education
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students and decision-making power
I’d like to turn more decision-making power over to my students. In particular, I’d like to give students more choices about their reading material and their assignments. One teacher in my department allows students a choice of six different novels for their final reading, and orders six copies of each for the bookstore, ensuring that… Continue reading
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carnival is here
The latest carnival of education has arrived, hosted by Teacher in a Strange Land. It looks like lots of thrilling rides are on offer. Check it out. Continue reading
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sharing leadership with students
I have mixed feelings about a recent attempt of mine to share more leadership with students in the classroom. This past semester, I taught a new course on personal narrative. In this course, we read the memoir Angela’s Ashes; I decided to structure our discussion of the book as a series of seminars. I divided… Continue reading
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some thoughts on student feedback
In some of my courses, I have tried to ask students for more frequent anonymous feedback – midterm assessments, for example, in addition to the usual end-of-term evaluations. I have often found, however, that the feedback doesn’t teach me much that I don’t already know through simple observation. This might say something about the kinds… Continue reading
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spare the rod: part two: primary vs. secondary relationships
To clarify the shift in my thinking, let me point out an important development that has taken place in my relationship to my profession. My first teaching job was as an assistant English teacher at a tiny French primary school outside Ottawa. I was nineteen, and had just left my home province for the first… Continue reading
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spare the rod: part one
It has become clear to me that many of my students need a firm hand. Now, why you would reach the age of 17 or 18, make the decision to come to college, and still need a punitive nanny standing over you and telling you how to behave in the classroom is beyond me. Why the… Continue reading
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49 conversations about 5 things
This week I also met with all my 101 students individually in my office, to discuss their writing samples, move some of them into other classes, and generally get a feel for where they are all at. I think I may have put out a couple of small fires. For example, one young woman, who… Continue reading
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back on the horse
It’s been over a month since I’ve posted. I’ve been revelling in the first real vacation I feel I’ve had in years. No working on the novel, no thinking about teaching unless absolutely required, not much prep except tweaking course outlines, cutting and pasting course packages, and reading Angela’s Ashes. It’s been a necessary but… Continue reading
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small tasks
After writing my last howl of a post, I took a sick (read: mental health) day. What I learned from this is: when you are ready to smack your students, are so tired you can’t sleep, and experience more than one crying jag in the space of a few hours, it’s time to take a… 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 