completely awesome image you see above was posted in the center of the dry erase board in my classroom.

The students in my English classes were disappointed that it wasn't Beyonce Week for them, but for the students in my elective Women and the Media.

This class is something I describe as Journalism 101 meets Women's Studies. In the class I teach students the basics of journalism but we also spend a great deal of time discussing feminism and representations of women in the media.

And we talk about Beyonce because, well, the students in the class really, really love Queen Bey and their teacher happens to adore her just as much.

So last week was Beyonce Week.

We read and discussed articles from feminist publications that debated whether or not Beyonce should be a feminist icon. Is her sexy persona anti-feminist? Did she set back the women's movement by naming her tour The Mrs. Carter Show?  These are some of the questions we tackled.

We also watched and discussed some of Bey's most popular videos and segments of her documentary Life Is But a Dream.

When I announced my plans to have a Beyonce Week my students were elated, of course. While their excitement delighted me I was a bit worried. I wanted this week to be more than just an excuse to watch pop music videos in class. I wanted my students to really get something out of these five days.

But I had no reason to worry.

Sure, there was some goofing off (like the day the image above came to be), but the week turned out to be incredibly moving and meaningful.

We had powerful discussions on black female sexuality, what it truly means to be a feminist, and how being feminist and feminine is not a contradiction. And best of all we had a great talk about sisterhood.

In the documentary Life Is But a Dream Beyonce says, "I love my husband, but there is nothing like having a conversation with a woman who understands you. I grow so much from those conversations. I need my sisters."

This statement really resonated with some of the girls in the class and even the sole brave boy who's enrolled in the elective. One student shared that she too feels this way about having conversations with other women and that these talks are so powerful and have such a great impact on her life that they feel spiritual.

I've had similar experiences so when my student made this statement I literally got chills and I could sense other girls in the room did too.

One student shared that thinking about sisterhood has urged her to be more open with her female friends and to work on building a closer relationship with her mom.

And so as Beyonce Week came to a close I realized that this week was about much more than a pop star and whether or not she should be considered a feminist icon. This week was about young women embracing sisterhood and realizing that if women work together one day girls might really run the world.

It's Friday. I survived my first week back in the classroom. Barely.

Getting back into the groove has been exhausting and juggling teaching with See Jane Write has been much more difficult than I anticipated. Thus, I'm in a bad mood. So I decided my blog would be in a bad mood too. Lots of snark ahead as I present to you four things you should never say to a teacher.

1. Can we meet for lunch?

For teachers, "lunch" means running to the restroom to pee (you've been holding it for about four hours), scarfing down a disgusting Lean Cuisine, attempting to make a doctor's appointment only to be disturbed by students and colleagues knocking on your classroom door, and later running back to the restroom to pee again before the bell rings. And "lunch" means doing all of this in about 26 minutes.

So, yes, we can meet for lunch... in June.

2. I'm so tired. My boss made us come in at 9 a.m. today. 

By 9 a.m. I'm already teaching my second period class. By 9 a.m. I've been at work for nearly two hours and awake for nearly four. Take your yawns elsewhere.

3. It must be so nice being done with your work day at 3 o'clock. 

Actually I think this picture is a better explanation:

4. I think school should be year-round. 

I think you secretly hate me.

Even my iMadeFace avatar is ready for summer break. Less than four weeks to go!

There's something about turning my calendar to a new month that reenergizes me. I know it's silly. Nothing has really changed in my life simply because it's now May, but I'm excited nonetheless.

I used to post my intentions for the month on this little blog of mine and I've decided to bring back that tradition today.

This month I intend to...

Exercise every day. I've been trying to do this every month this year and every month I fail. But you know what they say: if at first you don't succeed...

Anyone want to help me grade papers?

Keep calm during end-of-the-school-year chaos. Yesterday I nearly had a panic attack as I looked at the stack of papers I have to grade, especially when I considered that this pile didn't even include the 65 research papers I'll be lugging home Monday afternoon. My heart started to race and I found myself being short with my students. It was time to chill out.

And I plan to maintain peace by spending at least 15 minutes of quiet time with God first thing, each morning. Philippians 4 says if I pray, the peace of God will guard my heart and mind. So I'm going to sacrifice hitting the snooze button because I believe this is true.

Spend more quality time with my husband. People who know me well know that I am an extremely goal-oriented and ambitious woman and I'm fortunate enough to be married to a man who is just as driven as I am and who supports all my endeavors. But all these lofty aspirations mean hubs and I don't spend nearly as much time together as we should. Even when we attend local events together we're usually not side by side but can be seen working the room solo, busily networking like any good power couple should. But this power couple needs to power down a bit and spend time working on our most important enterprise -- our marriage.

Clean and organize every room of my apartment. People assume I'm a very neat and organized person because I generally appear put together, because I meticulously plan out my day with lists, and because I'm married to a neat freak. It's a façade. In reality I'm a complete slob. When my husband goes out of town I live like a frat boy with clothes strewn all over the living room and empty pizza boxes stacked on the kitchen counter. Of course, the place is spotless when he returns home. But when he goes out of town at the end of this month I'm going to spend the entire week he's gone cleaning and organizing. (But I'm still eating pizza for dinner.)

When I found this print online last month I had to have it in my classroom this year.
You can get it here. 

I can't believe that today is the first day of school. Seems like just yesterday I was dancing down the halls blasting Alice Cooper's "School's Out for Summer" on the last teacher work day of the 2011-2012 school year. (Yes, this is what teachers do when students aren't around.)

Yesterday a friend asked me what my expectations were for this school year and I answered honestly: "I have none." I've learned that things never turn out the way you thought they would. I did, however, decide to write down intentions for the new school year, just as I do for the new calendar or as my birthday approaches.

Here are my intentions for the new school year:

Be a good role model. Whether we want to be or not, teachers are role models, so I'm going to make it a point to be a positive one, especially for my female students. Aside from working to ignite a love for reading within my students and working to inspire them to write, I want to help them be confident too. And, along with encouraging them, one way to do that is to lead by example. I don't want my students, especially my female students, to ever overhear me speaking disparagingly about myself. We need to be careful to never say things like "I'm so stupid" or "This makes me look fat" or "My hair looks awful today" around teens.

Read for pleasure. This is another instance in which I need to lead by example. I'm constantly encouraging my students to read things other than the books I assign them, but most of the time I also push aside the reading I want to do because I spend so much of my free time rereading what we're studying in class as I try to revamp my lesson plans. This year I'm going to make it a point to read at least one book that isn't on my syllabus each month.

Let bad days roll off my back. Last year I had one class (actually one student in one class) that was extremely challenging for me and whenever I'd have a bad time in that class I'd let it ruin my whole day. Even if my other classes went along famously, I would go home focused on that one bad class period. This year I'm not going to let small challenges take the joy out of teaching.

Manage my time wisely. About four times a year, usually around the end of the 9-week grading period, I become a complete basketcase as I'm overwhelmed with papers and projects to grade. And this stress usually leads to me neglecting my writing and my exercise regimen for a few weeks. I'm determined to stay on top of things and not let this happen this year.

Set long-term career goals. I'm constantly thinking of my future as a writer, but because I'm so happy with my current teaching position I rarely think about my future as an educator. By the end of this school year I want to establish concrete goals for my teaching career.

Be positive. This year I am going to do my best to stay upbeat and optimistic regardless of what's going on at school or at home. I want to have fun while I'm teaching because if I'm having a blast my students will too.

Be myself. I have a tendency to not be myself at work. I can be shy and quiet around certain colleagues for fear that they'll get the wrong impression of me. Well, this is my fourth year at my school and I think it's time everyone met the real me. And, yes, this means my co-workers should  expect more dancing in the halls.