learning
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When the Syllabus Goes Wrong
I cannot tell a lie. My new course is a failure. This semester, I did a complete overhaul on the English course I teach for Child Studies majors. The earlier version of the course was a solid one. It focused on the topic of childhood relationships in literature: parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and friendships. We… Continue reading
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Prompt #3: The Writing on Learning Exchange: Who Taught You?
Welcome to the third installment of the Writing on Learning Exchange! Thanks so much for all of you who contributed to the last two rounds. If you’d like to go back to Prompt #1, or to Prompt #2, please do! If you’d like to just start fresh with this round, that’s great too. For guidelines… Continue reading
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Prompt #2: The Writing on Learning Exchange: What I Want To Learn Now
Welcome to the second installment of the Writing on Learning Exchange! Thanks so much for all of you who contributed to the last round. If you’d like to go back to Prompt #1, no worries; there are no deadlines! If you’d like to just pick up the ball from here, that’s great too. This is… Continue reading
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Prompt #1: The Writing on Learning Exchange: Learning About School
Welcome to the Writing on Learning Exchange! Every week or two I will publish a prompt that is meant to get us thinking and writing about some aspect of our learning and/or teaching experience. Whether you are a teacher, a learner, a parent or just a citizen who cares about the growth and development of… Continue reading
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Why You Should Fall in Love with Abed Nadir or Some Other Imaginary Person
I want my students to believe that it’s good to fall in love with fictional people. But I may be wrong. My English course for Child Studies majors is called “A Question of Character.” We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing what “characterization” means in literature, and what “character” means in life. Along the way,… Continue reading
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Corporatizing Education: A Justification
So let me just put this out there. Yesterday I attended a talk by the renowned/infamous literary theorist Stanley Fish. Fish’s talk was entitled “What are the Humanities Worth?” He began exploring this question by referencing Louis Menand’s article “Live and Learn: Why We Have College.” Menand poses a similar question, often asked by students:… Continue reading
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The Worst of Me
Which of your character traits is your worst enemy, in your life but especially in your job? In one of my courses, we’re writing reference letters for fictional characters. In addition, as a possible blog assignment, I suggested students write reference letters for themselves, imagining they’re applying for their dream job and giving an honest… Continue reading
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Classroom Blogging
I’m having my students keep blogs again. I’m both excited and wary. Student blogs are a lot more fun to read than papers, but they’re also more difficult to evaluate. The setup process has gone fairly smoothly so far, but it’s still been a lot of work. Reading a ton of blog posts every week… Continue reading
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Now You’ve Made Me Mad: Reprise
I don’t like this time of the semester. A couple of years ago at around this time, I summarized why. * What do you mean, “Why am I failing English?” You’ve failed EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT since the beginning of the course. You handed in your first essay 2 weeks late, and you wouldn’t have handed… Continue reading
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Evaluation Rubrics
I’ve been asked to sit on a panel in January to discuss evaluation. One of the topics under discussion will be the use of rubrics to evaluate student work. I’m curious about others’ experiences with using rubrics. I have no idea how I’d manage without rubrics. I sometimes decide to “give myself a break” by… 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 