education
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Arrows Into Blossoms
I’ve just finished reading Pema Chodron’s Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears. If you’re not familiar with Chodron, she is perhaps the world’s most famous Tibetan Buddhist American nun, and her works are meant to help Westerners understand the basic precepts of Tibetan Buddhism and apply them usefully in their own… Continue reading
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trusting our intentions
I haven’t had much time recently for blogging, or thinking about blogging, but I came across a quote this evening that sums up where my head is at these days, in the classroom and in the world. Remember that you don’t have to like or admire someone to feel compassion for that person. All you… Continue reading
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Grammar Grief
What do you do with a problem like grammar? I’m teaching two sections of a Preparation for College English course. These courses are designed for students whose first language is not English, and whose level of written English is too poor for them to manage in a 101 course. At the end of the course,… Continue reading
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One Minute of Solitude
Two of my three classes this term have been, so far, focused yet energetic, respectful yet lively. The third has been a bit of a pain in the ass. This class meets from 4-6 in the afternoon – the worst possible time. They’re tired. I’m tired. Their brains are buzzing from a day’s worth of… Continue reading
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how I saved my teaching career: final post: keeping a blog
The final post in my summer-long guest series on School Gate, the TimesOnline education blog, appeared this morning. In this post, I explain how keeping a blog made me a better, and more sane, teacher. Thank you all so much for reading and commenting on these posts, and emailing me your thoughts! I loved blogging… Continue reading
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Blogger’s Block
Lately, I’ve had blogger’s block. I could say that I’ve been busy. (It’s true. The school year just started. There’s stuff to do.) But that’s not really what it’s about. I’ve been blocked. I recognize it, because I’ve experienced it so very often in the more classic “writer’s block” form. You think about writing stuff,… Continue reading
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What I Did on my Summer “Vacation”
School starts on Friday with a day-long department conference, and classes begin on Monday. I’m tempted to say things like “Where did the summer go?”, but I’d been putting it on. The summer didn’t seem short. (Some Montrealers will retort, “Summer only began last Friday,” but I have nothing against cool, rainy summers, so I… Continue reading
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how I saved my teaching career part 7: meditate!
The penultimate post in my series “How I Saved My Teaching Career” appeared on School Gate this morning. In this post, I describe how learning to meditate made me a better teacher. Continue reading
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another 100 best blogs list!
Clear View Education has published a list of “100 Best Blogs for Teachers of the Future,” and has kindly included me. Browsing this list is my project for today! Continue reading
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changing the world one comment at a time
Some of my Twitter contacts (particularly Shelley S. Terrell, or @ShellTerrell, who keeps the great blog Teacher Reboot Camp) have been encouraging me to sign up for the “One Comment a Day” project. This project was developed by Andrew Marcinek, who posts about it here. The premise: once a day, leave a constructive comment on… Continue reading
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 