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What is your song?

2023-02-08T18:10:08-05:00May 12th, 2021|Reading Recovery Teaching, Reflections and Commentary|

by Kim Reynolds

Have you ever heard a song from the past that brings you right back to that very moment in time as if nothing has ever changed? I used to laugh at my parents as an “oldie but goodie” came on the radio causing them to embarrassingly break out into song. This would often lead to stories from their past, some of which brought laughter and others that brought tears. Every time I hear Night Fever by the Bee Gees, I remember sitting on the couch in the living room with my sister watching my parents practice their disco dancing. Yes…they took disco lessons!!! I bet you have found yourself reminiscing about a memorable time in your life as a song quickly takes you back in time.

 

I now find myself doing the same thing with my own kids. I start obnoxiously singing a Whitney Houston or Laura Branigan song that I hear playing in the middle of Target, which often leads to them conveniently losing me in the store. I love using music to “pump up” before a tough meeting or to “wind down” after a challenging day! Music can also be a great way to accompany a much-needed therapeutic cry, which has happened more than normal this year. I have even cleverly set up my playlist to motivate my way through what I think will be an amazing workout on that daunting treadmill. The music makes me feel like I can successfully run a marathon…even it is for only 15 minutes.

 

This brings me to our recent Reading Recovery/Literacy Lessons training class graduation celebration. I have a tradition that I pair music to each teacher based on a funny memory, a challenging experience, or a successful moment. This unexpected part of the evening is not on the agenda and catches everyone by surprise, which makes it even more fun when I break out into song with my well-planned playlist.

 

It has been a challenging year in teaching, but my colleague, Leslie McBane, and I were able to overcome many obstacles that were out of our control to be able to successfully train our teachers. As always, I found comfort in Clay’s words, “The intent is not to find an excuse for the lack of progress, or a label to explain the child’s difficulty, or to state what was thought to be wrong with the child’s past experience at home or at school. The intent is to find a way to get around the roadblock and establish or re-establish accelerated learning.” (Clay, 2016, p. 168). The roadblock that Clay referenced was a doozie this year!! It was rough going, but we did it!!

 

I made it my goal to find the music to represent this unforgettable time in our lives during our recent end-of-year celebration. You can reminisce with me while I take you through my playlist. Cue in the Jaws theme song. As we began our journey this year, we weren’t sure what to anticipate. There was a lot of uncertainty and tentativeness heading into murky waters. Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger helped us to face the fantastic amount of learning, teach the most challenging students during a pandemic, and balance life in general with tremendous strength.

 

This brought me to Human by Christina Perri. As we managed to have school visits (remotely and in-person), teach Behind The Glass lessons via Google Meet, and instruct our students with face masks while maintaining social distance, we all came to realize that we are only human. I wanted the teachers to realize that we have survived amazing odds and we need to celebrate. This leads us to Pharrell Williams’s upbeat song Happy. The teachers’ positive energy, willingness to take on new learning, and flexible attitudes have been essential this year. We can clap and be happy together.

 

At the end of my crazy introduction, I played a song with a memory from this year for each teacher accompanied by my great dance moves! The teachers have overcome many challenges personally and professionally. Luckily the tears and laughter helped us to find a unique perspective and a common experience that will keep our professional and personal bond strong for many years to come.

 

I used music to make my way through the teaching and learning challenges and newfound opportunities of the pandemic. I drove through the roadblocks that Clay referenced with my playlist in hand trying not to hit the potholes of everyday life. I hope you find your song as I cue in mine… Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts. I know that we can find our way together even when the pavement is a little rough. I’ll bring the disco ball.

 

Congratulations to the latest graduates of the Reading Recovery/Literacy Lessons (year 1) teacher training program at The Ohio State University. Pictured above are (back row, left to right) Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Leslie McBane, Kim Myers, Tricia Kucinic, Taylor Kiehl, Melissa Cottrill, Reading Recovery Teacher Leader, Kim Reynolds, and (front row, left to right) Renee Klein, Brittany Maynard, & Cheryl Grimm.

 

Kim Reynolds is a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader with Dublin City Schools in Dublin, Ohio. She is also the Reading Recovery and Literacy Lessons Docent, The Ohio State University, and a LitCon presenter.

 

Learning Loss-Myth or Reality (Check)

2023-02-08T18:10:09-05:00March 18th, 2021|Classroom Teaching, General Education, Latest News, Reading Recovery Teaching, Reflections and Commentary, Teaching|

by Kathleen A. Brown

 

Learning Loss: one of the many topics of conversation in the education world of the pandemic. As school districts across the nation are working tirelessly to open schools, many are planning for the loss of learning due to online instruction and the effects of the pandemic.

I cannot stop wondering what learning loss is and how it is measured? Is learning loss measured by attendance, homework, assignments, quizzes, tests, or achievement reports? Maybe learning loss is measured by the lack of student engagement, motivation, or attention? Whatever the case may be, I do agree there will be some learning loss, but the key question is how we strategically plan for it, without watering down our teaching and spending too much time on remediation. Vince Gowmon so eloquently helps us to ponder the following, “Instead of teaching children to get ‘there’, why not let them be ‘here’? Where is ‘there’ anyway? The world needs more ‘here’ than there.”

As adults, we have focused too much on what the students have lost academically. But the pandemic has taken a toll on student’s social and emotional well-being as well. If we interviewed students and families what would they say is their greatest loss during the pandemic? Perhaps they would say: loss of a loved one, a job, a place to live, poor mental health and wellness services, food insecurities or unstable and unsafe home environment, or inability to see and connect with others. There is a myriad of things for us to consider as we plan for post-pandemic schooling.

In Reading Recovery, our students come to us with a supposed “learning deficit” and we celebrate each student as an individual, discover their strengths, valuing their cultural background, language, and life experiences. Through careful observation and assessment, Reading Recovery teachers focus on a student’s assets instead of the student’s deficits. Through carefully planned and executed lessons, Reading Recovery teachers provide targeted instruction, scaffolds, and prompting to foster accelerated learning to help close the achievement gap.

 

Children are resilient and what they bring to our classrooms, in person or virtually, needs to be acknowledged, valued, respected, and honored. I cannot help but think of Marie Clays’ words of wisdom that remind us that students take different paths to common outcomes and that is both okay and important to take into consideration in instruction. Cassi Clausen reminds us “Ask any child development expert, and they will tell you that children do not develop in a straight line. There are no average children. There are no standard children.”

 

 

 

I have some concern students will be set up for more learning loss if we treat students the same, think they ALL have a loss of learning and we teach to the floor and not the ceiling. As educators, we must have the mindset of acceleration, not remediation, value our student’s new knowledge and experiences, and fill in the gaps when necessary. As Marie Clay has stated in “Literacy Lessons” page 20, “Achieving acceleration is not easy but it must be constantly borne in mind.” Moving forward, ongoing keen observation, formative assessments, and differentiation will be more important than ever. And we must celebrate individual differences as assets. We approach student learning to start where each child is and take them as far as we can. During Mary Howard’s presentation at LitCon 2021, she challenged educators to think about interventions as opportunities throughout the entire school day, not as an isolated act or time. She also expressed interventions should not work in isolation but be connected to a comprehensive learning system. This vision for intervention would be inclusive for all students in need.

 

When we safely open our schools again, students will be bringing with them a myriad of experiences and new learning from their families, communities, and the world at large. How do we capitalize on that learning and their experiences moving forward?

 

It will take coordinated and strategic efforts to get our students back on track socially, emotionally, and academically. In the Long Beach Unified School district, literacy teachers and intervention specialists are being refocused to build cohesiveness, implement effective and proven interventions, and be trained in the use of best practices. In his keynote speech at LitCon, Cornelis Minor implored us to look at the following:

  • We need to be more attentive to school-based outcomes…
  • …and attentive to the mindsets & systems that drive those outcomes.
  • We can understand how those systems impact curriculum, pedagogy & school/classroom culture.

 

Let us not be too quick to remediate but let us also accelerate and provide necessary scaffolds along the way. Instead of focusing on learning loss, why not focus on learning recovery or learning enrichment. Our children have a lot to teach us if we let them. As one of my Reading Recovery students reminded me, “I am not good at reading yet, but I know a lot about animals and drones.”

 

William Butler Yeats suggests, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” It is our moral imperative to educate our students during the best of times and the worst of times. The children are counting on us. Let us not let them down.

 


Kathleen A. Brown has worked in the field of education for 36 years as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and Reading Recovery teacher; serving as the Reading Recovery teacher leader in Long Beach Unified School District for the last 20 years. She provides literacy coaching and training for the district and serves on a variety of early intervention/early literacy committees.

Teaching Literacy in a Virtual World

2023-02-08T18:10:09-05:00May 22nd, 2020|Classroom Teaching, Latest News, Reading Recovery Teaching, Reflections and Commentary, Teaching|

by Kathleen A. Brown


Three words come to mind as I think about my experiences and the experiences of my colleagues during this extraordinary time: Resilience, Reflection, and Resetting.

 

Resilience
Resilience defined by Merriam Webster is an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. The Reading Recovery teachers in my district went from conducting lessons in a school setting to virtual lessons in a matter of a week. Overnight, they had to re-imagine how to provide literacy support to their students in a virtual world. Feet first and with big hearts they jumped into the work. Although there was a steep learning curve with using technology to provide literacy support, collaboratively they worked around the clock to reach the most needy and vulnerable, our Reading Recovery students and their families. While we understood that these were literacy support not traditional one on one lessons, we worked collaboratively with our University Training Center at Saint Mary’s College of California for direction and guidance.

 

Fortunately, our district provided laptops to all students to participate in online learning opportunities. The Reading Recovery teachers went above and beyond to ensure families had access to the internet and provided countless hours of support in getting families set up for distance learning.  In addition, literacy materials were picked up at school sites, mailed home, or delivered directly to the students’ homes. We fondly called the delivery to a home a “Teacher Dash.” Students and their families were so grateful and appreciative of the efforts being made to keep literacy learning going. Teachers were also thrilled to connect with students again, even if it had to be done virtually.

 

The sudden school closures lead to a range of emotions for our students, their families, and our teachers. Teachers often felt uncomfortable, stressed, and unsure about teaching using technology. There were days of frustration and tears. There were also days of gratitude and celebration as things were coming together and lessons were running much smoother.

 

Through the ups and downs, high and lows, laughter and tears, we have become stronger and more resilient as teachers and as a collective group. Like our students, we have learned to push the boundaries of our own knowledge and learning to provide literacy support in a virtual world. As one Reading Recovery student said during a literacy support lesson, “I am happy you are still helping me with my reading. When I see you for real, I am going to give you a giant hug.”

 

Reflection
Reflection is a common practice in Reading Recovery. Therefore, it was not out of the ordinary when my teachers and I started reflecting on our teaching and student engagement during online learning. As defined by Merriam Webster, reflection is a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation. We continued to meet as a group of Reading Recovery educators to refine our theory and practice related to early literacy teaching and learning. In our virtual on-going professional development sessions, many AHA moments surfaced, which caused us to step back and rethink our interactions with students, our expectations, and preconceived notions about student learning.

 

We discovered our students are more resilient and independent than we thought. To start with, students adjusted to being at home and away from their teachers and friends, and that was hard. Next, students quickly learned how to use technology, the language of technology, and be prepared to be on time and online for daily literacy support lessons. It is amazing to think we are talking about first graders.

 

Our relationships with students and their families have changed for the better. Parents have become true partners in this new method of teaching and learning. Beyond the academics, parents opened up about their worries and struggles. As teachers we became a conduit of information, support, and comfort. Having a virtual window into our students and their lives opened our eyes to see them differently and to appreciate those differences.

 

Reading
Collectively we noticed that students were able to orient themselves to new texts with minimal teacher support. Students were not afraid to pick up a new book or try one out digitally. This is what Marie Clay meant when she stated, “Acceleration is achieved as the child takes over the learning process and works independently, discovering new things for himself inside and outside the lessons.” Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, page 20. Students were also demonstrating a variety of ways to figure out unknown words on their own, without teacher prompting or demonstration. “The aim is to have him know about how words work and be able to use this awareness while reading and while writing.” Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, page 155.  We were astonished by our student’s independence and risk taking while reading novel texts.

 

Writing
Another discovery is how much more independent students are in writing in a virtual setting. Due to the mere fact there is a screen between the teacher and student, we were not able to physically get in their way, over-scaffold, or be overly involved in the construction of the story. Students were taking more risks in solving new words, not waiting for the teacher to tell them how to solve the words, and writing in longer phrases. These observations mirror what Marie Clay said about students when they become more independent in writing. “Towards the end of the lesson series children will usually be composing on the run, probably writing one sentence, then composing another and writing it, and so on, much the way they would work in the classroom.”  Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, page 82

 

Listening and Speaking
Children are naturally social, and learning is a social experience. During daily literacy support lessons, students were overflowing with things to say and share with us. We were a captive audience peering at the screen and listening to language spill out.

 

One day, a student I was teaching came with an object to show me and tell me about. This soon became a daily routine. He especially liked showing me and talking about his Lego creations. He was particularly fond of his pirate ship, “The Black Pearl.” From our conversations, he used words like cannons, mast, swords, curse, battle, captain, sailors, etc. Our elaborate conversations turned into descriptive and complex stories. Although I was the teacher (captain), I let my student (pirate) take me on a journey that led to grand conversations and complex written stories, which in turn became his favorite stories to read. I noticed once I loosened up on the wheel, put my own agenda aside, and followed the child, it was smooth sailing. 

 

“Just as a listener tunes in to a speaker, so a teacher must observe, listen to and tune in to a learner. Being sensitive to the child’s thinking allows the teacher to draw his attention to many things. Create opportunities for him to talk and to talk more. Any child with limited language skills needs more opportunities to talk.” Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, page 31.

 

As we all eagerly await the day when we can sit next to our students again, we have learned many lessons along the way:

  • Children are more independent than we think they are.
  • Children easily adapt to new situations and learning settings.
  • Children are pushing the boundaries of their learning in a virtual world
  • As teachers, we have a better understanding and appreciation for students, their families, and their life outside of school.
  • As teachers, we have learned to find a way to reach our students, no matter what the path or method.
  • As teachers we have learned to rely on each other and build upon each other’s strengths.
  • As teachers, we have learned to step back, observe more, and wait an extra second or two before intervening or providing scaffolding.

 

These lessons learned will inform our teaching just as the lessons we had taught previously informed our virtual instruction.

 


Resetting
Moving forward, we are trying to envision what teaching will be like in the Fall. Will we be sitting next to our students or looking at them through the computer screen? Putting that aside, how will we take the lessons learned during this unprecedented time of teaching and learning and fold them into our daily practice.

 

Merriam Webster defines resetting as to set again or anew. We must not forget what we have learned about our students, their families, and ourselves as teachers. How do we harness this new learning when we return to our school buildings? The Aha moments are significant. They serve as a catalyst in changing our mindset about student learning and how we teach our students.

 

Marie Clay asks us to think about change over time in our work with students. On page 44 of Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals, she states, “To encourage teachers to think about the changes they need to make in their teaching – adjusting expectations and interactions over time according to the progress of each learner.”

 

As we reset or renew our commitment to teaching our readers and writers, who struggle the most, let us not forget what the children have taught us during this unusual time in our careers and education. Reading Recovery teachers are uniquely positioned to think through what we are learning while learning from this virtual world of teaching. Let us continue to be resilient, reflective, and reset when necessary for our most precious gift: our children, our future.

 


Kathleen A. Brown has worked in the field of education for 35 years as a teacher, literacy specialist, and Reading Recovery teacher; serving as the Reading Recovery teacher leader in Long Beach Unified School District for the last 20 years. She provides early literacy training for the district and serves on a variety of early intervention / early literacy committees.

 

 

Roaming Around the Unknown in the Wake of COVID-19

2023-02-08T18:10:09-05:00April 22nd, 2020|Latest News, Reading Recovery Teaching, Reflections and Commentary, Teaching|

by Amy Smith

As I saw Drew’s cheerful face staring at me through my computer screen, I took a deep breath and thought, ”What do I know that might help me here?”. I knew it wasn’t possible to replicate a lesson, but I didn’t have time to ruminate, reflect, or research the situation. Like thousands of children, Drew was waiting for me to teach him something. But, how and where would I start?

 

I found guidance in a conversation with my colleague, Jeff Williams, in which we discussed the challenge of relinquishing control and the security of the standard lesson framework. While there is no guide sheet to tell us precisely how to address this, Jeff and I thought about how the principles of Roaming apply to this unfamiliar context. Indeed, Dr. Clay taught us that our starting point for our journey is Roaming and our goals are to promote confidence, ease, flexibility, and with luck, discovery. So, with those things in mind, I started down a new path with Drew.

 

Confidence, Ease, and Flexibility
Dr. Clay taught us to begin with the known. While we usually use the term to reference what a child knows or controls, in this context, it applies to me as a teacher. In my first online lesson with Drew, the only thing I felt sure of was familiar reading. Even though I wasn’t beside him, I knew I could listen to how the reading sounded and observe the actions he took at difficulty. I was intrigued by the realization the computer screen gave me a different lens as an observer. From that vantage point, I could see his eyes clearly, and was delighted by only one instance of the “eyes off text” habit he worked so hard to overcome. Perhaps more extraordinary, I noticed his facial reactions to the story, something I couldn’t see in the side view. His smiles and smirks revealed his delight in recounting the experiences of these characters. So, instead of launching into a teaching point, I began to talk with him about the stories; and more crucially, to really, really, listen.

 

In the midst of that book discussion, he said, “It’s not really a great ending.” I suggested we write a new one, together. Although I’ve used that technique many times, it was always constrained by time. While writing always includes conversation, composition, and transcription, the bulk of writing time in lessons is spent on transcription. My pragmatic decision to focus on conversation and composition, aspects that are easier to control virtually, had a payoff. In the end, we generated not one, but two alternative endings. While sharing a Google Doc on my screen, I typed both endings, pausing to allow him to clap and articulate words and offer a few letters and letter clusters. While he was not recording his story in the traditional sense, this off-the-cuff process addressed the most important aspect of why we write, to compose a meaningful message. I shared the Google Doc with his mom and asked him to choose his favorite version and practice reading it with expression. He shared it with me at the beginning of the next lesson. It did not surprise me that he chose the version where James fessed up to his crimes, as that’s very much the type of child Drew is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to exploring new ways of generating conversations and composing stories, I’ve allowed myself more freedom to read to Drew. He loves being read to, and yet, I almost never do this outside of Roaming. And honestly, I’m probably much too tentative about doing it even then. However, reading higher-level texts to him and engaging in more elucidated book discussions has provided space for robust comprehension conversations. An added bonus, many conversations have resulted in complex, episodic stories we’ve later constructed in writing.

 

This situation has also forced me to relinquish some control over selecting books for Drew. Thanks to Pioneer Valley Books making their digital collection available at no cost to schools, I have been able to choose new books and give Drew a library of choices he can make on his own. His selections revealed a passion for non-fiction texts that I hadn’t recognized. Giving him that freedom has also opened up opportunities to explore content-area vocabulary in a way I hadn’t in lessons. Most recently, a non-fiction book about dolphins led to a more involved exploration of squid than I ever dreamed I would engage in as a Reading Recovery teacher. And, although a divergence from my typical path, it was time well spent (and, quite interesting).

 

Making Discoveries About Drew and About Myself
Although I knew Drew before this crisis, I’ve learned things about him that were hidden at school. For instance, his outfit of choice is one of his many onesies, each bearing personal significance to him. I also now know that when he watches his favorite shows, he brings a related figurine or stuffed animal to the living room so they can enjoy it together. Further, he has a vast collection of Power Ranger masks and headgear that he’s modeled and described in detail. In fact, we’ve turned this into a game in which we surprise each other with a new hat, mask, or headband in each lesson. We plan to turn our gallery of pictures into a book, whenever this is over.

 

Since talking is the easiest thing to do online, I’ve also thought about ways to maximize language, both in terms of building oral language and harnessing his language to construct understanding. Thus, we start each lesson with a quick interview, each of us coming prepared with one question to ask each other. In addition to learning about our morning routines, favorite colors, and the funniest thing about our Dads, he has practiced formulating questions for specific purposes, asking follow-up questions aimed at new learning, and responding to questions in complete sentences. As a teacher, these interviews have taught me a lot about Drew as a person. It has also made me think much more about the role of oral language in literacy learning, how to engage children in active conversations, and how to give our students agency for thinking and learning.

 

At a glance, these activities (e.g., hats, interviews) might seem gimmicky or inconsequential. I actually think they reflect some of what I’ve learned about the link between emotion and cognition from both Dr. Clay and Carol Lyons. Maybe, this new context has given me more clarity on that link. Usually, I focus on the need to ensure my child is comfortable and confident. Now, I am simultaneously building my child’s and my own confidence. Using these techniques gives me a fun and easy way to begin each lesson; starting with something easy makes the harder parts much less stressful for me, as a teacher.

 

Roaming as a Metaphor and Guide for this Experience
Together with our children, we are all roaming around in unfamiliar territory. In the last few weeks, Drew and I have grown more confident about working together online. Things that were initially hard (e.g., whiteboard feature) are now automatic for both of us. By letting ourselves deviate from our lesson framework and work together as though we are roaming, we’ve freed ourselves from stress, put the really hard parts aside, and focused on the ones we can do right now.

 

Most importantly, we have made a vast number of discoveries together. I have no idea if any of this is what Dr. Clay envisioned when she used the word “discovery” but I have discovered much about myself as a teacher and Drew as a learner. I realize, now, that there is power in being forced out of our comfort zones from time to time. In some ways, it gives us a better sense of our children’s perspectives as learners. This is scary and we are tentative, just like so many of our children when they come to us. And, while none of us know what will happen next, Dr. Clay’s work prepares us to respond to idiosyncratic paths. In the end, it is our charge to be flexible, to build on the known, to observe and respond, and to change course at any point. I hope (and believe) she would be proud of the myriad of ways we are all working toward that end.

 

 

 

Dr. Amy Smith is a Reading Recovery teacher leader in Richmond, KY. She currently serves as RRCNA’s President-Elect has served as chair of the Advocacy Committee.

We Teach, What is Your Superpower?

2023-02-08T18:10:09-05:00April 1st, 2020|Classroom Teaching, Latest News, Reading Recovery Teaching, Reflections and Commentary, Teaching|

by Kim Reynolds

 

Every time I walk into my colleague’s classroom, I look up to one of my favorite signs: “I teach, what is your superpower?”

As I started roaming with my second-round student, Emily, in February, I looked to Marie Clay to guide me. She reminds us, this is when the “Child and teacher have an opportunity to get to know each other and to develop useful ways of interacting.” When Emily shared that she loved Wonder Woman, I asked her to tell me more. Emily said Wonder Woman can fly. She can save people. I look like Wonder Woman. It was ironic because right after we wrote this together, the whole world came crashing down around us. The Pandemic was here and we were all feeling weak, vulnerable, and apprehensive of what was yet to come. Our superpowers were being drained.

During the next few weeks, we started to navigate our way through the unknown. As we began this new, very rocky journey, we had the support of our amazing districts and our university training center, The Ohio State University. It was extremely overwhelming, but it was so helpful to find comfort in our administrators, trainers, and colleagues.

Using our technology, we were able to connect and collaborate with one another locally and nationally. On one of our Zoom calls, Dr. Lisa Pinkerton shared her analogy of the Pandemic to chapter 6 in Literacy Lessons Designed for Individuals: Adjusting teaching for particular difficulties. I thought that this was a brilliant way to relate what we know to this new and unknown time. Clay still comforts us during these challenging times: “You are likely to have some blind spots in these areas, and the opinions of colleagues could be most useful for adjusting your teaching. It has been one of the values of the professional development sessions that teachers have been able to pool their wisdom on their most puzzling students.” This can also be used when thinking about our current and upcoming challenges.

After a week of trying our best to collaborate, navigate, problem-solve and basically survive within our own districts, our Reading Recovery Teacher Leader colleagues were able to come together for our online “therapy”. We needed a forum to share our worries, concerns, and challenges. Our biggest concerns were for our students. The minute we met, we were already brainstorming and problem-solving how to emotionally support, thoughtfully collaborate and carefully facilitate reading and writing opportunities for our students. We left the session with a tentative plan, a network of amazing contacts and friends, and the faith that together we would make it through this. Hoda Kotbe’s book, I Really Needed This Today, is a favorite read before I go to sleep. She quoted Mandy Hale, “Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.” Together…anything is possible.

I think back to my limited, but precious time that I initially had with Emily, which likely will no longer be in person. In that short time, she taught me some amazing life skills. During this challenging and uncertain time, we all need to embrace our superpowers… bravery, strength, and the ability to make a difference on a daily basis, no matter how small. Collaboratively, we teach, what is your superpower?

 

 

Kim Reynolds is a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader with Dublin City Schools in Dublin, Ohio.

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