What goes unnoticed at many other schools, and in a lot of discussions about education, is the boundless value children gain on a spiritual level when they read great literature. You cannot quantify this value—but you can see it in their eyes when they light up over a book they're reading.

Without hesitation, Karana jumps off the ship as it leaves, despite the hands of everyone she knows trying to hold her back. Knowing full well what it could mean for her own survival, she returns to the island to protect her brother—to stay with him until the ship returns.

How fortunate I am to have a desk full of poetry today.

The beginning of the new school year always comes with a trillion and one things to be excited about. But for now, these are the things sitting in the front seat of my mind as we head into the 2025-26 school year (tomorrow!).

Tadpoles, Shakespeare, and Nature, oh my!

Earnest readers of the trilogy fall in love with a massive, complicated, gorgeous world, and then watch helplessly as it reels toward destruction.

I’ve gone through our shelves at home and pulled out some of my kids’ favorite books to share with you.

Abel’s Island by William Steig is about a mouse who gets blown across the countryside by an insolent storm, and ends up on an island in the middle of a swift stream where he is marooned for a year.

“White Fang is not a puppy anymore,” I said to my class. “He is very much set in his ways. What could possibly be strong enough to change him?”

“Love,” said my students.

“So often, I struggle when grading assignments because I come across answers that are not wrong, but could be a heck of a lot more right.”