Hello everyone! Does an ELA teacher need to be a practitioner of reading and writing? Teri Lesesne, a former middle school teacher and Professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University, says YES YES YES! And I agree.  In part one of our discussion, we hit on popular disagreements between what educators and other commentators think quality reading instruction is, why there is a battle at all, and what the best research in the field is inviting teachers all over to implement into their classrooms. In part two, we really hit on this idea of teacher as a practitioner, and why that makes such a big difference in the quality of instruction happening in the classroom. We also take a few minutes to hit on the Lexile obsession in schools, and how it's bad for everyone involved.  Enjoy! Don’t forget to subscribe and review the show on iTunes!  For more on reading instruction, check out my episode with Mary Howard (as mentioned in the episode!)