Years ago I met some teacher friends for lunch well into our summer break. I went on a little too long about a professional book I was excited about. After a few minutes, one of my friends slammed her hand down on the table and said, “Damn it, Valinda, it’s summer. Can we please not …
I’ve been away from this site for a few weeks now. There’s a reason for that absence. An amazing team of people have been working with me to bring something new your way. I’d love to share the details, but that will have to wait for a few more weeks. In the meantime, I’ll be …
This blog post was originally published back in 2018, but we need this discussion again. Many teachers are agonizing over their students and how well they’re prepared for various assessments at this time of year. Let’s have a reality check, shall we? How many times did I have this conversation with someone throughout my almost …
A few weeks ago, my good friend Amy Bettis invited me to a publishing party in her kindergarten classroom. It started with donuts and balloons and lots of happy chatter. Her young writers were buzzing with excitement about their own personal “book birthday” celebration. Amy had her students gather on the carpet and one by …
In November, I attended the NCTE Convention in Houston. There were many amazing sessions I attended, but one of the most life-changing was the Friday general session where seven students schooled a convention hall full of educators. Teachers, school administrators, authors, pre-service teachers heard the stories of these remarkable students. We talk often about all …
This is a repost from several months ago. Time to revisit the importance of responsive teaching for our youngest readers. We wring our hands and lament that so many of our students are not learning to read and write. We wonder and debate. We study data and brainstorm solutions. We talk and plan and work …
All last week I worked with upper elementary reading teachers. We pored over data. We identified standards that must be retaught in the weeks up to our state assessment. We designed mini-lessons. We strategically placed kids in strategy groups and created small group instruction. We made a ton of formative assessments to inform about student …
Turns out it’s both. Recently, I was out of town presenting at our state convention. My husband, Mark, and I talked on the phone each evening to check in and talk about our day’s work. “I’ve got some things to share with you from our leadership training we had at work today,” he said. “These …
Who knew that Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s show, Mad Money would speak truth to this 30 year veteran educator? Cramer, who is co-founder of TheStreet, Inc., a best-selling author, with previous experience as a stockbroker and hedge fund manager, has something to say to those of us in education. And what he says is worth …
You know, it used to be that to have a polite conversation, we just had to follow the advice of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, “Stick to the weather and to your health.” But with climate change and anti-vaxxing, those subjects are not safe either. …
