Back in 2002, Nevada was awarded one of the highly competitive Reading First grants. Nevada Reading First had two related but distinct foci, the professional development of teachers and the reading proficiency of students. The Reading First bottom line was that reading achievement will increase and the reading deficit will decrease. To that end, Dr. Meggin McIntosh was invited to create vocabulary development workshops for educators throughout the state of Nevada and Owning Words for Literacy was born.
I am fascinated by literacy issues. My educational background (I have a Ph.D. in Reading Education
and Linguistics and an M.S. in Elementary Education and Linguistics) and the
availability of the Nevada Reading First Grant allowed me to create and present
workshops for educators throughout the Silver State. The name of these
workshops, Owning Words for Literacy™, is particularly relevant. In every piece of
literature that I have sent out, I use the following statement to clarify the
importance of owning words for literacy:Teachers who participate in the Owning Words
for Literacy™ workshops will be learning ways to build students’ vocabulary—
concurrently with their knowledge. Vocabulary and knowledge are interdependent.
Without knowledge, students cannot learn the vocabulary that will help them be
more literate and, without an adequate vocabulary, students cannot learn. It’s
a synchronous process and we will use that power in students’ favor.-Meggin McIntosh
A Little More About Meggin
- born in South Carolina
- grew up in Tennessee and Kentucky;
- graduated from college and taught elementary school in Missouri;
- earned my master’s degree and taught elementary and high school in Texas;
- earned a Ph.D. in Texas while teaching high school and then undergraduate classes;
- taught undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Nevada, Reno (10 years);
- founded and directed the Excellence in Teaching Program at the University of Nevada, Reno (5 years);
- entered this new stage of my life as of January 2004! And just having a fine time!!
To learn more about me than you ever really wanted to know regarding my education, work experience, presentations, awards, publications, and so forth, feel free to view
my entire curriculum vitae.
Emphasis on Excellence, Inc.
Founded in 1996, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. serves individuals, associations, schools, universities, colleges, and companies through workshops, seminars, coaching, and consulting. My company’s purpose is to help those with whom we work to know, feel, dream, and do more and differently so that they are living the best and most productive lives possible – and doing so with consciousness, clarity, and conviction.
The company is based in Reno (an incredible place to live and work!), but I travel extensively throughout the country consulting and doing workshops for colleges, universities, schools, and other organizations.
The choice of the name Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. is quite deliberate. We endeavor to make excellence our habit. We guarantee all of our work, our services, and our products. As Karen, the original project manager for Emphasis on Excellence, Inc. once remarked to me, “We are not Emphasis on Mediocrity!” That is important for those with whom we work to know because we not only have high expectations of ourselves, but of the situations and set ups where we are working.
“The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.”
John Lubbock
