I am always honored to be invited to work with the excellent folks who are involved with the CYBILS and I sure hope everyone has had a chance to look at the nominees and winners. If not, here's the winner's link!
Another, in case you missed it, note on awards: The Newbery. Yeah, I read the Gantos book a few months back..... Eh, tried too hard for my taste, but here is a good link from The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance showcasing some links in case you want them.
Talk about ridiculous pressure: J.K. Rowling has written an "adult" novel. I would like to contend that Ms. Rowling previous seven bestsellers were also "adult" novels.
I like people who do this sort of thing. I wish I had more time to be one of them: New York pay phones become guerrilla libraries (via Entertainment Weekly).
Ridiculous item of the month comes from The Telegrah (via Bookshelves of Doom): Fairytales too scary for modern children, say parents. Ugh. Super-Dooper Ugh!
Education Stuffs:
Although I adore Donalyn Miller's exuberance toward reading with students, I don't always agree with her seeming ease in teaching reading, and wonder how many disabled readers she has in her classes and if they are clustered all together (like my classrooms), I DO wholeheartedly agree with her belief in reading aloud to her students each day. Read more on her Education Week blog: Make Every Day Read Aloud Day.
This teacher hits the frustration wall we all sometimes encounter on her aptly titled post "Teaching The Pigs To Sing" (via A Teacher's Education).
Do you know what a FLIPPED Classroom is? If not, go check this out. I have been hearing about it for about a year and I would love to try it out in a few classrooms to see what would happen....
Thank goodness Bill Gates is a voice of reason in the New York teacher evaluation insanity. Otherwise, it would be the ridiculous item of the month: (via Eduwonk). Mr Gates says in part, " At Microsoft, we created a rigorous personnel system, but we would never have thought about using employee evaluations to embarrass people, much less publish them in a newspaper. A good personnel system encourages employees and managers to work together to set clear, achievable goals. Annual reviews are a diagnostic tool to help employees reflect on their performance, get honest feedback and create a plan for improvement. Many other businesses and public sector employers embrace this approach, and that’s where the focus should be in education: school leaders and teachers working together to get better."
An issue REALLY close to my heart (and my day to day job as a Reading Specialist) comes from The Washington Post: Why are strong readers being labeled remedial? (Hint: you might see me in the comments section)
Books I have and need to read and/or review ASAP:
Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles
A Greyhound of a Girl
Another, in case you missed it, note on awards: The Newbery. Yeah, I read the Gantos book a few months back..... Eh, tried too hard for my taste, but here is a good link from The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance showcasing some links in case you want them.
Talk about ridiculous pressure: J.K. Rowling has written an "adult" novel. I would like to contend that Ms. Rowling previous seven bestsellers were also "adult" novels.
I like people who do this sort of thing. I wish I had more time to be one of them: New York pay phones become guerrilla libraries (via Entertainment Weekly).
Ridiculous item of the month comes from The Telegrah (via Bookshelves of Doom): Fairytales too scary for modern children, say parents. Ugh. Super-Dooper Ugh!
Although I adore Donalyn Miller's exuberance toward reading with students, I don't always agree with her seeming ease in teaching reading, and wonder how many disabled readers she has in her classes and if they are clustered all together (like my classrooms), I DO wholeheartedly agree with her belief in reading aloud to her students each day. Read more on her Education Week blog: Make Every Day Read Aloud Day.
This teacher hits the frustration wall we all sometimes encounter on her aptly titled post "Teaching The Pigs To Sing" (via A Teacher's Education).
Do you know what a FLIPPED Classroom is? If not, go check this out. I have been hearing about it for about a year and I would love to try it out in a few classrooms to see what would happen....
Thank goodness Bill Gates is a voice of reason in the New York teacher evaluation insanity. Otherwise, it would be the ridiculous item of the month: (via Eduwonk). Mr Gates says in part, " At Microsoft, we created a rigorous personnel system, but we would never have thought about using employee evaluations to embarrass people, much less publish them in a newspaper. A good personnel system encourages employees and managers to work together to set clear, achievable goals. Annual reviews are a diagnostic tool to help employees reflect on their performance, get honest feedback and create a plan for improvement. Many other businesses and public sector employers embrace this approach, and that’s where the focus should be in education: school leaders and teachers working together to get better."
An issue REALLY close to my heart (and my day to day job as a Reading Specialist) comes from The Washington Post: Why are strong readers being labeled remedial? (Hint: you might see me in the comments section)
Books I have and need to read and/or review ASAP:
. I need to review this one as it is blowing up all over the blogshere. I have my own thoughts on it that I need to share....
Books I need to get my hands on ASAP:
by Jacqueline Woodson
A bit lighter and for a younger crowd comes Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire!
-------------------- That's all folks! --------------------
