Beautiful Ugly

The east wall of our laundry room, painted a blue-gray color called blustery sky, is my favorite wall in our house. Not because of its color or the cute shelving in the corner, but because of the captured moments in time scattered across the small space. It is where we periodically record our children’s height, where we celebrate growth, compare with each other, and revisit memories.

I hesitated before making the first mark on the wall. And by hesitated, I mean I debated for days before proceeding. At the time, I thought those markings would mar the surface in a way I would regret, standing out like an eyesore. Over time, one mark has turned into more than 50, and here I am, eight years later, declaring it my favorite wall in the house. What may look a bit ugly to an outsider is actually beautiful to me. Our laundry room wall is beautiful ugly.

Beautiful ugly shows up in many aspects of life, even our classrooms.

• The three-page story from a reluctant writer with hard-to-decipher handwriting that demonstrates new vocabulary, punctuation, complete sentences, and a plot holds beauty in the growth displayed.
• The CAFE Menu containing student-written strategy cards does not look the same as a printed menu created and designed on a computer, but the meaning, learning, and ownership involved carries its own beauty.
• The less-than-perfect anchor charts and student work that replace store-bought bulletin boards and decorations provide a visible learning aid from which students can draw meaning.

And then we look at the beautiful ugly of distance learning. Many of us might argue that this change that has disrupted our routine and removed us from physical interaction with students is only ugly. But there is beauty to be found—in technology, creativity, and community. Teachers have risen to the challenge to uncover resources that make distance learning possible. They have used Google Classroom, Zoom, Flipgrid, phone calls, FaceTime, email, texting, and postal mail, and even driven by students’ homes just to get a smile and a wave. They have thought outside the box, shared ideas, continued to build relationships with students, and grown their practice in ways we never imagined possible. They have persevered in the face of remarkable adversity.

One day, we will look back at this moment as another mark on the wall. A dash in time, contributing its own beautiful ugly.

Daily 5 and CAFE Online Workshops

Join us on June 27 or July 12!