In my work as an instructional coach, I have the great fortune of working with many teacher teams across many grade levels. This allows for a birds-eye view of our district happenings, where I tend to train my eyes on literacy instruction. A common theme among teacher teams, related to literacy or any other content … [Read more…]
If you haven’t read Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, M.D., I highly recommend it. It’s short, it’s lessons apply to both personal and work-related situations, and the advice is timeless. The gist is quite simple: the unexpected can happen to us at anytime. It (an unexpected change) occurs regularly at home, at work, … [Read more…]
When I began writing this blog in January of 2021, I outlined my goals for the blog which are as follows: Document my learning journey as a teacher, coach, and student Improve my writing craft through reflection Act as a producer rather than a consumer Push my thinking Connect with others Two and a half … [Read more…]
Graduation season is upon us… or is coming to an end for many. This is a bittersweet time for me, as our youngest son, Emmett Reed Kruse, graduated from high school yesterday. The event has been served with a host of emotions: we are so happy for Emmett and incredibly proud of him, but just … [Read more…]
100% This post was 100% inspired by the three literacy leaders I affectionately call “The Trifecta,” Stacy Hurst, Lindsay Kemeny, and Donell Pons, hosts of Reading Horizons’ Literacy Talks podcast. In Episode 6 of Season 3, Reading: The Numbers Help Tell the Stories, The Trifecta focuses on the irony of how many numbers are involved … [Read more…]
The Truth About Reading The truth about reading is that we have been failing to teach kids how to read for years. According to The Truth About Reading website, “Illiteracy and sub-literacy in America (and around the world) is a growing issue. Awareness is important, but so is action.” Action is happening in the state … [Read more…]
Change is all the things: tough, inevitable, great, unnecessary at times, and hard to sustain. Change is both meaningful and worthwhile when it makes something better. Two quotes from George Couros ring loud and true here: Bill and I are in the throes of planning for a house remodel. This remodel was supposed to be … [Read more…]
In the spirit of this Thanksgiving week, this post is dedicated to those things for which I am presently most grateful for. Each picture included in the post is worth a thousand words… to me, anyway, as they represent my immense gratitude! I am stealing George Couros’s weekly email format: I will be writing about … [Read more…]
Our Work with Kim Cano In our school district’s effort to achieve high levels of learning for all students, we have hired Solution Tree associate, Kim Cano, to steer us in the right direction. The plan is to have Kim work with us for three years, at the end of which will result in a … [Read more…]
I wrote about leaning into routines last week. At the risk of sounding contradictory, I’ve been thinking about change a lot this week. George Couros has inspired much of my thinking around change and has been the impetus for my writing past posts about it. You see, change really is inevitable. Whether we decide to … [Read more…]