Year in Review: 10 Most Popular Posts of 2015

In just a few days I'll mark the 4th year of my blogging journey. This year brought numerous requests for presentations on blogging with several more anticipated in 2016. No doubt these requests and my most popular blog posts would not be possible without you, my readers. If you haven't yet joined the blogosphere consider making 2016 your year. Let these ten most popular posts of 2015 serve as inspiration. Even if these topics aren't in your wheelhouse find your passion and your voice and share it with us all because blogging doesn't have to be polished like an essay; it's a great opportunity to creatively express your views.

Here at Learning to Muse popular posts in 2015 include book reviews, posts about my sons and posts about my professional passion of re-imagining public education.

#10 Dreaming of a Teacher Powered School

Call it a long shot, but I've taken steps toward realizing this dream by forming a team of students, teachers, and administrators creating a concept and designing a proposal to rethink high school in the XQ Super School Project. And, you? What thoughts can you add about how our public education system needs to change?

#9 As My Oldest Son Starts High School, Here's What I'm Thinking

This post brought comments on social media from other parents faced with sending their children to high school or even to kindergarten (since the photo with the original post included one of my son on his first day of kindergarten). Update: We're off to a great start as my son had a strong finish to his first semester of high school. He started the year by advocating for himself and landing in a specific science class he desired; he's performing well in all of his classes and he mostly keeps up with his progress without much pestering from us. He likes English class for the first time; we suspect it's helped that the assistant cross country coach is also his 9th grade English teacher.

#8 Hiking Upper Fish Creek Falls in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Who doesn't love Colorado? With all the outdoor activities and beautiful scenery, you won't be disappointed. Since I've been collaborating with colleagues in Colorado for the past few years they assured me our trip to Steamboat Springs would be fantastic. Of course, we were not disappointed. Our incredible family trip with relatives included multiple hiking opportunities. We loved Steamboat Springs and even found ourselves dreaming about a move to Colorado (Oh wait, it wasn't just this trip--I've been thinking about a move to Colorado for several years now).

#7 My Favorite Quotes from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird

If you're a writer or a reader follow Anne Lamott on Facebook for witty and wise commentary on being a better version of yourself. I kicked off 2015 reading Bird by Bird and sharing some of my favorite quotes. Not included in that post was another favorite quote-- "For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth...They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die." I also think they show us how to be better writers which is one of the many reasons why I personally choose to read at least one book a week.

#6 Students Should Create, Compose, & Connect Digitally

Troy Hicks and Jeremy Hyler share strategies for engaging students in using technology to create and connect. Gaining increasing momentum in America is the Student Voice (#stuvoice) movement connecting students across schools, districts, and even states. Fortunately, my youngest son has even joined the fun with our Kentucky statewide group, and he's learning and connecting with other students also interested in improving public education.

#5 Reflections on Writing with Deanna Mascle

As parents and educators, Deanna and I share experiences both of us have had with our sons, and we also share multiple links to resources for upping your game as a writing instructor. This post is fun for parents or educators (or both).

#4 Most Likely to Succeed Book and Film

If you haven't read this book or seen the film, you are missing out. Dintersmith and Wagner provide details and ideas for how we can re-imagine public education in America. Further, they provide statistics and examples of why we need to change public education. Follow Dintersmith's blog for information about his ongoing book tour and personal mission to push education change.

#3 Using Blogging to Connect, Learn, & Magnify Teacher Voice

Read this particular and very popular post for suggested blogs to follow and read. After joining National Blogging Collaborative as a volunteer writing coach this year, I personally found myself connected to even more bloggers--all on a mission to elevate the voices of teachers. If you do decide to get started with blogging this year, check out the free supports available from NBC. 

#2 Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning

In one amazing week, this post became my second most popular read blog post of all time (not just number 2 this year). In case you missed it, I'm sharing it here again so you can learn ideas for student-centered learning. Fellow parents--this book is for you, too, because we can learn more about how our children learn from us about how to persevere, set goals, and persist through challenges.

#1 What Connected Educators Do Differently Describes My Own Connected Journey

Even after 4 years of blogging, this one post skyrocketed to the number one place of all blog posts at Learning to Muse. This post is for educators specifically, especially those looking to connect with others.

Using Blogging to Connect, Learn, & Magnify Teacher Voice

In today’s connected world, teachers no longer go all summer without connecting with each other using social media (Twitter, Voxer, Blogs, Facebook). Rather, teachers learn from their personal learning networks (PLN) year-round. Even with frequent formal and informal connections, let’s consider specifically what we can learn from one another through blogging. Blogs are excellent resources for helping us connect, learn, grow, and magnify our voices.

When the communications/marketing director at my work asked me to write a post about teachers blogging, I initially thought “no problem--I blog, I support bloggers, and I read blogs all the time--I’ll pull this post off in no time at all.” Wrong. What I found is that there are so many blogs I enjoy it was hard to pare it down into the size of one readable blog post about educators blogging. After days of considering my options,  I determined that I would allow myself only four slots under three categories (learn, magnify voice, and connect). The blogs listed below are the ones I return to regularly, and there are many more I could have included. Do you have favorite educator blogs? Please share!

Muir Woods
Sites like this provide inspiration to me as a writer.
What places provide you inspiration?

Blogs for learning

The New York Times Learning Network

With the editor of this blog (Katherine Schulten) having a long experience in education and regular contributing bloggers being teachers, you can count on the NYT Learning Network blog for daily resources for teaching and learning. You will find lesson plans connected to reading the NYT (valuable for all subject areas), questions for writing and discussion and opportunities to join the conversations by commenting on posts. Personally, I have utilized The New York Times in my work with high school students and college students because the resources are free, the topics are timely, and it’s also a great resource for staying current on issues in our country and world.

CoolCat Teacher

For years now I have been following the work of Vicki Davis from Camilla, Georgia. As a leading educator in technology and blogging, you can count on Vicki’s blog for resources on a plethora of topics, especially technology. A few years ago I met Vicki at an education conference and she shared the story of the title of her blog coming from students who thought she was a cool teacher and the school’s mascot were the cats, so her blog became CoolCat Teacher. She’s been all over the world speaking and inspiring fellow educators and she still teaches in South Georgia and shares her expertise with all of us.

Kevin’s Meandering Mind

Kevin Hodgson writes about technology, digital literacy, jazz, connected educators, and teaching middle schoolers. His posts are witty, informative, and innovative. Read his blog to learn new ideas for teaching students at any grade and be inspired by his level-headed approach to education.

Partnerships in Learning

A blog written by Tricia Shelton, a Kentucky teacher and connected educator, offers inspiration for learning and sharing through a lens of science for all students. Tricia engages other teachers as learners exploring the Next Generation Science Standards, and she believes science should be exciting and accessible for all students. I concur.

Blogs for magnifying voices

Getting Smart

Another site I’ve followed for years is Getting Smart. Here you find innovative ideas for teaching and learning in blogs written by teachers and journalists alike. All positive ideas for re-imagining learning and sharing the voices of teachers as leaders. Coincidentally, I reconnected with a fellow Piedmont College graduate through his blog on Getting Smart. Our liberal arts college Masters in Teaching program served us well because we both maintain forward thinking ideas for teaching/learning and education reform. Check out all the innovative blogs on Getting Smart and access John’s contributions here.

Teaching Channel

Teaching Channel started with videos but I’m finding more and more blogs by teachers as another way for teachers to share their ideas about teaching and learning. Sometimes the blogs connect with the videos (another great resource for learning) and sometimes the blogs stand alone on topics relevant to the time of the school year or to issues in public education.

Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension

In this popular blog, teacher Pernille Ripp shares thoughts on teaching and student voice. I’ve always believed one of the major reasons teachers should be sharing their voice is because they are some of the best advocates for students. Ripp believes students have the right to raise a ruckus when education being given to them is not working. I couldn’t agree more, and I also believe teachers and parents have the same right. Let’s raise our voices & do so with the tips Ripp offers--with kindness, empathy and persistence. Together, we can make a difference in education.

Impatient Optimists: Education

The blog for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation frequently features teacher bloggers. My personal experiences working with the BMGF and with other teachers across the country working with them have been top notch. They listen. They learn. They support and encourage. They value teachers’ voices as experts in the field of education, and I couldn't agree more. Teachers know what students need to be successful in life.

Blogs for connecting

KYEdvolution

This teacher generated site hosts information for teachers in Kentucky wishing to connect with one another for optimal student learning. Visit to learn more about professional learning opportunities, to learn about Kentucky teacher blogs, and to add your voice to the change making happening in our state.

Literacy Design Collaborative Blog (LDC)

LDC provides tools for classroom teachers seeking to ensure students graduate college and career ready. The LDC instructional design system helps us think about the learning experiences we provide for students. LDC’s blog provides updates on information related to the tools and also shares educator perspectives on the usefulness of the tools for improved student learning. If you use the LDC tools or even if you don’t (yet), following the blog provides a great way to learn and stay connected.

Center for Teaching Quality

Established by a non-profit organization over a decade ago, CTQ created the collaboratory for teachers to blog and connect with one another around topics of interest. Not only do they have the larger collaboratory, they also have smaller groups (called labs). Lab topics range from advocacy to leadership to sharing professional expertise. One of my personal favorites is the lab on Teacher Powered Schools.

National Blogging Collaborative

Created by teachers for teachers, this service oriented blog offers various services to teachers, including free writing coaching by fellow teacher bloggers. The NBC encourages more teachers to blog and share their perspective on issues in education. Check out the site and start your own blogging journey today!

Dreaming of a Teacher Powered School

Back in 1999 a year after I started teaching in Western North Carolina, I began dreaming of teaching in a school with distributed leadership, a school where all stakeholders have a voice. You see, my father-in-law, a fifth grade teacher in Georgia at the time, and I spent time talking about how we could better meet the needs of our students if only we would be allowed to do so--if only we were permitted to allow students choice in how the school operated. Back then I didn't know Teacher Powered schools could be a real thing. Young and enthusiastic, I placed my focus on learning all I could about being an effective teacher, an effective facilitator of learning. All the while, the running of the school continued to pull at me.

Snowy View from Capital Plaza Tower Frankfort, KY

Flash forward ten years to January 2009 when I began working at the state department of education. One wintry and snowy morning from the KDE Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort, Kentucky, I called my former professor, Hilton Smith, to tell him I had left the classroom. I was taking a break from teaching with hopes that I could learn more about how education policy happens, how decisions that impact students and teachers are made. Hilton was the one who taught me about student choice in learning and about creating more authentic learning experiences like he and his colleagues used with the Foxfire approach. Not sure what he would think of me working for a government agency, I asked for advice, and he provided it. "Pay attention to how decisions are made at the state level. Pay attention to how policies are made--really made--behind the scenes, not the posturing that we all see in the public arena. Pay attention and learn because what you learn will benefit you when you leave."

The following December, Hilton sent me a letter (a real snail mail letter, not an email) about The Forum for Education and Democracy and the Coalition of Essential Schools (we had read Ted Sizer's work in grad school). In the evenings, I spent time researching and learning more about the founders and leaders recognized by these organizations.  Hilton Smith, Theodore Sizer, Dennis Littky, Elliot Washor, George Wood, Debra Meier, Linda Darling-Hammond, etc.

About this same time, teacher-led schools in Minnesota and Colorado opened, so I followed the happenings from afar with secret dreams of helping open a school like this in Kentucky. Released in 2012, the book Trusting Teachers With School Success: What Happens When Teachers Call the Shots by Kim Ferris-Berg and Edward Dirkswager provided an analysis of numerous schools around the country operating with some type of teacher autonomy.  My evening research kept me motivated and moving, eager to learn more about the type of school we might be able to open in Kentucky--one focused on providing students choices in their learning.

Ultimately, this is why I'm interested in teacher powered schools. I'm interested in schools where not just teachers have a voice but students also have a voice in their learning. I used to believe the only way to make an impact or be involved required me to teach again. As I reflected in a recent blog post, I no longer believe teaching is the only way I can make an impact. Raising the voice of teachers and students matters and so does thinking differently about how schools operate. It will take people thinking and behaving differently to make these changes. Now I have the great fortune of working for an organization focused on recruiting, coordinating and supporting expertise to inspire and scale innovation and excellence in Kentucky's public schools.

Fortunately, education leaders in Kentucky have also begun investigating alternative school models such as the Big Picture Learning Schools I explored all those years ago when I was working for KDE. Additionally, teachers in Kentucky have begun investigating distributed leadership models and Teacher Powered Schools.

I'm ready. I've been ready. Students deserve it. Let's do it!