You might know Michael Bonner as the rapping teacher who was on the Ellen Degeneris show a couple years back. He doesn’t have a program or initiative that people can adopt, but he has a clear understanding of what makes a successful teacher, with advice that applies to anyone who works on helping children be successful in academics, and in life.

"We need to realize that with every child we come into contact with we have the ability to steer them into greatness." - Michael Bonner, in the interview.

<p>You might know Michael Bonner as the rapping teacher who was on the Ellen Degeneris show a couple years back. He doesn&rsquo;t have a program or initiative that people can adopt, but he has a clear understanding of what makes a successful teacher, with advice that applies to anyone who works on helping children be successful in academics, and in life.</p>
<p>"We need to realize that with every child we come into contact with we have the ability to steer them into greatness." - Michael Bonner, in the interview.</p>

The Fight for Grade-level Reading covers national and local efforts to have children reading on grade level by the end of third grade. It features interviews with researchers on early childhood development; people who have successfully implemented programs; funders, authors, parents and children who are involved in the fight.

Share your experiences with grade-level reading efforts by emailing us at fightforglr@heraldtribune.com, connecting on facebook.com/fightforglr, or recording a message at 941-361-4820. You can find more at heraldtribune.com/fightforglr.

This podcast comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, funded by The Patterson Foundation, to cover school readiness, attendance, summer learning, healthy readers and parent engagement.

The Fight For Grade-Level Reading

The Fight for Grade-Level Reading covers national and local efforts to have children reading at grade level by the end of third grade. It features interviews with researchers on early childhood development and literacy; people who have successfully implemented programs on the local and national level; and funders, authors, parents and children who are involved in the fight.

We encourage non-profits, parents, teachers and more to share your own experiences about grade-level reading by emailing us at fightforglr@heraldtribune.com or by calling 941-361-4820 and recording a message. You can also find more information at heraldtribune.com/fightforglr or facebook.com/fightforglr.

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