personal
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Life and Death and Anthologies
Anthologies are odd. They’re compiled of a lot of stuff that someone thinks we should read, and so they have little to do with the real experience of reading. Being a “reader” is as much about wandering down the aisle of a bookstore looking for attractive covers, or downloading an excerpt on a Kindle based Continue reading
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The First Days of School: Then and Now
Today is the beginning of the new school year for me and my colleagues, and many of you will be getting back into the saddle in the next couple of weeks. As I prepare, my thoughts have returned to three of my past posts that still seem timely. The first is called “Mean ‘Til Hallowe’een: Continue reading
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What Swimming Taught Me About Teaching
It’s good for a teacher to be a student once in a while. I learn this lesson over and over as I pursue my MEd. I have encountered all sorts of challenges I’d forgotten about, like worrying about grades and managing my time in order to get readings done and papers written. I’ve had to Continue reading
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What Young Adults Should Read
There’s been a lot of furor over the recent Wall Street Journal essay that claims that YA fiction has taken a turn to the dark side. It isn’t surprising that my favourite commentary on this piece so far comes from Linda Holmes, editor of the NPR pop-culture blog Monkey See and moderator of my fifth-favourite podcast Continue reading
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The Five Best Podcasts in the World
Because I’m an English teacher, I rarely read anything I don’t have to. During the semester, my novels collect dust on the coffee table, my Kindle lies abandoned in my schoolbag, and the weekend newspapers sit coiled uncomfortably in their rubber bands until I toss them in the recycling bin. Once my final grading is Continue reading
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Character = Behavior: A Lesson Plan
Two parallel experiences over the last couple of weeks have culminated in a lesson plan that I may need to add to my permanent roster. First, I’ve been meeting with students to look at their first at-home essay. Their essays have to include a discussion of characterization, but it’s clear that many of them are Continue reading
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Top 10 Posts of 2010
For your reading and catch-up pleasure, I have once again compiled a “year’s top posts” list. These posts are “top” in that they got the most hits; in some cases this may have been because of timing, a well-chosen keyword, or fluke, but in some cases I think it’s because they truly were the best Continue reading
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My Top 10 Books of 2010
I encourage you all to make your own lists, either in the comments below or on your own blog (please post the link in the comments) because of course I don’t already have enough unread books in my house. Note: These books were not necessarily published in 2010, but they were part of my 2010 Continue reading
a visit from the goon squad, amy ignatow, books, brian k vaughan, cathleen schine, david nicholls, graphic novels, jeannette walls, jennifer egan, jonathan franzen, literature, memoirs, ms hempel chronicles, novels, personal, reading, sarah shun-lien bynum, society, tana french, the glass castle, the imperfectionists, the likeness, the popularity papers, the three weissmanns of westport, tom rachman, y the last man, young adult fiction -
On Teaching in Limbo
On Teaching in Limbo: A Composite “You teach English littérature at CEGEP?” She stubs out her cigarette. “That is a job that shouldn’t exist.” She’s on her balcony and I’m on mine. She’s just home from work and is in full, meticulous makeup; she models for a popular magazine for femmes d’un certain âge. “One.” 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 