I’ve known Meenoo Rami through Twitter for a few years and we have worked together on #engchat for the past couple of years. We met in person at NCTE Las Vegas (despite the fact that we live only an hour or so away from each other!) and I was blown away by her passion and dedication to the teaching profession. Needless to say, when her new book Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching was published a few weeks ago I read it cover to cover. (Ok, to be fair, Meenoo also asked me to write a few paragraphs for the book, so there were a few reasons I wanted to read it immediately…haha)
Thrive is a book I want to send to every teacher I know. I want every teacher education department to give it to their teacher babies. I want to hand it out at every PD session I attend. It’s just that amazing.
It’s a tough time to be a teacher. We all see it and sometimes it’s hard not to feel beaten down. But Meenoo’s book is a bright light in the darkness. She learned early in her career that teaching can be a lonely career if you don’t reach out to the community around you. In Thrive she shares the strategies that she uses in her professional life and the ways that teachers can apply them to their own. I’ve seen this firsthand through Twitter and Meenoo was one of the first teachers who reached out and walked me through community-building on the network. When I stumbled upon #engchat I knew I had found one of my tribes and I’ve been a fixture in the chat ever since. There are days when my Twitter PLN keeps me sane and I’m so glad Meenoo has captured the importance of that community in her book.
But it’s not all about social media. No! Meenoo shares ways that teachers can reach out to colleagues in their departments, their buildings, their local and national professional organizations, and much more. Teaching is a profession that works best when we mentor others and allows ourselves to be mentored. Thrive is perfect for first-year teachers who are just entering this crazy world of education, and it’s also the rejuvenating spark that veteran teachers need! We should be reaching out and helping our colleagues while also recognizing that teachers are life-long learners who can learn from their colleagues and students.
Thrive will help you (re)discover the joy in teaching. I can’t wait to give a copy to my student teacher. And my sister. And my best friend. I imagine Thrive sitting on the shelf next to Harry Wong’s First Days of School and other vital teaching resources. It’s that important. Be sure to pick up a copy today!
Make sure you are following Meenoo on Twitter because she is always sharing ideas and inspiration. And check out her blog!
Be sure to check out some of the other stops on the Thrive blog tour!
Yesterday: Kira Baker Doyle at Kira J Baker-Doyle, Ph.D.
Tomorrow: Christina Cantrill at Digital Is (National Writing Project)
Meenoo Rami is a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches her students English at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA. Mixing moments of joy, laughter, risk and encouragement, Meenoo pushes her students to think critically about their connection to the word and the world. Meenoo did her undergraduate work at Bradley University in Illinois in areas of Philosophy and English and completed her Master’s degree in Secondary Education at Temple University. Meenoo also contributes to the work of school-wide events and professional learning communities at SLA. Meenoo works as a teacher-consultant for the Philadelphia Writing Project. She has shared her classroom practice at various conferences such as: NCTE, ISTE, ASCD, EduCon, Urban Sites Conference for National Writing Project, and #140edu. Meenoo also runs a weekly twitter chat for English teachers called #engchat which brings together teachers from around the country to discuss ideas related to teaching of English. Her first book, THRIVE from Heinemann will be out in March 2014. In her free time, Meenoo can be found on her bike, on her yoga mat or in her kitchen tinkering with a vegetarian recipe.
To connect with Meenoo, you can find her on these social media networks:
Filed under: 48 hour book challenge, professional development, reviews | Tagged: heinemann, meenoo rami, thrive | 3 Comments »
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The Reading Zone 