Everyday Gratitude

As the Thanksgiving holiday closes and the Christmas holiday season is underway, it is increasingly easy to feel heaps of gratitude.  That gratitude comes from many places, including time spent with family and friends, amazing meals, and a warm house that provides shelter from the snow that found its way to the Midwest.

Among all of the things to be grateful for, a common thread exists:  the kindness of others ranks above all else.  I continue to be amazed at the generosity that others bestow.  I get to benefit from that generosity when kind readers react to blogposts I’ve written.  Gracious readers – your input never gets old, and serves as the just-in-time motivation I often need.

Everyday, I get to watch educators go out of their way to greet students warmly, asking about how the game, match, or concert went.  These same educators arrive early and leave late, putting in extra time to ensure their careful planning results in intended learning for students.  They set clear boundaries, they deliver lessons with both passion and compassion, and they put students’ needs above all else.

Everyday, I get to benefit from the knowledge that others so generously share.  For free.  For the benefit of students and educators everywhere.  Here are a few recent gems:

Everyday, I get to plan for, reflect on, and/or deliver evidence-aligned instruction for older struggling readers.  There is nothing better than watching students experience success with reading after years of being denied that success, due to a variety of factors.  Topping the list of factors would be the lack of a system to support skilled reading for all.  Slowly, but surely, we are eradicating both the after-effects of a poor system and the after-effects of non-evidence-aligned practices.

Everyday, I get to plan for, reflect on, and/or deliver reading instruction that focuses on different strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope.  In doing so, I continue to learn about the intricacies of each strand and what instruction can look like for each strand.

 

Everyday, I get to collaborate with amazing colleagues.  My coaching & teaching colleagues and my Reading League Iowa colleagues continue to push my thinking and coaching/teaching practice.  It is through these collaborations that true and lasting impact on student learning will continue to improve.

Everyday, I get to reap the benefits of calling myself a board member of The Reading League Iowa.  We are beyond grateful to announce our first learning opportunity of 2026, made possible because of the generosity of Angie Hanlin.  Won’t you join us?