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 … [Read more…]
One of the qualities I admire in other people is their ability to show up, consistently, in every situation. They show up with the same mood, same affect, same mode of responding. They remain steady, calm, and predictable. I always aspire to be that consistent, steady, and reassuring presence, but often fall short. I’m feeling … [Read more…]
I’ve discovered another Trifecta. I hold a great deal of admiration for Stacy Hurst, Lindsay Kemeny, and Donell Pons, hosts of Reading Horizons Literacy Talks podcast. That admiration led me to title them, “The Trifecta.” As I continue to learn about the science of learning, I’m recognizing another Trifecta: the science of reading, the science … [Read more…]
My sister, Katie, sent a new podcast recommendation the other day. My siblings and I were instantly intrigued. The title, alone, was enough to spark intrigue. In addition, Question Everything, by Brian Reed, is a “spin-off” of his award-winning, and perhaps controversial, podcast, S-Town. I knew within the first few minutes of listening on Friday … [Read more…]
When I write blogposts, many times something I have read becomes the springboard for my writing. In line with meeting one of my goals for maintaining a blog, I write to process my learning. The practice of processing my thoughts through writing sure is helpful to me, and theoretically serves to make me a better … [Read more…]
The phrase, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” has meaning in many different contexts. When it comes to instructional coaching, this phrase holds great meaning. In the systems coaching model that our district currently employs, we are assigned to teacher teams based on student data. A level of proficiency has been defined that deems instructional … [Read more…]
It has been three weeks since Mom passed away. It has been three weeks of trying to find my footing, with a lot of slippery slopes making it tricky to find that footing. As Mom’s illness took such a sudden turn the second week of January, my siblings and I were able to be at … [Read more…]
There’s nothing worse than leaving a meeting with a yucky feeling in your gut. It’s happened to me more times than I can count, most recently just a few days ago. As I worked with a teacher team on intentional planning (a “new” approach to our instructional coaching work in FMCSD), I found myself bombarding … [Read more…]
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…]
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…]