Three people who challenge my thinking and greatly expand my teacher’s toolkit received national recognition this week: Phil Levien, Paul Allison, and Troy Hicks.

Thanks to an email from Beth Yeager, I can look for Phil’s picture on the cover of this month’s CTA magazine. I’ve had the good fortune to meet and work with Phil through our mutual association with the Cente for Teaching for Social Justice at UC Santa Barbara. I think the Anneberg site’s recognition of and video of Phil is the best way to sum up his work with ELL students. Part of the introduction to the theme of the CTA article – and certainly reflective of Phil – says: “Inspirational teaching means showing students how to think, not just what to know; engaging the heart as well as the head; and igniting passion that will continue to fuel itself.” A great quote!

Thanks to an email from NWP’s Paul Oh, I am also thrilled with the recognition both Paul Allison and Troy Hicks have from the Online Database. I met both Paul and Troy three years ago at the NWP’s Tech Matters Summer Institute. Since then, I try to connect with any professional development they are involved with. I jumped a ton of steps Novelmber in Nashville while attending Troy’s session on podcasting. And an important part of my professional life is joining Paul and his group for the Wednesday Skypecasts of Teachers Teaching Teachers.

Standup ovation for all three 🙂