Notice the significant increase in rats in DC —what a shock (not)

3. Thinking: Critical Analysis; Encourages deeper understanding and fosters problem-solving skills. Join me tomorrow to find out WHY I did this.

Instead, I focused on 3 essential learning skills:
1. Reading: Foundation of our knowledge; it enhances comprehension and expands vocabulary;
2. Writing: Expression of ideas; Allows students to articulate thoughts clearly and effectively; AND

Radical ideas that challenge how we live are viewed with fear and suspicion. Democracy is predicated on the idea that an informed citizenry will make good choices and reject bad ones for the benefit of all. Reading is key.

The quote above comes from the Freedom to Read statement from the American Library Association (ALA). It reads like it was written in 2025. But it was actually written in 1953. We often hear that we live in “unprecedented times.” I’m not so sure of that. Book bans are not new.

Along with Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Speak, I had found mirrors to practice my own voice. Mirrors I wasn’t afraid to look in anymore. I want others to be able to have the same experience. It is why I am writing this week in support of our #RightToRead.

The free verse style and the incredibly realistic experiences of your characters unlocked parts of my psyche that had been buried for decades. Finally, I could see myself reflected on the page. I was seen and understood and my trauma recovery path began in earnest.

One of the recommendations on how to support authors whose books have been banned is to write the author a letter. Here is mine:
Dear @ellenhopkins.bsky.social,
The year I turned 40 your book Impulse was published. It caught my attention at my local bookstore and it made its way into my bag.

Oh crap! This reminds me I have five training modules due next week! So much for Fall Break ;-)

These statistics led me to think of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and this quote…”We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” Are you really bothered? I am.

Florida has banned a staggering 2,304 books, while Tennessee and Texas have banned well over 1, 500 books. Three states. In one year. One of the most devastating issues of book banning is that it keeps ideas away from the whole population — not just from kids whose parents object to those ideas.

the complicated history of freedom in the United States. Not silence and censor those who tell it.

The opening lines read “The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up. That’s when they can hear us true…” The Seeds of America series, which begins with Chains, allows us (the readers) to talk with the ghosts of America’s founding. To engage with them with openly and embrace

I am posting everyday this week. Add your voice in the comments. Let’s exercise our freedom to read books that challenge and inspire us. To reclaim our humanity.

During this week (October 5-11), I am going to be reading Laurie Halse Anderson’s amazing book “Chains”. This is the book chosen by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) for Right to Read Night. Please join me. We can exercise our Right to Read together.

When we don’t own our knowledge, it is very hard to make creative and innovative contributions to our organizations, our communities, our lives. This is why I see Personal Knowledge Management as an essential skill to be taught in higher ed. #PKM

These efforts are being supported by two cohort-based communities - Ship30for30 and Linking Your Thinking (LYT). Over the next 30 days, I am going to share what I’m learning and how I am using this to organize my ideas and turn them into published insights. Join me.