In these continued times of turmoil I have looked to the past and the present for hope. I don’t think I am the only one. When the world around us seems to lose its way, we look back upon othe…

I'm a doodler. Facing long meetings or tasks where I need to intently listen, I instinctively reach for something to draw on—not as a means of escape, but as a way to focus. I know I am not the only one. Doodling, when done mindfully, has been shown to boost attention and cognitive processes. It helps in information retention, reduces mind-wandering, and provides a creative outlet that promotes stress reduction.

When I first moved back to Denmark, I had the privilege of working in marketing—a completely different field from teaching, but somehow familiar. Everything was new: teams, assignments, routines. It was exhilarating, exhausting, and, unexpectedly, deeply thought-provoking when I considered my work as a teacher. One of the first things I had to learn, fast, was how to ask questions. I knew very little, every day I was surrounded by people who knew far more than I did, even those fresh out of school.

I go back to work tomorrow. A month off with big plans of all the things I was going to do, and so many things I didn't. I didn't plan really. I didn't read PD books, or watch webinars, or delve into education shorts. I have not stressed, mostly. Instead I have read, I have cooked, I have gardened, I have explored, I have napped - so many glorious naps.

How many times have we heard a child say, “I’m not good at reading”?Or watched one put a book back on the shelf, saying, “This is too hard for me,” even though we suspected that they could read it — if only they would give it a shot? Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what stops kids from fully stepping into their reader identity.