payday loans uk

Monthly Archives: January 2012

Crossroads

One of the (relative) downsides to my involvement in IWP is my exposure to the wider world of education.  In  the past few years, the circle of educators I’ve come to know and learn from has grown, and as a result I am much more reflective about my practice.  These amazing people push me to think critically about education in general and literacy education in particular.  How can this be a bad thing, you might wonder… Well… I’ve been in [...]

Teachers DO have Value!

As educators our story is often difficult to tell because its multi-faceted.  In January 12th’s edition of NYT, Nicholas Kristof, links teaching to monetary value.  In the past few days I’ve noticed articles paying attention to the value of good teachers…and the converse, what happens to the kids who have weak teachers.  Read the original article and then continue on promoting student-centered learning, choice, community of learners and valuing our students as learners and members of the world community. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/opinion/kristof-the-value-of-teachers.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Another Letter to the NY Times – I’m on a Roll

Dear Editors, Nicholas Kristof (NY Times, Wed. Jan. 12, 2012 -go to nytimes.com & search Kristof), like so many columnists now, advocates rewarding good teachers and firing weak ones – based on a new study of teachers’ effect on students’ future earnings. But where will more good teachers come from? So many quit after a few years, discouraged by lack of good administrative support. College students see massive teacher job cuts and reduced bargaining rights, and desert the teaching option [...]

The Power of Conversation

Tonight I facilitated the first in a series of discussions about the book 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know by Jeff Anderson.  The teachers gathered around the table were a mixture of literacy coaches, reading recovery teachers, and classroom teachers.  We spanned grades 3-8 and had a wide range of experience. I’m lucky to teach in a school district that encourages and supports professional learning through district-provided workshops and book studies.  The professional development I find most powerful and [...]

Writing Groups for Adults

Beginning in the fall of 2011, Pam Moriarty started an informal after school writing group in River Forest. There is no agenda, although Pam shares a piece of published writing, cold drinks, and chocolate to stimulate the writers’ thinking.

Letter to the editor I just sent to the NY Times

Dear Editors: Last week, Joe Nocera wrote about educational successes in Central Falls, Rhode Island, providing considerable detail about administrators of the successful charter school, the superintendent, and one principal. One group he never mentioned: teachers. And he never explained exactly what led to such success. This is how education news is usually reported. Result: the public and many political leaders have little idea what a high quality education really looks like, so they’re not well equipped to propose reforms. [...]

Finding My Voice

Not so very long ago, if you had asked me if I was a writer, I would have answered with an emphatic “NO!” even though writing is something I’ve enjoyed doing since I was at least in junior high school.  I was not, however, a person who wrote for myself.  My writing was always something I did because it was assigned, and very rarely did I have a choice in that writing.  In junior high, I remember being assigned my [...]

Teachers and Their Writing

Hello Fellow Writers! Just as we hope to publish our students’ work in a variety of places, I hope you will add some of your writing to this blog!  I will start with one of my recent pieces inspired by the National Day on Writing!   Suzy Ruder Illinois Writing Project December 2011 Reflections on Writing Why do I write?   To       Amuse, attempt, achieve       Banter, babble, blab       Cajole, confirm, create       Deter, discover, digest       Entice, entertain, [...]