Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
—Howard Thurman
I Don’t Know What to Title This Newsletter
I struggled with what to name this week’s theme. Perhaps you think I have a list of topics and then contributors write about these ideas. Voila, a newsletter is built.
Although that would be easy, it would also be boring and inauthentic. More importantly, it feels contrived and controlling.
Choice Literacy has been built on a completely different approach. Contributors write about the questions that are thundering through their minds, the curiosities that are rolling around their hearts, and the students who keep them up at night.
Across the country, contributors carry full-time contracts with school districts, and they squeeze in writing with a first cup of coffee or before their heads hit the pillow at night. They write on Saturday mornings while the sun rises or Sunday afternoons at a coffee shop.
They write to discover answers; they write to make sense of their students; they write to give educators the courage to keep offering choice and voice to readers and writers.
The articles arrive in my inbox, and I engage in one of my favorite tasks. I look for themes and patterns among the articles. It is an organic process that keeps a finger on the pulse of the front lines of education. Choice Literacy offers an opportunity for the most pressing issues to bubble to the surface straight from the hearts and minds of those who are in schools day in and day out.
They walk the walk, and Choice Literacy is a platform for them to share about their work. As articles roll in and themes are revealed, we have confidence and affirmation as we push forward.
This collection is one that just feels important. As I attempt to name the theme, I keep coming back to “Heart.” I want to type in the subject line The Heart of Teaching Readers and Writers, but I know it will not be a magnet for people to click. It is too long. It is too froufrou.
This is my struggle: how to name the theme so people will open the email. I want to turn on all-caps and type YOU MUST READ THIS TO SAVE YOUR SOUL.
I tend not to be so dramatic.
And yet, this collection of articles is essential. Becca Burk reminds us of the power of our language and the way we must learn to see the unseen work of learning. Stella Villalba offers a booklist that highlights the beauty and brilliance of all students. Kate Mills and Tara Barnett pen a heartfelt reminder of the power of writing (dog lovers will need a tissue). David Pittman addresses unintended (and disempowering) messages instructional influencers send when we are too eager to help.
In a Coaching Minute, I share a recent conversation I had with my business coach. I was reminded of the importance of doing things that make us come alive. Perhaps that’s what this theme is all about. Remembering the things that make the most difference and keep us excited about showing up day after day. This week we share articles that inspire us to find the beauty and brilliance of students—plus more, as always.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Christy Rush-Levine considers how to communicate to all students that their presence and their identities are valued and appreciated. This article was first published in 2020.
Jennifer Schwanke explains how concerns about plagiarism can get in the way of recognizing the value of mimicking the styles of other writers to find our own. This article was first published in 2016.
There may be a group of students somewhere less eager to learn than a class of high school seniors during the last weeks of school, but that group would be as tough to locate as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Gretchen Schroeder discovers a surprising cure for senioritis—modern poetry. This article was first published in 2013.
Writing Poetry with Elementary Writers offers ways to help elementary writers develop the mindset and tools to dip into poetry in their notebooks.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Kate Mills and Tara Barnett pour their hearts into teaching writers, but when Tara loses her family dog, she is reminded that writing is the thing that helps us understand what’s most important.
When an excited young reader interrupts the quiet hum of reading workshop, Becca Burk analyzes the important unseen choices students make as learners, and the powerful messages teachers’ responses send.
In an encore video, Melissa Quimby suggests listening in on students’ conversations to find out their interests. These tidbits will help you in building connections, recommending books, and encouraging writing topics.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
David Pittman addresses the unintended messages coaches send when they are too eager to help. David offers practical suggestions to ensure coaching validates and encourages rather than disempowers teachers.
In a Coaching Minute, Ruth Ayres is reminded by her own coach of the importance of doing things that make us come alive. Instructional coaches have the opportunity to help others find the things that make them come alive, too.
Devon Rothschild reflects on the wake of the pandemic and considers trauma-sensitive classroom management strategies.
Quote It:
Schools and texts should help students know themselves, their beauty, brilliance, and genius.
—Gholdy Muhammad
That’s all for this week!
