After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Category: Literacy
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As an elementary-age teacher, I prioritized corresponding with my students through their journals. Sometimes a student would check in with something that had happened in their life – a new baby, a new friend, a fun family activity, but sometimes there would be something more personal or a reaction to a book they had discovered.…
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After teaching nearly 30 years, I must admit I am totally confused by the debate over reading instruction. Maybe I am missing something? Balanced Literacy vs. Scientific Methods? Over the last 10 years of my long career, I observed that whenever the a specific reading program was dictated, success, often defined by scores on standardized…
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The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. ALAN WATTS Alan Watts Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/alan_watts_386511 This quotation has a particular resonating truth for me. No longer able to make sense of the changes in our world politics,…
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It’s budget time once again in Lowell and if you thought last year’s budget was a squeaker, wait until you see this year’s edition. I do not envy the Superintendents across Massachusetts. This is a pretty ugly time to try to keep programming viable when Foundation Budget calculations are 25 years out of date and…
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There is a cost for pushing readers! We don’t just TEACH readers – we help them to BECOME readers. Dr. Mary Howard As an educator, I find more often than not that I have conflicting emotions about the current state of curricula. The narrative, at least from much of the press and definitely from state…
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Donalyn Miller recently tweeted about a recording sheet she uses for the 40 Book Challenge she not only “invented” but practices with her students in her classroom. As I’ve recently added her book “The Book Whisperer” to the book study portion of a course I’ve developed, Donalyn’s tweet caught my attention: My curiosity over why…
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One of the texts I’ve reviewed for a course I’m leading this summer is Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris’ Who’s doing the work: How to say less so readers can do more. What do you, as teacher, do when a student is stuck in their reading? Do you go into wait-time mode or try to move…
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I’m really excited about this project! When the American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts (AFT-MA), our local union’s state affiliate, approached our local union a year ago about hosting a First Book/AFT Books on Wheels event, we were intrigued, but the timing was just not right. We may have had to put the project on a back…
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As a writer and, as a teacher, I value collaboration with peers. I know that my writing is made more clear, more interesting, and more precise when I rely on a trusted “critical friend” to offer constructive feedback. And so, when the Commonwealth’s writing standards included peer revising as well as adult conferring, the inclusion of critical friends in…
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When I first began teaching elementary school, the only “independent” books kids had were the books they checked out of the library. And maybe a borrowed read-aloud left of the chalk (!) ledge. Can you imagine how boring that must have been? Morphing to Reading Workshops and Daily Five gave our students opportunities to self-select…
After An Educator's Journey 