Category: Uncategorized
teaching style: the art of the em dash.
My writers struggle when threy receive feedback to “be more sophisticated” or “elevate your level of sophistication.” So, a few years ago, I began rethinking my approach to writing instruction—for my English classes and my Creative Writing ones. I decided to break Sophisticated Writing… Continue Reading “teaching style: the art of the em dash.”
the gratitude project (2023).
Six years ago, during Thanksgiving week, I began assigning what I lovingly call “The Gratitude Project.” Essentially, I forced my students–and myself–to reflect on the Good in our lives in the midst of all of the Bad. And it quickly became one of my… Continue Reading “the gratitude project (2023).”
the gratitude project (2022).
Back in 2017, during Thanksgiving week, I began assigning what I lovingly call “The Gratitude Project.” Essentially, I forced my students–and myself–to reflect on the Good in our lives in the midst of all of the Bad. And it quickly became one of… Continue Reading “the gratitude project (2022).”
the gratitude project (2021).
This school year already looks different than last year. We’re vaccinated and boostered. We’re in person. We’re in full, non-cohorted classrooms. We can attend extracurricular events without having to play Rock-Paper-Scissors with family members to see who gets The Lanyard That Gets You Through… Continue Reading “the gratitude project (2021).”
the myth of the working (teacher) mom.
I beat myself up. A lot. Like a lot a lot. I know I’m not alone–especially for those of us who are juggling responsibilities at home AND at school. Whether we’re raising babies or tolerating teenagers or caring for elderly parents or working second… Continue Reading “the myth of the working (teacher) mom.”
our break-up letters to 2020.
My Creative Writers keep Writers’ Notebooks, housing writing exercises we complete each week. Some entries are brainstorms, others are single-sitting warm-ups, and others are the beginnings of pieces we’ll develop at a later date. It seems fitting, then, that our final entry for 2020… Continue Reading “our break-up letters to 2020.”
new year’s resolutions–covid edition.
2020 was, to quote CNN’s Jake Tapper, “a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a trainwreck.” And others agree. Towns rang in the new year with literal dumpster fires; the Holderness family pushed out a Billy Joel parody about them; and one YouTube… Continue Reading “new year’s resolutions–covid edition.”
the gratitude project. (take that, 2020!)
2020 has been brutal. COVID-19, racial injustice (i.e., the Other Pandemic), murder hornets, plane crashes, brushfires, elections, remote learning, working from home. You name it, and it’s most likely been a part of 2020. One theory blames the “Baby Shark” song. If you’ve ever… Continue Reading “the gratitude project. (take that, 2020!)”
authors who inspire.
Since reading is the inhale and writing is the exhale, every September, I ask my writing classes to reflect on which authors have inspired their inner writers. Take a look at the community slide deck below. (Click on the slide deck to advance through… Continue Reading “authors who inspire.”
flattening the anxiety.
Photo Credit: Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris This is our students’ 9/11. Their JFK Assassination. Their Uphill-Both-Ways-in-the-Snow walks to school. This is their “I-Remember-When…,” the story they’ll be telling and retelling the next generation. This is also a breeding ground for anxiety. And the… Continue Reading “flattening the anxiety.”
WHERE OTHERS GO
THE LIFELONG LEARNER 