August 2026 Books

Posted on September 7, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

The first weeks of the new school year are always busy, so this was a slower than usual month for me. I still managed to read some fun fiction, nonfiction, for adults and middle grades. What I read this month:

  • Heart-Centered Connections: Seven Essential Skills for Helping Neurodiverse and Marginalized Children Thrive by Niki Elliot – I heard about this book from a colleague who has worked with the author to deliver what their teacher’s union president called “the best PD of her career”. My colleague shared that the work has impacted her self care and approach to our challenging profession, so I was intrigued. I LOVED this book. The author is speaking to educators, caregivers, and anyone who is around children, and especially children who are neurodiverse and/or marginalized by society for any number of reasons. The seven skills are about looking inward and doing our own work to get ourselves ready to interact with others, breath work, setting up inclusive environments, and basically being more open to changing how and why we do things. There were concrete examples and great advice all throughout the book. I have immediately put some ideas in practice and will work on others. I think this is a great resources for all educators.
  • Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai [audiobook] – I heard of this sweet middle grades book when I was looking for books set in Vietnam. We meet Mai, a SoCal pre-teen, when she is forced to go to Vietnam for the summer with her grandmother. Grandma speaks no English and Mai has refused to learn Vietnamese, other than a few words. But while Grandme is seeking answers about her husband who went missing during the war, Mai finds joy in learning about her own heritage and culture. This is a beautiful portrayal of Vietnam, told through the sometimes whiny and angsty eyes of a preteen American girl.
  • Cujo by Stephen King – I first read this book when I was about 12 or 13 years old, and I think this might be why I was so scared of dogs for my childhood! This was so scary, for a very simple story about a rapid dog, and the people who own and interact with said dog. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this, as parts of this were so awful, but that is what makes King’s writing so impactful.
  • Cover Story by Rachel Lacey – I love Rachel Lacey’s sapphic romance books and this one was sweet with a little bit of a mystery mixed in. Natalie is a famous actress whose kidnapper is about to be released from prison. When she demands extra security, her team decides the best approach will be to hire a female bodyguard to pretend to be Natalie’s girlfriend. Like any good romance, the fake romance participants start to develop feelings for each other, and chaos ensues. This was a cute story with some love for pets and astromony and a nod to the importance of therapy and support for trauma. I enjoyed it!
  • The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly – I picked this middle grades scie fi book up on a whim in a bookstore and I liked it! Now I want to read more by this award-winning author. Michael is a 12 year old worried about Y2K and his poor single mother who has to work three jobs. When he meets mysterious Ridge, he and his babysitter Gibby, are on a quest to figure out what is going on. I enjoyed the characters and twists along the way!
  • The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey – My friend and travel buddy, who is also an avid reader, recommended this author to me. After having seen the HBO show about the 100 foot wave I was intriqued to read this and learn even more. The ocean is so vast and powerful and scary and awesome all at once. Not only did this author follow around Laird Hamilton, a big wave surfer, but she also shared the statistics of ocean wrecks caused by big waves around the world. This book was fascinating and a good reminder that we have no control of or in the ocean, but we can learn from and respect it up close and from afar. I enjoyed learning a lot!
  • Five by Ilona Bannister – I was intrigued about this story from the moment I heard Meredith describe in on Currently Reading. The book opens by telling you that one of 5 people in a subway station in London is about to die. Then we are introduced to all of the people in the station, including the sad backstories of our 5 key players. As a reader, I was guessing the entire time about which one will die and how. The author takes us right up until the end before she confirms who died. During the stories, there is so much addressed so well, even though this is a very short book. There are elements of family, marriage, parenting, raising difficult children and children with special needs, treating people, including strangers, with respect, and overcoming your own childhood traumas. This book gave me so much to think about and I loved it, despite the darkness.
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July 2025 Books

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

I always love a long vacation that includes time at the pool and on planes, where I get to read a lot! July looks extra long because it includes the books that I read at the end of June, which was the beginning of my long vacation. This was my favorite reading month of 2026 so far! This month I read:

  • Up Country by Nelson DeMille – I remember reading this at the same time as my Dad, when it came out in the early 2000’s. At the time, we both loved the book and wanted to visit Vietnam. I knew I wanted to reread this while I was in Vietnam and I only wish my dad could have experienced it with me. This book was such a good thriller! Paul, a newly retired career military man, is asked to return to duty for a secret mission back to Vietnam in the 1990’s, because he did two tours there during the Vietnam war (which they call the American War). Paul quickly meets Susan, and she becomes a useful travel companion. As Paul and Susan travel around the country, to many of the places he fought in battle and where I visited, we get to know the people, the culture, the history, and try to figure out who to believe and who Paul can trust. This was a wild ride for sure, but I loved it!
  • Strap In by Lou Morgan – This was a fun sapphic romance about a middle age woman coming to terms with her sexuality with a younger partner and finally living her best life, while navigating a biracial relationship. The dedication by the author at the end was a love story to all the late in life sapphics and it was beautiful!
  • Hunted by Abir Mukherjee – I heard about this book on the Currently Reading podcast awhile ago, and didn’t know how much I would enjoy it until I read it on vacation. The book begins with a bomb going off in an LA mall, days before the US presedential election. As the FBI races to figure out what is going on, we follow a variety of characteres from the bomb creator to the midguided young adults connected to the bombs, to their parents, on a wild chase across the UK and the US before the elections and more disasters. This addressed racism, Islamaphobia, and politics with a unique perspective. I loved the story, hard as it was to read.
  • My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney – You can always count on Alice Feeney for a good, fast-paced thriller that makes a good vacation read! In this book, we meet Eden, an artist who recently moved to the country outside of London with her busy husband. Only Eden is very confused when she is unable to get into her house and when she is not recognized by anyone, including her husband. As we struggle along with Eden, trying to figure out what is going on, we meet the townspeople in this small village, and learn the present and the past stories of the array of unlikeable characters. This had too many twists and fake-outs and ridiculous plot points, but it was a quick and fun read.
  • This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum – I have no idea where I heard about this book, but it was on my Kindle and available for me as a vacation read and I loved it! Benny and Joy are the hosts of a wildly successful podcast and just when they are about to sign a lucrative deal and write their memoir, Joy and her husband disappear. Benny, his ex wife and Joy’s sister-in-law, must come together to try to figure out what happened to them and how to keep the business and their personal business safe. It’s a wild ride as we get Benny telling us about present day and Joy’s memoir draft telling us about past events that led up to where we are, racing to get to an end and hope everyone is okay. I loved this!
  • Go As a River by Shelley Read – I have had this book on my Kindle for years, but obviously didn’t know what it was about. This is a beautiful literary tale from the 1940’s-1970’s about a young woman, Victoria, and her life after she meets a strange young man in her small town. The man, who turns out to be Native American, becomes important enough for Victoria to run away from her family, uprooting her entire life. The aftermath of that decision weigh on her for the rest of her life. This is a bittersweet, well-told story.
  • Adam and Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen – Earlier this year I asked my book community for recommendations of books that take place in Vietnam in anticipation of this vacation. This cute romance was one that was mentioned and I’m so glad I read it at the end of my trip, as the characters travelled to many of the places I visited and even mentioned one of the hotels I stayted in (the Azerai La Residence in Hue, other places I visited: pagodas, Citadel, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An). In this story, Evie is “gifted” a matchmaking tour in Vietnam by her paternal aunt who recently passed awy, to help Evie love bravely and learn more about her heritage. Adam is the Chief Financial Officer of the newly formed matchmaking tour company in Vietnam, working with his sister trying to impress their formal parents, When Adam is forced to particpate in the group as a fellow single, he quickly falls for Evie, but this is an opposits attract, enemies to lovers, series of pratfalls while these two figure out what they really want in their lives. I loved the joy and celebration of the beauty of Vietnam and the self reflection. I also learned that this author writes as Thao Thai and I loved her book Banyan Moon.
  • The View From the Top by Rachel Lacey [audiobook] – This was a slow-paced sapphic romance that takes place in the beauty of Vermont. Emily is an artist working at a small town inn, surrounded by her adventure club of LGBTQ friends, when Darcy shows up from Boston to buy the inn. Emily and Darcy have immediate sparks when they meet and then drama at work. We follow both of them as they try to figure out what they want in life, in work, in romance, and in their hearts.
  • I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman [audiobook]- This was such an interesting book! It’s a short read, and I enjoyed the audiobook version. Our narrator is the youngest of 40 women locked in a bunker, where they are given food twice a day and have guards watching their every move, cracking a whip if they step out of line. It is a very small exisitence, and our narrator is the only woman who can’t remember life before this prison. Over time, she learns about the other women in their prior lives, before a big explosion, lots of confusion, and this evident kidnapping and imprisonment. When a sudden event changes their circumstances, the characters are off on an adventure. The entire book provides more questions than answers, from a dystopian world to the idea of what makes us human. The afterword told me the the author was a Jewish woman from Belgium, which helped me see connections to concentration camps and the inhuman treatment of Jewish people. This book would be a great book club book, as there is so much to discuss. I enjoyed the experience.
  • Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke [audiobook] – Wow! What a wild ride! My book club held an emergency meeting to discuss this book back in May or June, but I hadn’t read it yet, so I didn’t attend but I did immediately put a hold on the book at my library. I listented to the audiobook version and couldn’t stop listening! We meet Natalie at the height of her trad wife influencer days, with a politically-minded husband from a rich family, 5 kids and a 6th on the way, and an organic farm and perfectly curated videos. We then follow as Natalie wakes up in 1855 and has to actually live the lifestyle she is play-acting at in modern times. The rest of the book gives us the history of who Natalie is (an unlikeable main character for sure!) and how she came to be where she is (a very religious upbringing and traditional values taken to the highest degree). I did NOT expect the ending at all! I found this book fascinating!
  • Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel – I have loved every Laurie Frankel book I’ve read, so I was excited to see she had a new book out this year. Enormous Wings was a little different than her usual style, with a lot more humor and silliness, but still bringing in some important messages. We meet Pepper at 77, when her children force her to turn in her driver’s license and move into an assisted living facility, despite her assurances that she could still live independently. Pepper finds a new boyfriend and after feeling sick for a bit, hears the surprising news from her doctor that she is pregnant. At 77! Everything that follows is equally insane and bittersweet, with some important conversations about consent, safe sex, abortion, pro-life, religion, and age. I did enjoy all of the characters!
  • Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business by Marcus Buckingham – I chose this book from a list of options to review for AASA because I loved StrengthFinders by Marcus Buckingham. I found this to be very much geared towards business leaders, but found a few nuggest to apply to educational leaders. The biggest message was that leaders must be purposeful in the design of positive experiences and authentic leaders who share their beliefs and their customs explictly, will be followed, no matter their leadership style.
  • The Outsider by Stephe King [audiobook] – I love discovering new-to-me Stephen King books that I haven’t read but truly enjoy! This is another book that ties in Holly Gibney, a beloved character from the Mr. Mercedes series and who was the main character of the book Holly, which I read earlier this year. I love her quirky, smart ways of getting right to the problem. She is called to Ohio to help the local police figure out how a man’s fingerprints could be in two places at once, trying to solve the murders of young children and save the reputation of a local family. This book was full of the supernatural, which is one of King’s trademakrs. I enjoyed the mystery sluicing along the way.
  • Theo of Golden by Allen Levi – Wow! This is my first 5 star read in a long time. I resisted reading this when it first gained in popularity nation-wide, but when a colleague handed me her copy as soon as she finished it, after two beloved reader friends told me to read it, I was ready. I loved the vivid, descriptive writing, the beautiful characters, the generosity, and the love letters to humans and artists. I was not prepared to sob my way through the final 30 pages, but I mopped my tears and read with bittersweet joy every last word. I LOVED this book!
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Happy 14th Birthday Blog!

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

Today, July 14, my blog turns 14 years old! I try to take some time to reflect each July on why I blog, since this is the month when I began blogging (see 1st,  2nd,  3rd, 4th,  5th , 6th,  8th,  10th, and 12th birthday posts). My very first post was about learning, so I’d like to reflect on what I’ve learned lately.

  • I love learning a new-to-me language, but trying to learn via an app and not real instruction or interaction is challenging. I spent over 140 days on Duolingo attempting to learn some Vietnamese before my two week vacation in Vietnam (which just happened in June). Before I left, I felt comfortable that I might recognize about 10 words, but I did not feel comfortable that I could say anything correctly or that I would understand anything if people spoke fast. I was able to say a hello greeting and thank you successfully (and even got a compliment on my accent from a tour guide), but that was it! Learning a new language takes more than an app, and a lot more time than I was willing to give.
  • As I’ve continued to read and study the national conversation about technology concerns, especially in the hands of young children, I’ve learned a lot about purposeful screen time in schools and in our own personal lives. I’ve worked to find my own balance and avoid the doom scrolling on my phone. By intentionally stepping away more, I’ve learned that I benefit from some uninterrupted, quiet, boring thinking time. The more of that time I give myself, the more I find my creative thoughts returning to me.
  • I love traveling and wish that everyone had the time and the means to travel to as many different places as possible, especially outside of our own country. I learn so much every time I travel somewhere new.
  • I love reading for a number of reasons. I enjoy learning new things, I appreciate books that serve as windows for life experiences unlike my own, I love when a book can serve as a beautiful escape from the real world, and I love reading a fast-paced, heart-racing adventure that has me on the edge of my seat!
  • Learning a new skill takes time and effort! Besides my mostly failed attempt to learn Vietnamese (see above), I have also been trying to lean into my newly-adopted middle age habit of bird watching. In theory it sounds easy and relaxing. But the true birders of the world spend time learning each bird species, how to recognize them by site and sound, and keeping track of the birds they have seen in the wild. At this point, I can recognize about 5 birds on my own, and I have an app I’m learning to use as I go. I have binoculars that I’m no good with yet and my patience isn’t great. I believe this will be more of a retirement habit!

Both “Learner” and “Input” have always been strengths of mine every time I’ve taken a StrengthsFinder assessment. My email signature reads, “Always learning”. Since I wrote my first educational philosophy statement in college, I have always considered myself a lifelong learner. I truly love learning and then writing as my form of reflecting. Thank you for following along on my blogging journey for all these years!

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Learning from travel

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

I love to travel! I love experiencing new places, new sites, new people, learning history and culture, trying some new foods (I’m not a foodie and I’m a picky eater, but I try my best!), practicing new languages, and stepping out of my comfort zone. The more I travel, the more I realize what a learning experience it is and I wish that everyone had the time, freedom, and financial ability to travel more.

This summer one of my best friends and I spent two weeks in Vietnam for an epic vacation. We travel together once a year and every time we meet new people they always ask if we are sisters. She immediately launches into her usual answer, “No! We went to college together 30 years ago. Now we live on opposite coasts (NJ and CA) so we meet once a year to travel somewhere new.” And every time she finishes, I say to her, “Why do you always have to say 30 years? They don’t all need to know how old we are!” But it’s all true. Together we have visited Vietnam, Antigua, Panama, Namibia, Grenada, Turks and Caicos, Austin, TX, and Montana and Wyoming. This trip marked my 25th country, and the “been” app tells me I have visited 12% of the world so far.

My friend and I travel well together because we both love to read and learn. We can spend hours side-by-side in a pool reading on our kindles without saying a word, and we can also fill an entire road trip with a fun playlist, insane childish snacks, and silly stories. Because we usually only see each other once a year, we also catch up on our lives, our families and friends, and the stories we’ve shared over the years. We picked Vietnam because we both read and loved The Women and knew we wanted to visit that beautiful country. We also love to visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and we checked 4 off on this trip. My UNESCO app tells me I’ve visited 55 World Heritage sites, or 4.4%, so far.

Ha Long Bay

Traveling opens my eyes to new experiences, to different lifestyles, new food, new culture, and all sorts of people. Everyone I met in Vietnam was incredibly kind. Despite trying to learning Vietnamese on Duolingo for about 140 days before this trip, I only successfully mastered about two phrases. Everyone we interacted with either new English better than I knew Vietnamese, or knew how to use Google translate quickly and easily. People did appreciate my language attempts and were so nice and helpful.

When I am on vacation, I am more willing to try new things (see my using chopsticks and eating new foods above!) and open to experiences that are not part of my daily life at home. It is these experiences that help provide an open window view that helps me eliminate biases and be more open-minded to differences. Knowing how divided our country is, I wish that everyone could have these experiences. Reading provides these windows as well, but in-person travel makes such a difference in the learning.

Whether it is discovering a new market, seeing what the locals create and produce on sale, or having silk pajamas made in the cute town of Hoi An, every new site in Vietnam was a delight! Despite the insane summer heat, and the fact that we wore and carried fans around all the time, our vacation was an incredible adventure! I truly wish more open window experiences for everyone!

Previous travel experiences:

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June 2025 Books

Posted on June 30, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

Knowing I will be on vacation from the end of June through the beginning of July, I am posting what I read in June before I left. What I read over vacation will be covered in July. This month I read:

  • Once and Again by Rebecca Serle – After finishing this sweet magical realism book, I realized that I have read and enjoyed at least one other book by this author (Expiration Dates). She writes romcom style stories with heart and not necessarily with the traditional tropes and plot lines. In this book, we meet the women of the Novak family, who all have one special gift – the ability to turn back time just once in their lifetime. If you had this power, when would you use it? How would you know what the right time or decision or life event would be to use such power? With each generation, the women grapple with the weight of their own decision and if or when to tell their daughters, as it is passed down from one woman to the next. I loved getting to know each of the characters through their life choices, which we learned through alternating chapters narrating each of their lives.
  • Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar [audiobook] – I heard about this book when Hudson Williams, the actor from my beloved show Heated Rivalry, posted about it. I was intrigued because this book was not something that I would ever pick up on my own, nor had it crossed my reading sphere. This served as a window into Iranian culture for me, as I learned about Cyrus and his family. Cyrus, a young man fresh out of college, is an orphan whose mother died tragically in Iran when the US shot down her plane and whose father died once he entered college, in America, where they had moved. Our main character Cyrus is quite flawed, from his addiction issues, his relationship issues, and his half-hearted work to become a writer, while fighting his own depression. When Cyrus hears about an Iranian woman who is holding an art installation about her own death in a NYC gallery, he knows he must travel to meet her. He spends three days visiting with the artist each day, discussing life, death, art and martyrdom, which he believes will be the topic of his own book. The writing was poetic and cultural and dark and enlightening. I enjoyed the experience of entering this culture and this world, very unlike my own.
  • Holly by Stephen King – This was the first book in my Stephen King Summer book club and I’m so glad! I read the Mr. Mercedes trilogy this year, and the character of Holly was a major character in all of those, and I enjoyed her spunk! In this story, she is the main character, after her original partner passed away. This book took place during COVID, so there was a lot of mask and vaccination talk (pro and con), which was a sad reminder of a darker time. Holly is hired by the mother of a missing young woman. While she tries to figure out what happened to this young woman, she stumbles across other missing people and she tries to make connections between the missing people to figure out what happened to them. What she discovers is dark and creepy, which we witness throughout as we meet the killers. This was disturbing and fun and quite a wild ride!
  • How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson [audiobook] – I have loved Jenny Lawson’s writing for years, ever since I discovered the story of the giant metal chicken, which still makes me laugh uncontrollably. This book is a more personal collection of essays about her neurodivergence, her mental illness, and the ways in which she has learned to cope and survive and even thrive. Lawson provides a variety of tips and tricks to support yourself during hard times. This book is a great resource for people who need support, especially during trying times related to mental illness.
  • The Crush by Ren Browne – I found this author because of videos she made about Heated Rivalry. This is a sweet, age gap romance that takes place in Texas in the 1990’s. Isabel returns home to her small town and nice but controlling family after college to find that her long childhood crush, Daniel Rios, has returned from his time working for the DEA. When Daniel and Isabel crash into each other, he thinks it will be a quick fing with his much younger family friend. Soon, their hidden relationship changes and so do they. I loved the writing, the characters, and the cultural depth of this story.
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May 2026 Books

Posted on May 31, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

Maycember Mayem is real at this time of years in schools, but I still managed to squeeze in some interesting reading choices. What I read this month:

  • The Heartbreak Hotel by Emily Wright – I found this sapphic romance on a Kindle deal and enjoyed it! Ella’s mother and best friend send her on a self care retreat after she is fired by her boss who is also her ex-girlfriend. Ella goes into the retreat with a bad attitude, made worse when she realizes there is no alcohol and things keep going wrong for her. But Riley, the yoga and surf teacher, saves her life, things start to change. Ella and Riley clearly have chemistry, but staff aren’t supposed to have relations with the guests, so complications arise. This is a sweet story of self-love and acceptance, embracing the simple things in life, and following your passion.
  • A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird – This is a young adult book told from the point of view of Karim, a 12 year old boy living in Palenstine. We see Isreal tanks take over his town and his village, administering curfews and we feel Karim’s fear and anger and confusion. Karim wants to be a hero for his country, but he is scared every time he sees violence. He also just wants to be a 12 year old boy who plays soccer with his friends. This is one boy’s view of a very real conflict and a book that can provide perspective to those of us without connections to the place or the conflict.
  • Only This Summer by Radclyffe [audiobook] – I heard about this author and had no idea what a catalog of sapphic romance and mystery books she has written. I started with one I could get on audio and enjoyed the story of Lily and Chase, meeting while working as the doctor and ranger at a kids’ summer camp. The nature throughout this story was beautiful, as was the inclusive representation.
  • Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy – This is the memoir of a famous author, but whose work I haven’t read, which made this an interesting experience. I’ve never read God of Small Things, or any of her other work, but the author has won prizes and been jailed for her activism work and her truth telling, especially about politics and the caste system in India. In this view, we learn of her childhood, raised by Mary, who was not a kind and loving mother, but a larger-than-life character who could be cruel and abusive to her daugther. Arundhati’s life had some wild twists and turns, from acting to marrying her boss’s husband, to living in shacks, to finding her voice and passion in writing. Our book club discussion was very interesting, and this was a hit for a few and a miss for many!
  • Perfect Rivalry by Radclyffe – This was a fun sapphic romance that takes place mostly in a hospital. Ren and Dani are both 5th year residents, with no free time on their hands, when they meet and feel an instant connection. As they explore what they feel, they also compete for the end of year prize, both trying to fight past insecurities with their immense talents. This is part of a series that I didn’t know about, so now I need to go back to read the entire series, to get to know all the other characters that played side parts in this story.
  • The Compound by Aisling Rawle – I have no idea where I heard about this book, but the original source sold me on the premise enough to put a hold on this from my library. When I got the book, I didn’t even look up what it was about, but I just started reading and then I couldn’t put it down! I read the whole book in a day and it was so propulsive! We meet a group of young, good looking men and women as they meet up on a reality show that is part dating game, part Survivor and part Big Brother. The house has to compete in challenges to earn things like food and furniture for the compound where they live. They also have to be in couples each night or risk banishment. Most of the characters are highly unlikeable, and there is a real theme of vanity and consumerism throughout, but it was so interesting. I loved reading this! This was my first 5 star read in awhile!
  • The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung [audiobook] – I love Louise Penny and was excited when I saw she had written another political thriller with someone new to me. This is a fast-paced story that hops from America to China as an unsuspecting young woman ends up fighting to save the world from disaster. Throughout the story, I learned a lot about Chinese history, food, and culture, while also enjoying the quick switches between the America and Chinese governments. I enjoyed this book a lot!
  • The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqui – I heard this book described on a podcast over a year ago and marked it “to be read” and finally checked it out of my library this month. We meet Anisa, a Pakistani woman living in London who translates subtitles on movies, at the beginning of a new relationships with Adam. Adam speaks many languages fluently and uses those skills to travel for work. When Adam returns from a trip speaking flueny Urdu in time to meet Anisa’s parents, she is shocked and demands to know how to learned such a complex language so quickly. After much pressure, he finally shares about the centre, and he uses his one secret invitation to get Anisa into the centre. She goes to learn German, to extend her translation skills, but she becomes obsessed with trying to figure out the 10-day program works. She becomes friends with Shiba, the on-site manager, and comes back to learn Russian. We follow the mystery with Anisa, until she eventually learns it all. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but this really makes you think about purpose, legacy, and life choices. Wow. Such an interesting read!
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What are we consuming and how do we know?

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

I’m going to tell you a little story. The first thing you need to know is that I refused to join TikTok, but I am well aware that most things that trend on TikTok end up heading over to Instagram at some point in time, so I feel like I catch the trends a day late and a dollar short and I’m okay with that.

About a week ago, I was watching some random Instagram reels, and I heard a song in the background of somebody’s reel that I really liked. I rushed over to Apple Music, found the song, and downloaded it. I proceeded to enjoy it on repeat for a full week. I played it for my brother one night when he was over cooking dinner, I learned all the words, and I tried to learn more about the artist. In Apple Music, when you click on the name of an artist, you can get to their biography and all of the other songs that they have put out to learn more about them.

What was interesting about this particular artist was that they only had this one single out, and they were featured in one other song, but I couldn’t find any other information on them. There was a picture of the artist on the homepage, but no other information existed.

Fast forward to this week, and I realize I haven’t heard my new favorite song in a day or two, so I go into my Apple library, I find the song and I click it and it won’t play; it’s grey. When I click a couple other places, Apple tells me that the song is no longer available in my country or region. I have never seen this message before, so I decide to go to the Internet to find out what is going on. I first tried to search the song again on Apple Music and now it is no longer listed in the catalog. I went to Spotify and I found the song, but you cannot download it. The song was referenced as part of a larger TikTok trend and was liked by many people. I was curious, so I spent a whole lot of time googling things and going down some significant rabbit holes, until I finally came to the understanding that the song I loved was AI generated. 😳

What was most surprising to me about this was that I had no way of knowing this. The song had a title, an artist with a first name, a last name and a picture, and the song was written by another person with a first name and a last name. The voice was great (to me!) and the beat was catchy. The song did not sound electronic, or odd, or glitchy at all. There were no obvious signs that this was an AI-generated song and not by a real live human being.

Experiencing this makes me think about how we are teaching our students to be critical consumers of all information they receive. It is not our job to teach students what to think, but rather to teach them how to think, and ideally to think critically. This is also a reminder to help our teachers continue to be critical consumers of what they are using AI for and what AI-generated media they are putting in front of students.While we have shared the many benefits AI can bring to our work and personal lives, from time-saving tips to efficiency upgrades to data crunching, we must also be aware that there is a role AI is playing in our lives whether we want it there or not. This experience reminded me to be more aware of the potential of AI in all forms of media and to dig deeper on my own (notice I did google searches above and not AI searches to solve my mystery!) to ensure I know what I am consuming. Social media makes it so easy and convenient for us to mindlessly scroll through a selection of media curated by an algorithm that is supported by AI, feeding us things it thinks we want to see and hear. This was a wake-up call to me to stop the scroll and force my brain to operate independently more often!

This was written completely by the AI that is Amy Illingworth, with no help from the AI that is Artificial Intelligence!

“AI artwork” by sebilden is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

After finding and inserting the image above, I learned that my blog now has a feature where I can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to edit photos. AI really is EVERYWHERE.

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April 2026 Reading

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

This month I read:

  • The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Ours Kids Learning– And How to Help Them Thrive Again by Jared Cooney Horvath – I read this book because of the national conversations about educational technology, and kids access to personal devices inside and outside of school. We are having these conversations locally as well, and it’s important to read all of the perspectives out there. This neuroscientist delves into his concerns about AI, cell phone use, reading on digital devices, and the educational technology business boom. There were data points shared with assumed correlations that make significant assumptions about what happens in classrooms, most of which does not happen in any elementary classroom I’ve been in. However, there is always more we can do to ensure we are being purposeful and intentional with tech use, whether for our students in classrooms, or ourselves and the endless doomscroll we all get sucked into at times.
  • Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez [audiobook] – I love a fun romance by Abby Jimenez, and this was cheesy and silly and goofy and delightful to read. Our characters meet cute takes place in a vet’s office when Dr. Xavier meets his new patient, Samantha and her rescue kitten. After a rocky start, they realize they have a connection and go on a fun and disasterous first date (Come On Eileen plays a role, which is hysterical!). Then, they attempt a long-distance get-to-know-you situationship because Samantha has to take care of her mother with dementia. This book was full of family, friendship, hard choices, and real life challenges, along with grade sweeping romantic delcarations and gestures.
  • Told You So by Macyi Neeley [audiobook] – I know Macyi through the reality show Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but I clearly didn’t know the reality of her life before reading this memoir. Mayci grew up in Southern California in a very wealthy family. She was a young tennis star, working on a college scholarship when she began to test to limits of Mormon culture as a teenager. She details all of her experimentation with friends, her early dating, and dedicates a significant amount of time descripbing two key relationships she had, one of which was full of abuse and manipulation. I didn’t know these details of her past, as her current life as a working mom, a businesswoman, and TikTok and reality star, is very different. While I didn’t think the writing was strong, I was interested to learn about her history and sad to read so many hard details. I enjoyed this as an audiobook.
  • End of Watch by Stephen King – This was the end of a trilogy about the mercedes killer and the retired detective, Bill Hodges, who found and arrested him. In the final insallment, the killer, Brady, is in the hospital with such a severe head injury that he is not fit to stand trial for his crimes. Bill still finds connections back to Brady when mysterious deaths by suicide pop up around town, leading Bill back to his unfinished business with the sick and twisted killer. Bill’s friends, Holly and Jerome, play significant roles in this installment, and the action races to a dramatic closure. I loved this series; I enjoy King’s crime books as they are faster paced than his horror stories.
  • Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez [audiobook] – I loved this sweet romcom! When Bri first meets Jacob, there is a lot of miscommunication and you think they will be enemies forever. But once things are cleared up, they quickly become friends, then penpals, then friends who are pretending to be more, and then the fun begins. This was a very slow burn romance with a lot of funny side characters and a LOT of miscommunication, but I loved the main characters and I was rooting for them throughout it all!
  • Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser – This is my April book club book, and I would never have read it if it wasn’t chosen for me. This is a retelling of Cinderella, from the perspective of the wicked stepmother. Only in this story. Ethel is a mother of two and stepmother to one, after being twice widowed and saddled in debt, and she is doing whatever it takes to give her daughters a better life. While it was slow to start, I really enjoyed this story once it got going. Whatever you think you know about the Cinderalla story can feel completely different from a new perspective. The last third was so good I couldn’t wait to keep reading and find out how it would end.
  • American Fantasy by Emma Straub – My brother got me an autographed copy of this book, when he heard that the book was about a 50 year old woman who loves a boy band from her youth. He knows me well! I swear, this book was based on the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), who I have seen in concert 26 times, but never on their cruise. In this story, we meet Annie, who agrees to go on the Boy Talk cruise with her sister after her recent mid-life divorce. We also follow the 5 band members and one of the crew responsible for keeping them safe and on time. If you aren’t an avid fan of boy bands, or if you don’t want to know what rabid fandoms look like up close, this is not the book for you. For me, I pictured my beloved NKOTB members as I read the book, and all of the many wild, fun, and totally insane fans I’ve met in the 35+ years I’ve been following them.
  • The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai [audiobook] – Knowing that I am travelling to Vietnam in June, I asked my book club for recommendations of books that take place in Vietnam. This beautifully written story was high on the list. We follow a family from the 1950’s through the 1970’s, as their family suffers many tragedies during the Land Reform and then the Vietnam War, which they called the American War. This is a hearbreaking tale of a desperate mother and her children, and the people they become.
  • Em by Kim Thúy – This was a fascinating collection of interconnected short stories, based on real events around the Vietnam War. We followed soldiers, young women, orphans, babies adopted in America, young adults who return to Vietnam, and so many stories of how the Vietnam War impacted the lives of millions of people. The author, originally from Vietnam, based the stories on interviews and history and shares even more at the end of the book. I was proud to recognize a few Vietnamese words from my Duolingo studies!
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Praise, Feedback, and Pride in Education

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

I have a friend who convinced me, despite my protests, to record regular Marco Polo videos back and forth with her on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. One thing that we try to do on Fridays is share some joy from our work week and something we are proud of, which can be surprisingly hard for us, and for many educators that I know. Why is it hard to admit we are proud of our work? Why is it hard to toot our own horn?

Throughout my 30 years in public education, I have met very few educators who are comfortable with praise about their work, comfortable being in the spotlight, or even able or willing to name and share their greatest strengths and gifts as educators. What happens to us in this career that makes it so hard us for us to honor what we do? Is it because the world at large doesn’t often respect education? It is because we entered this career not for honors bestowed on us, but to see our impacts through the actions of those we teach? Is it because so many of us have received little to no feedback on our work?

As a school leader, I am passionate about being a life-long learner and an instructional coach. I believe that one of the best things I can do as a leader is provide feedback to the educators with whom I work. I believe that everyone deserves honest, specific, timely feedback on their work. Yet, each year I meet educators, from systems all across the United States, who have rarely or never gone through a formal evaluation and rarely or never receive feedback of any kind from a peer or a supervisor.

I still make it a goal to visit every classroom in my district every year. Every time I visit a classroom during one of my site visits, I follow up with a specific, personal email to each teacher. I continue to be amazed by how often teachers will thank me profusely for this small gesture, as it is more feedback than they usually receive. Just this week I had a teacher say to me, “Thank you for your reflective feedback; one of my favorite parts about your visits is your thoughtful follow-up email.” I don’t share this to brag (although I guess I could count this as something I’m proud of this week!), but to illustrate my point.

Every year our district holds one large professional development event we call “Teachers Teaching Teachers”. We have a two hour afternoon where we offer sessions created by teachers for teachers. Every teacher in the district comes together and have the chance to choose two sessions to attend, based on their own interests and professional goals. This event is something that I am very proud of! However, what happens every year is that when we first send out the email inviting teachers to submit their ideas for sessions, we get very few responses. Then, my team and I brainstorm who we want to reach out to and encourage to participate. I personally invite people to share sessions based on their strengths, their talents, the work I see them doing so well in their classrooms, and I try to be as specific as possible. Because, after 30 years of working with humble educators, what I know is that most teachers think they are ordinary, that everyone teaches just like they do. I know this is not true and I name the attributes that make one teacher unique from their peers. So many teachers do not know that what they do is special. They have never been given specific feedback about their strengths.

I have had the privilege, as an instructional coach and an administrator for the last 20 years, to visit thousands of classrooms. That is not an exaggeration. I visit more than 100 classrooms a year, so I been in well over 2,000, but probably closer to 4,000 throughout my career (and it’s not over yet!). I will brag about myself and say that I am very skilled at recognizing talented instructional strategies, key teacher moves, and evidence of successful student learning. I pride myself in being able to see evidence of high quality teaching and learning, even in very short visits in classrooms. If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing in schools, I would wish for every teacher to receive the direct, honest, specific feedback they deserve. I would wish for every teacher to be proud to name what they are exceptional at in their classrooms, to shout from the rooftops what they do that makes a positive impact on students, and for them to be paid a salary that matches these incredible strengths.

If you are an educator reading this, I encourage you to provide a fellow educator feedback in the coming week. Tell someone what you admire about their work, what you see them do that is impressive, be bold and generous with your praise!

This post is part of a series called Explorations in Instructional Leadership. I plan to use this series to dive into some of the topics that are rising to the surface in my work, topics that I am researching for future study, and topics that impact student learning and pedagogy.

Introduction to Explorations in Instructional Leadership

The Science of Reading

Scope and Sequence

How to Teach Reading

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Quotes aligned to EASE in 2026

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Amy's Reflections

I love quotes and I was inspired by this post by George Couros to gather some quotes to continue my 2026 with intentions to live my word of the year, EASE.

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~ Hal Borland

You won’t look back and remember the time you didn’t complete your to-do list, but you may look back and remember the beautiful life you lived. ~ Courtney Carver

Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing. ~ Leo Babauta

So in fact, narrowing down our choices means less overwhelm, and more creativity. ~ Courtney Carver

Being at ease with himself put him at ease with the world. ~ John Steinbeck

Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. ~ Bryant McGille

Some quotes you find about ease are derogatory, which feeds into that culture of busy and hustle that I’m trying to step away from this year. Many quotes imply that a life of ease is a lazy life or one not worth living. That is cultural message I am challenging for myself this year. My goal for the year when I chose the word ease was to bring presence, calm, gentleness, contentedness, and peace of mind into my life. As we near the halfway point of the year (how is this possible already?!), I think that I’ve done this well in some ways and I’ve struggled and had to remind myself of the goal many other times. But that is the joy of failure and the value of having a goal; EASE is always there for me when I’m ready for it.

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