Some students come to school ready to learn. Others would rather be just about anywhere else.

As an ELL teacher, I taught teenagers and adult learners who had their reasons for being in the classroom, and a love of learning wasn't always one of them. I learned pretty quickly that what students needed to learn and what they actually needed from me didn't always look the same. Sure, there was a place for studying literature and writing an 8 paragraph argument essay, but my students also needed English they could use in their everyday lives. They needed lessons that connected to their goals, their experiences, and their world outside the classroom.

I saw what could happen when students found a connection with their learning. Some of the students who were least enthusiastic about school came to love my class.

Then I became a homeschool mom to a reluctant learner of my own.

My son struggled with reading, and finding books he genuinely wanted to read became a mission of its own. We worked with an Orton-Gillingham tutor to build his reading foundation, but he was still behind his peers. For two years, I dug through books, drawing on everything I knew as a teacher and trying to find the one that would finally click.

And then I found it.

It was part of a large series, which turned out to be a very good thing. He flew through those books faster than I could blink. I began to see improvements in his decoding and comprehension, but the moment I'll never forget is when he excitedly asked me to take him to the library for another book.

I cried.

After years of teaching, I knew that connecting learning to a student's interests could make a difference. Experiencing it with my own child made that lesson personal in a whole new way.

It's also where the idea behind Unearthed Learning Roots really comes to life.

Sometimes, you have to dig a little to discover what makes a learner tick. What are they curious about? What matters to them? What makes them want to keep going? When we unearth those connections, we can use them to build the skills they need.

That's what I want my resources to help teachers and families do: find a way in, spark a little curiosity, and build the roots for meaningful learning.