My colleagues here at TTT and I met in a Google Hangout for a long long time last week. I love being surrounded by wise and witty people who make me feel more wise and witty.

When I was a teen my dad had me read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I don’t remember Dad ever reading for pleasure*, but I know he got pleasure from reading self-help books, and he read to learn. Then he shared what he learned with anyone who would listen.

I was a willing listener, always seeking to please my father.

I learned from Carnegie powerful truths that improved my interactions with strangers, friends, peers, and colleagues. And when I began teaching, I put into action these truths as I interacted with students. I believe trusting relationships and conferring moments rest heavily on Carnegie’s principles.

I learned from Hill seemingly simple steps that gave me vision, taught me to set goals —and to surround myself with those who would help me see them through. I’ve followed his advice for several decades now — each time developing skills, gaining trust and gaining knowledge, more readily and passionately. And while I am not rich in terms of monetary wealth, I am rich in all the ways that matter.

My TTT colleagues and the readers of this blog add to that wealth.

Thank you for subscribing, reading, sharing, commenting. Thank you for giving me a focus, a place to sharpen my skills as a teacher and a writer, a place to think big and make friends.

For the next several weeks, Shana, Lisa, Jackie, and I will take a break from writing posts. Like you, we are tired. We’ll use July to refine some plans and rev up for fall and a brand new school year. Maybe one of us will get the urge to write and post, but in the meantime, we’ll schedule some repeats of our favorite topics so you will keep getting content about how to make readers and writers workshop even more effective in your classroom.

We’ve got some plans for TTT that we know you’ll like. Please like the Three Teachers Talk page on Facebook if you haven’t already, and follow us on Twitter @3TeachersTalk.

And if you want to get in on some practical tips we’ll be sending to our readers’ inboxes starting when school comes back around, be sure you follow this blog by clicking on the “follow” link and providing us with your email address.

If you have questions that just cannot wait, feel free to email me at amyprasmussen@yahoo.com.

Join us as we continue the conversation in August. Until then, happy summer!

Tagged: Conferring, summer learning