personal
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I’m Not Blocked. I’m Obsessively Diverted.
What does it mean to be “blocked”? Is it possible for a “block” to be a diversion, a new inspiration, a productive distraction? Or is it just laziness? Right now, I am “blocked” in a number of ways. I’ve been working on a novel for the last ten years. I use the term “working on” Continue reading
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RIP Mister Cat
You may have wondered about my avatar. You’re right: it’s not me. It’s the delightful Mister Cat, who, unfortunately, left us last week for the kitty beyond. He was an excellent, orange, fuzzy friend to all who knew him, and I wanted to pay tribute to him for serving as my blog face for the Continue reading
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Ten Wonderful Things, Part Eight: Blogging
The eighth of ten things I loved about this past term. #8: Blogging Some days, I teach because I blog. When I began this blog in 2007, I was seriously considering giving up teaching. It was just too hard. Then Vila H. convinced me that I needed to start blogging about something. Teaching is the Continue reading
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Ten Wonderful Things, Part Four: Harry Potter
The fourth of ten things I loved about teaching this past semester. 4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone I’ve been doing a lot of reading about reading lately. Since I began teaching CEGEP, I’ve become aware of a problem that directly influences everything I do (or, at least, it should) but I don’t know Continue reading
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Ten Wonderful Things, Part Three: Early Mornings
At least ten things went right this semester. This is the third one. 3. Early Morning Classes A few semesters ago, I requested the “early schedule” (8 a.m. – 4 p.m., as opposed to 10 a.m – 6 p.m.) for the first time. I had been relegated to the early schedule fairly often in my Continue reading
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A World Without People
Yesterday, when I left school, I wanted to live in a world without people in it for just a little while. My classes that morning had gone well – my Child Studies students just finished reading the first Harry Potter book, and we talked about why most of them loved it, and I asked them Continue reading
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What I’m Learning From Roberto Bolaño’s The Skating Rink
A friend gave me a copy of The Skating Rink for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I’d told her that I’ve been trying to get into mystery novels lately, and she’s been devouring Bolaño but didn’t want to plunge me into his difficult masterpiece 2666. It’s a relatively slim book, with an attractive, Continue reading
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What I’m Learning From What I’m Reading: Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto
On Thursday, I received a number of pre-spring-break, post-1st-major-assignment visits, emails and phone calls from students who are now hopelessly behind. These communiqués are always bad for my blood pressure. I start obsessing about what I will say if they challenge my “no makeups without a medical excuse” policy. I twitch every time I think Continue reading
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Encountering the Other: How Literature Will Save the World
Lately, I’ve been thinking about reading. A month ago, I asked you why the study of literature should be mandatory in college. You gave me lots of interesting responses (both here and on my OpenSalon blog). Not only did you help me start formulating the research question I was looking for, but you also got 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 