I had to share your post with a story from my intervention work. The student had failed the test and was completing missing work with me. What if the conversation had come before the test?
I was working with a student on a close read of a section of chapter 6 in Of Mice and Men. The teacher clearly wanted the student to see how Steinbeck foreshadowed Lennie’s death. As she guessed her way through, it became clear that she didn’t know Lennie died, so we reread that part talking through each sentence. She shed a tear when she realized what happened and returned to the close read. She wrote a really beautiful reflection on foreshadowing.
The link you make to multilingual learners is especially important. Talk allows thinking to surface before language is fully polished, which is exactly where so many MLLs are doing their most sophisticated work. Treating conversation as legitimate academic activity — rather than a warm-up or a filler — is a powerful equity move.
I also love the practical grounding here. The Schmooze and the Friday Photo deconstruction aren’t just nice ideas; they show what intentional design looks like. Protected space. Preparation. Low stakes. Repetition over time. That’s how confidence and skill actually grow — not through one-off “discussion lessons” but through structures that normalise thinking aloud.
If conversation builds capacity for students, it has to do the same for adults. We can’t expect teachers to develop judgement, nuance, and responsiveness in isolation. Professional learning, like student learning, deepens when thinking is made visible — through talk that is purposeful, reflective, and safe enough to include uncertainty.
I appreciate your detailed reflection on this piece. I love teaching and creating class culture around different and engaging forms of accountable talk.
I deeply believe that education would benefit from time to speak to each other with some structure, so it's more than banter. I wrote the Conversations Build Capacity Part 2 under Letters from The Mentoree with another educator, and I can't help but look at this from different angles because there is s much that conversation can do.
I really love your point: "We can’t expect teachers to develop judgement, nuance, and responsiveness in isolation. Professional learning, like student learning, deepens when thinking is made visible — through talk that is purposeful, reflective, and safe enough to include uncertainty." I love this entire quote and want to respond to it as a post. It's really got me thinking. "Safe enough to include uncertainty" is where I am drawn to begin.
Thank you for engaging in this conversation. It's already launching new ideas for me!
I had to share your post with a story from my intervention work. The student had failed the test and was completing missing work with me. What if the conversation had come before the test?
I was working with a student on a close read of a section of chapter 6 in Of Mice and Men. The teacher clearly wanted the student to see how Steinbeck foreshadowed Lennie’s death. As she guessed her way through, it became clear that she didn’t know Lennie died, so we reread that part talking through each sentence. She shed a tear when she realized what happened and returned to the close read. She wrote a really beautiful reflection on foreshadowing.
The link you make to multilingual learners is especially important. Talk allows thinking to surface before language is fully polished, which is exactly where so many MLLs are doing their most sophisticated work. Treating conversation as legitimate academic activity — rather than a warm-up or a filler — is a powerful equity move.
I also love the practical grounding here. The Schmooze and the Friday Photo deconstruction aren’t just nice ideas; they show what intentional design looks like. Protected space. Preparation. Low stakes. Repetition over time. That’s how confidence and skill actually grow — not through one-off “discussion lessons” but through structures that normalise thinking aloud.
If conversation builds capacity for students, it has to do the same for adults. We can’t expect teachers to develop judgement, nuance, and responsiveness in isolation. Professional learning, like student learning, deepens when thinking is made visible — through talk that is purposeful, reflective, and safe enough to include uncertainty.
I'd love your thoughts on this follow up piece: https://thementoree.substack.com/p/conversations-to-build-capacity-part?r=5hsz9j
I will take a look today, thanks for sharing!
I appreciate your detailed reflection on this piece. I love teaching and creating class culture around different and engaging forms of accountable talk.
I deeply believe that education would benefit from time to speak to each other with some structure, so it's more than banter. I wrote the Conversations Build Capacity Part 2 under Letters from The Mentoree with another educator, and I can't help but look at this from different angles because there is s much that conversation can do.
I really love your point: "We can’t expect teachers to develop judgement, nuance, and responsiveness in isolation. Professional learning, like student learning, deepens when thinking is made visible — through talk that is purposeful, reflective, and safe enough to include uncertainty." I love this entire quote and want to respond to it as a post. It's really got me thinking. "Safe enough to include uncertainty" is where I am drawn to begin.
Thank you for engaging in this conversation. It's already launching new ideas for me!