society
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What’s That When It’s At Home?
Dear Readers: I will be back in a few weeks with my yearly “Best Books” and “Top Posts” lists, but otherwise, Classroom as Microcosm will be on hiatus from now until the end of January. I hope you’ll consider, in the interim, subscribing to my personal/homestyle/living blog, What’s That When It’s At Home? This new blog Continue reading
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Without People: Reprise
As the semester draws to a close, I have more and more days like this one, which happened back in 2010. Few turn out this well, however. * 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 Continue reading
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Betraying Elmo
Just a few days ago, I spent an evening weeping with joy over the documentary Being Elmo. The subject of that documentary, Kevin Clash, is now facing accusations of “sex with an underage boy.” No matter what the truth of the story is, it will be disheartening. Which is worse? 1. The allegations are true. Continue reading
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Education and Growing: Reprise
Foreword: It’s been a rough week. Things at work are going fine, but life outside of work – especially life as a new homeowner – has been, shall we say, challenging. Full of minor and major inconveniences. Full of questions about whether buying a house, buying THIS house, was such a good idea. My husband Continue reading
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How To Fix Schools: Shorten Summer Vacation
In response to my open call on what should change about school, commenter emeraldlakesfreepress has an interesting suggestion. I think the school year schedule has to change. Long summers mean that children have months to forget what they have learned. 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off, with a slightly longer break in the winter and Continue reading
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Ongoing Open Call: What Should Change About School?
I’ve just begun reading Nikhil Goyal’s One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School. Goyal is an American high-school senior who has made a name for himself talking to the media about educational change, and although I’m not far into his book yet, I am already intrigued. I’ll write more on his ideas Continue reading
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Willing to Read and Write: Reprise
Last week, this post – first published in September of last year – spiked in my blog stats. It seemed a whole pile of people were reading it, but I couldn’t figure out who or why, although the search term “effort” had a corresponding spike. Maybe now, at midterm, teachers and students are being hard Continue reading
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How Literature Will Save the World: Reprise
Why should we keep reading? Why should my students learn to love reading? I began asking myself this question in 2010, and I keep asking it, of myself and others. Below, some of my initial thoughts on the matter. * Lately, I’ve been thinking about reading. Last summer I published a post in which I mourned 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 