Summer PDC

In addition to teaching summer school, I am also taking part in an online book discussion over the book Write Beside Them by Penny Kittle. I'll start off by saying that reading this book is by no means a chore...in fact, it is so good/enjoyable that I actually read the entire book, from cover to cover, the day it was delivered. Since then I have been rereading sections and discussing the chapters with about 14 other teachers across the United States.

While I haven't met any of these teachers face to face, I admire several of them. For much of the year I have been reading their classroom and personal blogs...and stealing (borrowing) wonderful ideas that I have used in my classroom. I have to admit that after having followed their daily teachings, I am a bit intimidated to participate in the discussion. Do I really have anything to contribute? Will any of these veteran teachers want to hear what I have to say?

I posted about using a couple of the activities Kittle had shared in the book with my summer school students. The next time I checked the wiki page, there were two responses directed to me. The first one was from a teacher in Arkansas discussing how these activities foster relationships between students and teachers and the second post was from Penny Kittle herself! The author of the book that I am reading (and loving) responded directly to me! She was encouraging and commented about how lucky the students were to have me. Wow...I am still in a bit of shock.

The book is wonderful...it is full of ideas, encouragement, and heartfelt examples. While I am not exactly sure how I am going to be able to incorporate everything into my English classroom, I know that this book has changed the way my classroom will be organized. I also know that I am learning from and collaborating with some amazing teachers. The fact that Kittle has joined our discussion to answer any questions that we have speaks volumes about her as a teacher, not to mention an author. This discussion group is just another example of what amazing people and professionals teachers really are. It is a rare group of professionals that is willing to share all their ideas, successes, and failures with anyone who asks; it makes me proud to be part of such a group!

You can check out and join this discussion group at http://learners4life.pbwiki.com/