A Family of Readers—And Writers

JENNA: And she lived out on the prairie.

LAURA: She also had that pioneer spirit that I think even people in Midland, Texas, in the 1950s had. I think it's a very important book in American children's literature.

JENNA: I loved Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye." In middle school, something about that book really changed me.

You both talk to teachers around the country, and one of their frustrations is that so much falls to them. What advice do you have for how to bring order to a classroom and inspire learning?
JENNA: I taught in inner-city D.C., and it is difficult to manage everything. One of the things that I've learned is that it's really important for parents, for principals, for people of the community to support your teachers. Even though they were working, my parents would still come in and help when [my students] were going on a field trip. And when I taught in inner-city D.C., we took the bus. So, of course—

LAURA: You needed help.

JENNA: The Metro bus with 24 kids and me. But I did it.