society
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Fiction Makes You Better at Stuff
I’m planning some research on whether reading/studying fiction and other kinds of narrative is really such an important thing to do. I was therefore immediately drawn to this article (even though it’s Saturday night and I’m desperately trying to finish grading a stack of papers): a commentary on why techie geeks should read fiction. Is Continue reading
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This Book is Too Sad
A reader and colleague sent me this question the other day. What would you do in her position? Dear Siobhan, A few of my college students (note, not the class as a whole) have told me they’re having a really hard time with the book we’re studying in class because it’s too sad. It’s The Continue reading
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How Sexy is Too Sexy?
How much explicit sex is acceptable in a book required for a college class? If students have some say in whether they read the book, does that make a difference? One of my courses includes a list of eight novels about adolescence. Four or five students will read each novel and will work together to Continue reading
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The Art of Running Away
It’s been a tough semester. I’ve described some of the trials already: a new course that didn’t work very well, an unsuccessful experiment with blogs, a number of unpleasant end-of-semester exchanges. More than a month after the end of classes, I’m still dealing with a challenge to one of my plagiarism rulings, and still awaiting 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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The Least Stressful Job on Earth
My husband sent me this article this morning: the Globe and Mail summarizes some key points from a list of the most and least stressful jobs on earth. #1 least stressful job? University professor. I’m not exactly a university professor, and some of the conditions I work under are quite different from theirs. My students, 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
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 