Author Archives: Tanya B

Motivated by Louis C. K.’s hilarious interview with Conan O’Brian, which has come to be known as “Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy” I’ve been forced to examine my own version of the  ’travel day” story genre. As Louis C.K. illustrates, … Continue reading →

Mom is at work today reading Bob Fecho’s book Teaching For the Students: Habits of Heart, Mind and Practice in the Engaged Classroom. Lucky mom (me)! Highly readable, deeply thoughtful, this book is a must read for any teacher working … Continue reading →

If you follow this blog, you are probably related to me or work at the National Writing Project. Either that or I used to be your teacher, or you are a teacher in the NWP network, or maybe I paid … Continue reading →

Mom is at work this morning, yes, but on the way here I finished “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. Which, yes, means I was crying on BART, and crying when I came into work and sat down … Continue reading →

Mom is at work this week thinking about teaching science. Primarily, I’m thinking about the literacy demands of learning science, and the disciplinary literacy modes and structures in the discipline. What do scientists read? What do they write? What do … Continue reading →

So here’s how it went down. We invited 12 friends to the 12th birthday — half from our old elementary school, half from the new middle school. This was after we almost didn’t have a birthday party because trying to … Continue reading →

Mom is at work today, reading a new book by her friend and NWP colleague Rich Kent. Lucky me. The book is Writing on the Bus: Using Athletic Team Notebooks and Journals to Advance Learning and Performance in Sports (I … Continue reading →

It’s hard to believe, but She-Who-is-Eleven (SWIE) has returned  to being a SWIT (She-who-is-twelve (not ten)) today. Her birthday, as well as other recent events, have me wondering, What child is this? For one thing, she is taller than her … Continue reading →

On January 11, Nicolas Kristof responded to a new study on the value of teachers. Kristof brings the valuable study to the attention of New York Times readers and publicly calls for attention to be paid to the value of … Continue reading →

Before my work at the National Writing Project (NWP), I was a teacher and a teacher consultant at the Maine Writing Project. For seven years, virtually every year after my own summer institute, I was somehow involved in the summer … Continue reading →