Books that I'm currently reading...browsing...or diving into again...
The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews
Our school invited this author/motivational speaker for an in-service day. It was an awesome day and changed my way of thinking, not just about education, but about life.  Other books of his to read include: The Butterfly Effect,The Boy Who Changed the World, The Noticer

The Essential Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
You will learn his philosophy about coaching and realize that it wasn't just for coaching, it was for living a successful life.  Useful and relevant for all.

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
This opened my eyes to what true reading instruction really needs to be...
You should see my book...underlined, noted, highlighted, circled, and bookmarked.  Awesome read for any educator. 

Do You Know Enough About Me To Teach Me? by Stephen G. Peters
Know your students and you will learn how to reach them, but most of all, LOVE them...and it will make all the difference in the world. 

_My third grade teacher, Mrs. S, mesmerized her class. Every day, we sang catchy songs that helped us memorize a part of speech, a math concept, or our states and capitals.  We moved. We danced. We played silly musical chairs only to learn concepts that were hidden under that last seat.  We assisted in the planning of our school beauty pageant which was a well-disguised activity for elapsed time and some juicy descriptive writing.  We carefully watched, measured, and wrote about our butter bean embryos that grew almost surreptitiously between two plates of glass on the window sill.  One day, Mrs. S introduced a new student to our class, a sweet quiet girl named Beth who came to Alabama via Hawaii. Within a few short weeks, our class had constructed grass skirts and leis, learned the Hukilau dance, and performed that cultural dance for our entire school. Experiences and lessons that will never be forgotten from a teacher that made an indelible mark on her students and on me. I look back fondly at the many educators who have touched my life in some way.  Mrs. S is a giant among them.  She did so much more than just educate.  She inspired, encouraged, sparked, influenced, motivated, awakened, and most importantly, she loved. 
    When I made the decision to become a teacher, the memories of this caring woman and her engaging classroom gathered strong in my mind. I wanted to enlighten, encourage, and motivate children in the same ways that Mrs. S had done for me.  I aspired to create that same safe learning environment in my own classroom so that students knew that it was acceptable to be a little silly as long as there was constructive learning occurring at the same time. I remembered how she brought a far away place like Hawaii to our tiny classroom and how the cultures learned in that lesson echoed throughout the entire school and community.  I desired to be that same catalyst in my own community.  I wanted to become a teacher.
    As I complete my eighth year as an educator, I am amazed at how classrooms and students have changed over the years.  With advancements in technology occurring every day, students of all ages still need an engaging curriculum to motivate, create, and foster their intrinsic desire to learn. I am extremely fortunate to teach in a school system which places a high value upon educating students with new technologies.  I teach in a blended learning environment using 1:1 laptops.  My fifth grade students are involved in online discussion forums, blogs, and wikis about artists and inventors such as Leonardo daVinci and Michelangelo. They have created digital posters and online digital dioramas about the discovery of the R.M.S. Titanic. They have researched the Holocaust, 9-11, and the Great Depression and have created podcasts about their experiences. Through challenge-based learning, my students studied the history of our school system.  They created online brochures that advertised our amazing school district and the opportunities available through our emphasis on technology. As a teacher, I helped in guiding these learning experiences by showing students how to focus, learn, create, and self-assess. With my desire to create the classroom of my past, I have created a classroom for the 21st century.  A classroom where students are engaged and motivated through the use of technology.  A classroom where learning occurs while sharing information with each other and the world. A classroom in which learning transcends those four walls and hallowed halls of our school and travels enthusiastically throughout the community, the country, and the world.  I believe Mrs. S would be proud. 

_My mission as an Alabama educator and a teacher of reading is to create students that enjoy reading.  At the beginning of every school year, I ask my students to complete a survey about their likes and dislikes of reading.  I am always disappointed in the many statements that I receive from my students. “I hate reading.” “I haven’t read a book all summer.”  These statements continue to worry me and after reading Kelly Gallagher’s book, Readicide, I understand why. 
    Gallagher insists, and I agree, that teachers are serving up “The Kill-a-Reader Casserole”.  We take a novel, dice it up into many pieces, put in sticky notes, insert worksheets, add more sticky notes, and in the end, what we have is a completely unrecognizable novel that has been served to the students in bite-sized pieces.  We have inadvertently killed the love and enjoyment  of reading that novel. 
    My mission is to reverse this process.  I want to build generations of book lovers.  I want to motivate students to read for fun but also to read for information. I want teachers to ensure that students have interesting books to read by creating book floods in the classroom. I want teachers to allow important time and space to read books, magazines, and authentic texts inside of school and to be able to blog and discuss about what they’ve enjoyed. Sharing and spreading knowledge via technology is very important and a key component in motivating students.
    Every day I begin my classes with a music video about reading.  The tune is catchy but the message is the most important.  In our classroom, we value reading and we value the time spent reading for fun and enjoyment.  Just as pianists never get better with practice, readers never get better without reading.  If students are taught to enjoy books, then they will become better readers, deeper thinkers, and lifelong learners.