Topic: What's The Best That Could Happen

We call it 'workshop' for a reason; the learning time is about the work children do. Children need to make connections from one day's learning to the next; it's the story of their meaningful work and the how, what, and why of their learning.

What happens if we under scaffold a child and he’s not successful? We work with the child to fix it. Everyone—every child in our readers’ workshop, every teacher, every adult, every human—fails and is disengaged at some point.

When we plan for work time, we ask: What will children do to get smarter tomorrow? What will they read, write, and talk about? What will they read that’s worthy of what we’re asking them to do?

Taking ownership of our teaching and children’s learning changes everything. We own it when things go well, and we own it when they don’t.

Choice within routines and environment is essential for instilling agency. Without choice, children are blindly following our rules and expectations.

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, 'what’s the best that could happen?' By turning that old phrase on its head, author Debbie Miller says she’s asked herself a more beautiful question.

This week on the podcast we’re wondering, what’s the best that could happen? In her newest book; “What’s the Best That Could happen?” Debbie encourages us to tune into that “thing” that doesn’t feel right and then investigate it and see what kind of questions it leads us to.

In What’s the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller confronts a challenge all teachers face: the feeling of being stuck and the fear of trying something new. She explores how questions help us look beyond the limitations of what we’ve done and discover powerful new opportunities for teaching.

What if we joined the ranks of the change makers and committed the time and effort it would take to change the narrative about how schools work? Could teachers be the ones to begin real conversations with each other and those in power?