From reading comic books to celebrating teacher friends, from reading logs to reading Shakespeare, from portfolio assessments to throwing out grades, we are uncovering what English teachers do for our students, schools, and humanity. Thank you.


From reading comic books to celebrating teacher friends, from reading logs to reading Shakespeare, from portfolio assessments to throwing out grades, we are uncovering what English teachers do for our students, schools, and humanity. Thank you.

As teachers, we bear witness to the lives of students every day, and in journals, blogs, seminars, and over lunch, we read the lives of students as well. Because of teachers, students’ stories endure. We are a witness to their lives.

Many ELA teachers write alongside their students, but do you write like a “teacher” or a “person”? Do you write to model for and teach techniques to your students, or do you write to explore an experience, uncover a truth? Of course, being a teacher …

“Colleen.” Colleen stood up. A quiet kid who was easily swayed off-task by more extraverted students, Colleen loved to have side conversations with me about life. She was always curious about what we were learning and why, and she was ready to share her poem. …