Tammy Ranger, NBCT, Author at NBPTS | Shaping the profession that shapes America's future. - NBPTS | Shaping the profession that shapes America's future.

Currently a reading interventionist at Skowhegan Area Middle School in RSU 54 (Maine), Tamara Ranger has been teaching for 16 years. She is active in a variety of professional groups, including the Maine Education Association Instructional and Professional Development Committee, her district’s Professional Evaluation/Professional Growth Committee and her district’s Proficiency Based Education English Language Arts Committee. Tamara Ranger is a National Board Certified Teacher and the 2017 Maine Teacher of the Year.

Stuffed Neurons and Growth Mindset

Tammy Ranger, NBCTFebruary 1, 2017

When I was growing up in Central Maine, my parents owned several businesses—some did well, some did not. The beauty salon thrived, as did the sandwich business. The tanning salon brought our family to the brink of bankruptcy, but the ceiling cleaning business, the last of my parents’ entrepreneurial adventures, was extremely successful. Over the years, my father’s friends, always curious about his business ventures, would ask questions like, “Harry, what ever happened with that tanning business, anyway?” My dad would smile, shake his head and say, “Hey, I don’t know–everyone got tanned and we got burned!” And when they…