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When You Are Uncool: Reprise
As promised, today I begin a Thursday series of posts from the archives – posts that have long since disappeared from view but that I still like. New readers may be encountering them for the first time; if you’ve been reading this blog since the beginning, maybe you’ll see something new in the post this… Continue reading
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Ready…Set…Ugh.
Today is the first day of the new school year. I am absolutely, unequivocally uninterested in being here. I feel no excitement about meeting my classes, no anticipation of good things that may unfold. Granted, I also feel no dread. I’m simply unable to connect with the reality of it all. The arrival of the… Continue reading
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Up and At ‘Em
It’s almost that time again. I hope you’ve all had a great summer. Mine has been thrilling, terrifying and exhausting, all on a small domestic scale. You will hear about some of it in the coming weeks. The upshot: school begins on Monday, and I am neither refreshed nor enthusiastic, but I am nothing if… Continue reading
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Who’s to Blame for the Student Strike Mess?
Until now, I haven’t commented on the madness happening in Montreal streets concerning tuition hikes. I haven’t commented because my feelings about the tuition hikes, and the resulting student strikes and protests, are, as a friend recently described his own, “nuanced.” I am not in principle opposed to tuition hikes in Quebec. I AM opposed… Continue reading
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What I Will Do For My Summer Vacation
Dear cherished readers: My semester is wrapping up, and as much as I want to post and discuss throughout the summer, I think it is time to take a break. As those who have been reading regularly will know, my husband and I have just bought a new home. The next few months will be… Continue reading
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How To Be a Teenage Girl
If you haven’t yet discovered Tavi Gevinson and her webzine Rookie, it’s time you did. If you know any teenage girls, you need to send them a link to Rookie, because every teenage girl needs to think about the stuff Tavi Gevison and her writers think about. In her original editor’s letter, Tavi explains that… Continue reading
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Too Many Books
The Husband and I are moving soon. The other night, we invited a mover over to give us a quote. He looked around and said, “It’s going to cost you a fortune. You have too many books.” I know what some of you are thinking. Never! Sacrilege! No such thing! These were not my responses.… Continue reading
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What’s In a Name?
What do your students call you? Would you rather they called you something else? A couple of years ago, a reader named “Viceroy” left this baffling comment on a post that had nothing to do with his observation. I notice that your students, who appear to be 17 & 18 years old, are required to… Continue reading
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Things They Should Teach In School
The Husband and I have just finalized a deal to purchase a house. (To read about one of the more dramatic adventures of our search, go here.) In the process, we’ve had to do all sorts of things that we’ve never had to do before. We didn’t have the faintest clue how to tackle some… Continue reading
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A Spring Blog Break
Dear readers: thank you so much for your loyalty! I have done my best to sustain my blogging through the chaos of the recent weeks and months, but I find myself in need of a brief break. I will take a two-week hiatus to get my personal and professional affairs in order, and will return… 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 