Tammy's home. Hooray! She had a great time in Hawaii. But we're all glad to have her back.

I've been doing a lot of educational reading this vacation. I've read Haberman's "Star Teachers: the Ideology and Best Practice of Effective Teachers of Diverse Children and Youth in Poverty", Fried's "The Passionate Learner: How Teachers and Parents Can Help Children Reclaim the Joy of Discovery", and now I'm reading Nelson's "Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Developing Mutual Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in Your Classroom."

This is something I haven't done a lot of. Namely, reading educational works on my own (apart from coursework or mandated professional development). It's not light reading, by any stretch. It requires reflection and personal application. I've enjoyed the process.

I'm especially happy that I'm developing some discernment, as well. It's easy to be swayed by a book and buy into all they say, then read the next book and be swayed another direction. I feel like I'm beginning to define my own teaching philosophies a bit more sharply and therefore discount certain ideas when they don't fit well with who I am as a teacher.

The Positive Discipline book that I'm reading now is definitely one that I'm skeptical about. I'm only half-way through it, but it feels like it really is not a good fit for me. Fortunately, I already bit the monetary bullet and ordered Marshall's "Discipline Without Stress Punishments or Rewards : How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning." That books seems more to my liking, despite the fact that they have an over-the-top marketing system for the book.

I think what I'm looking for is that melding of ideas from multiple sources into one cohesive framework from which I can bring perspective and growth to my personal classroom teaching.

Wow, that sounded very rarefied.

Anyway, welcome home Tammy!