Every once in a while, I read an educational/professional development book that just rocks me to my core. The ideas, critical thinking, puzzlement, affirmation, ah-hah moments, and personal growth experiences that stem from reading a solid piece of literature is just so juicy! When moments like this occur, I can't hold it in! I have to share the book out to the world. That my dear educator friends is why I have decided that my latest juicy read was SO phenomenal that I wanted to do a group/collaborative book study on it. When a friend and colleague recommended the book The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros, I bought it, read it, then FREAKED OUT and read it two more times. Innovation is a term that is tossed around like confetti, is often misunderstood, and yet so needed and vital to our education system. Mr. Couros has done an exceptional job of pinpointing the need for innovation in education and to make learning an experience that is relevant and meaningful to ...
Archives for March 2016
The Importance of Fostering a Love for Reading
As the school year continues to fly by, I have been reflecting on some of my favorite parts of my new experience in 5th grade this year. Hands down, the reading community that my students have built is my absolute favorite part of this year. Helping build a reading community has really helped me reaffirm just how vital loving/enjoying reading can be to our youth and how lucky I was to find my love for reading at a young age. My parents read to me all the time growing up. My mom, who is a preschool teacher, has always encouraged me to read, explore books, and appreciate a good story. I am the avid reader that I am today because of the reading opportunities and encouragement that I had in my youth. I know that not everyone has parents who love to read or have role models who have encouraged them to read so helping students embark on their own reading journey has been one of my missions this year. As I prepared for this year, there was no question in my mind that reading was ...