"Penny Kittle is an extraordinary teacher who writes. And because she has taught in classrooms ranging from first grade through high school, these short essay-stories show the full range of what it means to teach today."
Don Graves has this to say about Penny Kittle, having seen her at work. He also believes that it is in the shared story, teacher's and student's, that solutions exist in an era that maximizes measurement, that sees scores and standards as the norm. Penny sees way beyond the numbers. She appreciates faces, lives, passions, and very difficult personal struggles. And she responds in her teaching and writing.
With this captivating collection of 19 essays, Penny takes us straight from her classroom to our own hearts. Penny wrests from the teacher's life-its trials and triumphs, frustration, fury, and fun-all the emotional data that opens up her mind to good, solid instruction. It also frees her, making her ever-willing to lay herself open to her students. She writes with them, seeks their help, and teaches them by example-showing them exactly what the function of writing is, and how to think, understand, and read differently as writers themselves. Penny's mentor, Donald Murray, interviews her at the end of her book. He asks how, as a mother, wife, and teacher, she found the time to write and what she has learned as a published writing teacher.
Read Penny's stories and be reminded of the importance of your work as a teacher. Think of the stories of your own you could tell. Notice how you will observe your students differently. Cheer for their accomplishments, and your own, as you tackle the difficult work of learning together.
About the Author: Penny Kittle teaches freshman composition at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She was a teacher and literacy coach in public schools for 34 years, 21 of those spent at Kennett High School in North Conway. She is the co-author (with Kelly Gallagher) of Four Essential Studies: Beliefs and Practices to Reclaim Student Agency as well as the bestselling 180 Days. Penny is the author of Book Love and Write Beside Them, which won the NCTE James Britton award. She also co-authored two books with her mentor, Don Graves, and co-edited (with Tom Newkirk) a collection of Graves' work, Children Want to Write. She is the president of the Book Love Foundation and was given the Exemplary Leader Award from NCTE's Conference on English Leadership. In the summer Penny teaches graduate students at the University of New Hampshire Literacy Institutes. Throughout the year, she travels across the U.S. and Canada (and once in awhile quite a bit farther) speaking to teachers about empowering students through independence in literacy. She believes in curiosity, engagement, and deep thinking in schools for both students and their teachers. Penny stands on the shoulders of her mentors, the Dons (Murray & Graves), and the Toms (Newkirk & Romano), in her belief that intentional teaching in a reading and writing workshop brings the greatest student investment and learning in a classroom. Learn more about Penny Kittle on her websites, pennykittle.net and booklovefoundation.org, or follow her on twitter. Penny's students make a statement about how student choice in reading has affected them.
