Review
In Thrive, Meenoo Rami does an amazing job of turning the challenges of teaching in this new, networked world of learning into opportunities for teachers and students alike. She shares an amazing array of practical ideas that will help both veteran and brand new teachers find support and inspiration for working the technology rich environments that the modern learner demands. Filled with the stories of real teachers in real classrooms to support her ideas, Meenoo's book is simply a must read for any educator wanting to better understand the potentials for student and personal learning in this most complex and exciting time.
--Will Richardson, author of Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Education Are Everywhere
Whether you are entering your first year teaching or your fortieth, Thrive feels as if it were written just for you. At a time in our profession where many of us are feeling stretched thin, Meenoo Rami offers wisdom and practical strategies to reignite our passions and rediscover why we chose to teach. From rethinking mentor-mentee structures to building networks of inspiration to empowering yourself and your students to design your own instruction, this book is an invitation to innovate your personal practice and our profession.
--Christopher Lehman, author of Falling in Love with Close Reading
This is the book I wish I had been able to read when I began teaching. On every page Meenoo offers practical suggestions, accompanied by wit and wisdom, that can help us solve the problems we all encounter no matter how long we have been teaching. Thanks to her vision and her voice, I see great hope in the future for our profession.
--From the Foreword by Jim Burke
Regardless of one's profession, it is important to cultivate a practice of evaluating and re-evaluating progress and personal growth. Meenoo Rami adeptly shares critical ways for educators to check in with themselves and track their progress, and to inject passion into their work. Her ideas are relevant for both rookie teachers and classroom veterans alike!
--Angela Maiers
Teaching is a profession that eats its young. Meenoo Rami's Thrive offers guidelines for surviving the challenges of the classroom as well as the faculty room. This book is certain to save new teachers buckets of tears.
--Carol Jago, author, English teacher, and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English
Meenoo Rami lives joy. She sees teachers and students as co-creators of vibrant, real, and exacting work. Thrive includes a mosaic of dynamic teacher voices from many grade levels and content areas. Reading their stories deepened my thinking about the immense untapped potential of our profession. Thrive is for new teachers seeking a wise mentor. It is for any teacher who imagines a bold approach to the challenge of reaching all children today. Meenoo Rami s vision of teaching and learning can sustain us all.
--Penny Kittle, author of Book Love
To be successful, teachers must constantly be learning, reflecting and growing to meet the ever-changing needs of the students in front of them. To many of us, this can seem like an overwhelming task. Who do I learn from? How can I keep growing as an educator? How do I keep the work I do relevant and fresh to myself and my students? Fortunately, Meenoo Rami has written this book which provides a road map for all of us to, yes, thrive, in our schools over the course of a career. And as Meenoo s principal, I can say that she lives the words of this book in her classroom every day. .
--Chris Lehmann, Founding Principal, Science Leadership Academy
Meenoo Rami has written the right book at the right time. In an era of corporate education reform, Thrive reminds us of how we, as teachers, need human interaction, intellectual fulfillment, and empathy --Troy Hicks, author of Crafting Digital Writing
Meenoo Rami has written the right book at the right time. In an era of corporate education reform, Thrive reminds us of how we, as teachers, need human interaction, intellectual fulfillment, and empathy just as much as our students. Rami encourages us to move beyond the mechanical acts of scripted schooling and mandatory professional development, offering us numerous ways to pursue our own passions and bring them to the classroom. She notes that "the rewards of this work will be paid with your students' success and engagement." Filled with practical suggestions, stories from fellow educators, and smart questions, Thrive will reward you as a reader, too. --Troy Hicks, author of Crafting Digital Writing
About the Author
Jim Burke is the author of numerous bestselling Heinemann titles, including the English Teacher’s Companion, Fourth Edition and What’s the Big Idea? The question he’s always tried to answer is “How can we teach our students better?” He seeks these answers daily through his work in his own classroom at Burlingame High School in California where he still teaches after twenty years. Facing the same constraints and challenges as every other teacher, Jim shares his creative solutions in bestselling professional titles with Heinemann such as Reading Reminders and Writing Reminders as well as through Heinemann Professional Development Services. As part of his commitment to helping teachers and learning how to use the latest technologies, he founded the English Companion Ning, described by Education Week as “the world’s largest English department” and winner of several Edublog Awards for Best Social Network for Education. In addition to the EC Ning, Jim offers a steady stream of recommended resources through his website (www.englishcompanion.com) and Twitter (@englishcomp) where he is ranked in the top 100 educators to follow at the top within the online English teacher community.
Jim serves on several national commissions related to adolescent literacy and standards, including the Advanced Placement English Literature and Language Course and Exam Review Commission with the College Board and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) where he serves on the Content Technical Working Group, which advises PARCC on the national assessments being developed for the Common Core State Standards. In addition, he is a senior author on the Holt McDougal Harcourt Literature series.
Jim has received numerous awards, including the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award, the NCTE Conference on English Leadership Award, and the California Reading Association Hall of Fame Award. He served on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Committee on Adolescence and Young Adulthood English Language Arts Standards.
Through his work in the class and on such commissions, Jim Burke seeks not only to clarify but reimagine what English should be, honoring the past even as he works with others to create the future of the discipline he loves so much. Visit his website (www.englishcompanion.com) for more information.
Meenoo Rami, author of Thrive, is a national board certified teacher who taught students English in Philadelphia for ten years, at the Science Leadership Academy and in other public schools in the city. The founder of #engchat, an international Twitter chat for English teachers, Meenoo is a teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project and an instructor in Arcadia University’s Connected Learning Certificate Program. Meenoo has also worked as a teaching fellow with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led the portfolio to help teachers refine their practice through collaboration. Currently, Meenoo works as a Senior Program Manager helping education, nonprofit, and government organizations to accelerate their digital transformation at Microsoft. Follow Meenoo on Twitter @meenoorami.
