personal
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Literature and the Meaningful Life
Here’s a little something I found in my inbox this morning. What makes for a meaningful life? I consider each day, not just the life as a whole. I look at four ingredients. First, was it a day of virtue? I’m talking about …avoiding harmful behavior of body, speech, and mind; devoting ourselves to wholesome Continue reading
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Top 10 Posts of 2009
Have you gotten behind on your blog reading? Do you wish you’d had time to read EVERY SINGLE POST here at Classroom as Microcosm this past year? Or are you a new reader who doesn’t know how to get caught up on all this teacherly goodness? Never fear – I’ve put together a handy list Continue reading
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The New Semester: 10 Resolutions
Classes start again in less than two weeks. (Primary, secondary and university teachers who are already back at work, I know what you’re thinking: “Shut up.” Believe me, I know how good I’ve got it.) I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. However, one theme that presents itself frequently in my Buddhist meditation practice and my Continue reading
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Dear Auntie Siobhan: Should I Become a Teacher?
Hi Siobhan, First, let me say that your blog is a great resource. I stumbled on it a few weeks ago and have read almost all of the entries. Your writing is refreshingly articulate, and I have enjoyed reading it. I’m considering a career in CEGEP teaching down the line. At this stage I have Continue reading
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Arrows Into Blossoms
I’ve just finished reading Pema Chodron’s Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears. If you’re not familiar with Chodron, she is perhaps the world’s most famous Tibetan Buddhist American nun, and her works are meant to help Westerners understand the basic precepts of Tibetan Buddhism and apply them usefully in their own Continue reading
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trusting our intentions
I haven’t had much time recently for blogging, or thinking about blogging, but I came across a quote this evening that sums up where my head is at these days, in the classroom and in the world. Remember that you don’t have to like or admire someone to feel compassion for that person. All you Continue reading
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One Minute of Solitude
Two of my three classes this term have been, so far, focused yet energetic, respectful yet lively. The third has been a bit of a pain in the ass. This class meets from 4-6 in the afternoon – the worst possible time. They’re tired. I’m tired. Their brains are buzzing from a day’s worth of Continue reading
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how I saved my teaching career: final post: keeping a blog
The final post in my summer-long guest series on School Gate, the TimesOnline education blog, appeared this morning. In this post, I explain how keeping a blog made me a better, and more sane, teacher. Thank you all so much for reading and commenting on these posts, and emailing me your thoughts! I loved blogging Continue reading
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Blogger’s Block
Lately, I’ve had blogger’s block. I could say that I’ve been busy. (It’s true. The school year just started. There’s stuff to do.) But that’s not really what it’s about. I’ve been blocked. I recognize it, because I’ve experienced it so very often in the more classic “writer’s block” form. You think about writing stuff, Continue reading
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What I Did on my Summer “Vacation”
School starts on Friday with a day-long department conference, and classes begin on Monday. I’m tempted to say things like “Where did the summer go?”, but I’d been putting it on. The summer didn’t seem short. (Some Montrealers will retort, “Summer only began last Friday,” but I have nothing against cool, rainy summers, so I 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 