Five Most Popular Articles of 2020
Newsletter
Here are my top 5 articles from 2020, based on views. Thank you for your readership!
Five Ideas From Parents For the Next School Year (a rundown of feedback we received from families about how we could improve in 2020, including quotes from parents)
Regie Routman on What’s Essential Right Now in Education (my inaugural podcast, a conversation with Regie on what educators should focus on with regard to literacy during the pandemic)
Four Strategies for Effective Online Instruction (a list of recommended practices for virtual teaching and learning, based on my own experience teaching graduate courses in curriculum leadership)
Classroom Libraries: Who Owns the Reading? (describes the process of involving students in organizing the classroom library with the teacher vs. the teacher doing it all themselves)
When Less is More (in which I offer ideas and a template for a more authentic literacy assessment process, with the goal of students being able to assess their own progress as a reader and a writer)
Reflection: The Other Side of Celebration
When we reach a milestone, such as the end of a year or completing a project, there is a cause for celebration. As there should be. We take pride in our accomplishment and appreciate the journey we took to reach a goal.
I am learning that nothing stands by itself. There are at least two ideas supporting every concept, and they are often opposing. What appears to be the flip side to celebration is reflection.
While we stand back to admire our work, this is also an opportunity to be honest with ourselves. “What worked?” - yes, but also “What didn’t?” It goes both ways: “What obstacles did I/we face?” is complemented by “How did I/we address these challenges?”
You might be thinking, C’mon, why can’t we just appreciate the moment? No one said we cannot. Yet the earth hasn’t stopped moving. Seasons still change. New opportunities for growth are sprouting, and our capacity for reflection will allow us to notice them.
For example, looking back on these articles, I found common traits that readers must have appreciated:
Literacy was the context if not the focus for the writing.
The specific topics (e.g. feedback, access to texts) were relevant and/or timeless.
Research was typically included to support my position.
The craft and structure helped make the writing reader-friendly.
Personal stories and anecdotes helped balance academic language.
Possibly my biggest takeaway was that I was confident and even prescriptive in what I wrote. There was a lack of passive phrases; very little “You should consider…” or “In my opinion…”. More “Do this, not that.”
If you write, take some time to read your past posts and articles. What resonated with your readers? What are the trends and patterns, the common threads of your better writings? Think of this as “intentional celebration”, an opportunity to scale up your success. And if you don’t write, here’s a quick win: start today.
What resonated with you here? Leave feedback on the comments. Next month I will be hosting the second of three Educators as Writers sessions for full subscribers. It is an opportunity to get feedback on your professional writing and engage with a community of reflective practitioners. Subscribe today!
(Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash)