education
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Why Study Literature?
Why should young people study literature? Why, in particular, should seventeen-to-twenty-year-olds who don’t read for pleasure and have weak literacy skills be forced to spend their time reading poetry, novels, plays etc. instead of working on simple reading comprehension and writing skills? Is it as important for students to read Salinger or Ishiguro as it 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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The 2009 Edublog Awards: my nominations
After receiving kind mentions/nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards from both Sarah Ebner of School Gate and Victoria Westcott of Classroom Canada, I’m delighted to find I have a couple of free hours tonight to do my community duty and point out some nominees of my own. Best individual blog: Joanne Jacobs never fails to Continue reading
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Education and the Meaning of “Growth”
Is education primarily about growth? What exactly is “growth,” and does it always equal “education”? The philosopher John Dewey defined education as an accumulation of experiences that stimulate both growth and the capacity for further growth. In Experience and Education, Dewey tells us, “…the educative experience can be identified with growth,” and further clarifies that Continue reading
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Now You’ve Made Me Mad
What do you mean, “Why am I failing English?” You’ve failed EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT since the beginning of the course. You handed in your first essay 2 weeks late, and you wouldn’t have handed it in at all if I hadn’t asked you where the hell it was. You got 37% on your last practice 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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Grammar Grief
What do you do with a problem like grammar? I’m teaching two sections of a Preparation for College English course. These courses are designed for students whose first language is not English, and whose level of written English is too poor for them to manage in a 101 course. At the end of the course, 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 