learning
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will more school make us better people?
I’m concerned about President Obama’s assertion that children should spend more time in school. I absolutely disagree; I think children should spend a lot of time learning – in fact, I think they should spend all day, every day, learning, as should adults – but that “school” is only one, and not always the most… Continue reading
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this week’s carnival of education…
…is up at Bellringers. Go browse! Continue reading
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School vs. the Real World
Today I came across a post called “‘Meaningful’ School-to-Career” on the blog In Pursuit of Excellence. The blogger asks, Schools provide young people with a solid academic foundation to build the rest of their lives on. But schools are also supposed to prepare students for the real world….How can the real adult world they will… Continue reading
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Who Says You Have to Go to College?
I recently joined StumbleUpon (and would love it if you joined, too, and “stumbled” me and any of my blog posts that you have enjoyed by using the little “thumbs-up” icon.) This morning I received my first batch of “recommendations,” and it included this post from The Stump, which appears to be an opinion column… Continue reading
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would you read this book?
I’m putting together a proposal for a memoir based on material from this blog. What do you think? Siobhan Curious Falls In Love Again: Project Description Since August 2007, I have been keeping a pseudonymous blog called “Siobhan Curious,” which details and reflects upon my classroom experiences as a CEGEP teacher. The blog has a… Continue reading
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in which I do not become a Unitarian after all
(Check out Part One and Part Two of this story.) So two weeks before Christmas, I once again eschewed the Sunday sleep-in, put on my best blue sweater and black jacket, and metroed down to the Unitarian church, this time alone. My nervousness about being there without The Boyfriend Buffer was balanced by my greater… Continue reading
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in which I become a Unitarian: part two
(for Part One of this continuing saga, please go here.) On a Sunday morning, The Boyfriend and I took the metro to Vendome, to attend Montreal’s only Unitarian church. We underestimated the travel time, which is unlike us, and arrived in time for the service by the skin of our teeth. We were greeted outside… Continue reading
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listening and learning: Mark Smilowitz’s Classroom Teaching podcasts
My sabbatical is almost over. I return to teaching classes in a week and a half, after an 8-month, much-needed hiatus. I’m not dreading the return. I feel well rested, even freshly optimistic. I’m not having panic attacks. (I was dogged by chronic hyperventilation syndrome the whole of last August, until I woke up on… Continue reading
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When You Are Uncool
This week, I finally got around to reading the NY Times Sunday Magazine’s yearly “College Issue,” which came out at the end of September. This year’s issue focuses on teaching, so I set it aside with the intention of reading it carefully when I could bear to think about teaching. I’m on sabbatical, so I’ve… Continue reading
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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
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 