100 Posts in 100 Days
When I decided to write about seminal learning experiences that changed my stance as an educator, I planned to pick 2 or 3 experiences and write a post about each. I started with writing about the PEBC Thinking Strategies Institute. One post turned to 2 and then to 3 and now, here I am, writing the 4th one. I guess when a learning experience is seminal, there is a lot to say. Fair warning: this is a longer post with more to say.
The previous 3 posts describe the overall experience, how my mindset of “learner” and “teacher” shifted, the role of the classroom environment in developing student ownership, the benefits of rituals and routines, and the impact of using the thinking strategies to organize curriculum.
Around the time of the institute, the legendary Donald Graves had just published his book The Energy to Teach. He was writing about all of the demands and pressures on teachers, what were the sources of energy drain, and what kinds of things provided energy. (Honestly, you’d think he’d written it yesterday, not 20 years ago! Seriously. Go check it out.) He wrote that there are 2 large energy sources for teachers: students and colleagues. Without a doubt, one of the best things about the institute was my colleagues. I thought so then. Looking back now, I know so.
I attended the institute with Mimi, one of my grade level teaching partners, and Marie, a literacy specialist in our district. In my last post, I wrote that we couldn’t exactly come back and single-handedly change our district’s curriculum. But as a trio, with a couple of years and lot of tenacity, we had an impact. Our district underwent a full scale elementary literacy review. We spent our days teaching and working with students, our evenings teaching hundreds of elementary teachers, and our weekends planning, collaborating, shopping, movie-watching, and scheming. Let there be no doubt that these 2 women were, and are, huge sources of talent and energy. They have gone on to hold positions as literacy coach, dean of students, award-winning principals, curriculum director, professional learning director, and assistant superintendent. I have the utmost respect, trust, and admiration for these colleagues. I think back to that first trip to the institute and the word that comes to mind is “innocent”. We went because we were interested. We each grew into passionate leaders and, in our own ways, forces to be reckoned with. I know I grew as an educator because I have the good fortune of calling them my colleagues.
We also built relationships with leaders from the PEBC. Mimi and I had observed in Debbie Miller’s classroom. Marie observed in Patrick Allen’s classroom. During the literacy review, we hired Patrick as a trainer. He modeled exquisite instruction, in our classrooms, with our students. He inspired us to “teach the reader and writer”, not the reading and writing. He challenged us to look at our schedules and think carefully about how we were spending time. He helped us see how to guide our children to live literate lives and to show us some of the steps we could take to make that happen. Patrick is the kind of person you make an effort to spend time with and learn from. His love for his work, and his family, is contagious. Literally, we have driven from Seattle to Bellingham and Portland to hear his presentations, flown to Denver to surprise him when his book, Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop, was released, and taken the train from Boston to New York to see a Broadway show with him. Whenever we meet up, we know that we will eat good food, we will talk about the latest and best releases in children’s literature, we will stay up waaay past our bedtime, and we will laugh so hard that our sides ache. We will be energized. Patrick is retired from the classroom now, but you can still find him working with the PEBC and co-planning for the CCIRA conference next year.
Another thing we did when we came back from the institute was to start a professional reading book club and we invited two more teachers, Matt and Ed to join us. The first book we read was Learning Along the Way by Diane Sweeney. Diane had also been at the institute and her newly released book was about professional learning and coaching for teachers. A year or so after the institute, our district established a cadre of literacy coaches. It started with 15 coaches in 14 elementary schools. Over a period of 7 years, our coaching program expanded and included a range of content coaches across all grade levels. Diane was there, helping us to learn along the way, train the coaches, and build our program. She guided us with candor and pushed us to design in ways that yielded positive results for students. Which makes perfect sense as she went on to fully develop Student-Centered Coaching and a suite of resources to support her work. Her work has grown and is reaching schools and teachers across the US and around the world. Our paths sometimes cross, and when they do, all I can think about is “I’m going to see Diane soon.” That excitement is energy.
I’m not the greatest at keeping in regular touch with people I haven’t seen in a while. And the landscape of teaching and leading in education in hard right now. Even when I don’t talk with them, I think of them often. Because the stories we share still make me laugh, help me feel grounded, and prove to me that I can make a difference. These educators are more than just colleagues, they are friends who inspire me because of their love of education, their commitment to children, and their faith in teachers to do their best. These are educators who show up, connect, learn, teach, and shine so brightly, you can’t help but feel their energy and want to do better yourself.
Donald Graves was right. If you are an educator and you need an energy burst, take a few minutes and connect with those colleagues who inspire you.
I, too, remember our experience at PEBC! We definitely had a fire lit inside us! We returned to our district and developed impactful and meaningful PD for educators. Working alongside you, Shannon, and Mimi was some of the very best learning I ever experienced. I continually applied it throughout my years and positions as an educator. It’s funny how many continue to search for the proverbial silver bullet to improve student learning. We found it and what will learned still hols true. Students improve in reading and writing when they have choice, find joy in their independence and collaborate with their peers while reading and writing daily text that is at and above their independent. and instructional reading levels. Thank you, Shannon, for allowing me to relive our time together!!