The Tale Wagging the Dog 12/9/25

Almost a year ago...or four...I began to write the story that became Davis Goes Apple Picking. Since 2003 I had taught middle schoolers- always an entertaining and delightful challenge. But after a period of interrupted learning during the pandemic years, I began to see in students more serious gaps in attention, emotional regulation, and engagement. The school district leaders had, understandably, purchased a shiny new curriculum that would address the problem. But just adding rigor was not the key; I felt a need to build trust and buy-in with my 8th grade students. One day in the January of 2024, my teaching colleague introduced me to the children's book he had just written for his granddaughter and it sparked in me an idea. I had been looking for that just-right teaching tool that would captivate my middle school students, and there I had it. I would dust off the children's book I had begun to write in 2021 about my dog, Davis, and use it as a classroom teaching tool.

Ever since we brought Davis home from the shelter he has been surprising us with how he approaches and handles each new situation. I believed that students who have been struggling with social and emotional skills would like a story that tells a gentle tale, one they could relate to, one that might help them enjoy reading. When I was a child, I was a quiet, observant learner, and so, when I became an educator, I watched for opportunities to support the quiet learners in my classroom. During the autumn of 2021, when schools were still in pandemic mode, I began to create a storyboard (little sketches laid out like a comic book to tell a story) conveying the tale about Davis and our apple picking experience. Eventually, though, busy with teaching preparations, I had set aside the book. I would bring in the unfinished work and see if students would engage with it.

Eureka! The students, first in my Block 4 class, and then in all five of my English classes, took to the little book. I believe in modeling what I want children to do, being what is called the "Lead learner" in the classroom. I shared the storyboard, the text I had started, and just where I had fizzled out on the project. I had gotten intimidated by the child like nature of my drawings. But now I felt exhilarated by letting the students peek in on my creative process, and even my insecurities about where to go next with the story. They learned to listen, offer honest critique, ask questions and make suggestions with respect and curiosity. Gone were the all-too-common disparaging remarks and sarcastic comments of insecure young teens. It was as though by being authentic about my challenges and ideas, and the fact that the book was for the very young child, something had sparked in them compassion for their own younger selves.

We worked on the book every chance we got after our required program was done for the day. Students proof-read, made suggestions, proposed deadlines for completion, and cheered me on when it came time to make the illustrations. They were concerned with the flow of the words, getting enough -but not too much- of the back story about Davis. (They suggested that I could write the history of Davis in my next book).

Winter turned to spring and, as a lead learner, I was encountering my own personal barriers that had long plagued my work: the question of whether it would ever be "good enough" to be called complete. Here is the kicker: I felt committed to having it completed and ready to publish by the end of school in June.  These students would be going on to high school the following year and out of my life. As the year drew to a close, the students were cheering me on to do a drawing a day to finish on time. Perfectionism flew out the window and in its place entered joy. We laughed, we collaborated, and we celebrated on the very last day of school when I brought in the finished manuscript. That little book held a special place in our learning -for all of us.

The connection we felt, the community we built during our collaboration wasn't just felt by me, it rippled out to the students. We tackled everything together that year, and I was witness to each student opening up and challenging themselves to do hard things. I saw students tackle hard vocabulary by reading aloud without fear. I watched them practice writing and giving each other feedback and then even the quietest students presented their work in front of the class. This hallmark of discomfort in middle school always causes consternation, but they did it. They trusted that their learning environment was a safe place where they could "learn out loud" and we would support each other. That is the true joy of sharing the tale of Davis Goes Apple Picking.

That unexpected yet authentic classroom collaboration has opened new doors for me as well. I have since retired from teaching and now embark on the journey of becoming a children's author and illustrator of books. Stay tuned!