the power of suggestion

I gave two readings today: first, I was invited to read BIRD to a group of parents, students, and educators who were attending a workshop led by master teacher and author Cathie Wright-Lewis.  Cathie’s a member of the Adelaide Sanford Institute, and works with other educators, politicians, and community members to improve the education of [...]

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Read Out Loud!

There will be FREE books for kids at this Saturday’s event in Harlem, sponsored by the Morningside Area Alliance.  Meet Gordon from Sesame Street!!!!  I’ll be doing a reading, signing books, and there will be art activities related to all the books…find out more by looking at the lovely flier I can’t seem to upload:
Flier_ROL [...]

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giving thanks

I just LOVE IT when a new lesson plan comes together, and the classroom’s got that electric energy because the kids are learning…today was my second visit to that East Harlem school, and the kids were just great—their sankofa postcards were dangling from the ceiling and they dove into the activities I had prepared, working [...]

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give a teacher a hug…

…or better yet, give a teacher a BOOK!  Shadra directed me to this lovely, long review of BIRD by a teacher who’s pretty much seen it all: violence inside the classroom, violence out in the street, no textbooks, no desks, no a/c (resulting in 109 degrees in the classroom)…when are we going to make our [...]

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release

So I made a kid cry today…I didn’t mean to, of course, but we were doing a writing exercise and when I asked for volunteers to read their work aloud, her hand shot up at the end and then I saw teardrops falling onto her khakis.  What amazes me about kids is how open they’re [...]

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“I got sunshine on a cloudy day…”

We’re expecting rain all day today as this “nor’easter” moves along the Atlantic coast, but I’ve got three things to brighten my day: 1) I wrote a new chapter last night, and if I do say so myself, it’s GREAT; 2) the young ladies over at Taste Life Twice have posted a fabulous review & [...]

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show some love

I know it’s the end of the week already, but can I just ask everyone out there to show teachers some love?  Write a note, shake a hand, give your kid’s teacher a pat on the back because as a group, teachers are one of the most under-appreciated professionals out there.  I gave my talk [...]

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wired to teach

Four of my five uncles are ministers (one’s a theologian), and two of my four aunts married ministers, so almost ALL of my 25 cousins are PKs (preacher’s kids).  I’m sure there are things about that kind of upbringing that my cousins can relate to that I can’t; both of my parents were devout Christians [...]

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rich reward

I hope it’s not annoying that I keep posting other folks’ emails in here, but it really does a heart good to hear that your book’s out there in the world, *meaning something* to someone.  I got this message just a while ago from a teacher I met at Brooklyn College’s School of Education last [...]

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standing at the threshhold

I’m thinking of writing an essay on doors.  It’s hard when someone asks you to write something, but they don’t say just what it is they want.  This is what I do to my students; I tell them to write a paper on anything we’ve read, and then they flounder and fuss and wonder why [...]

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