personal
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Ten Wonderful Things, Part Four: Harry Potter
The fourth of ten things I loved about teaching this past semester. 4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone I’ve been doing a lot of reading about reading lately. Since I began teaching CEGEP, I’ve become aware of a problem that directly influences everything I do (or, at least, it should) but I don’t know Continue reading
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Ten Wonderful Things, Part Three: Early Mornings
At least ten things went right this semester. This is the third one. 3. Early Morning Classes A few semesters ago, I requested the “early schedule” (8 a.m. – 4 p.m., as opposed to 10 a.m – 6 p.m.) for the first time. I had been relegated to the early schedule fairly often in my Continue reading
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A World Without People
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 well – my Child Studies students just finished reading the first Harry Potter book, and we talked about why most of them loved it, and I asked them Continue reading
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What I’m Learning From Roberto Bolaño’s The Skating Rink
A friend gave me a copy of The Skating Rink for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I’d told her that I’ve been trying to get into mystery novels lately, and she’s been devouring Bolaño but didn’t want to plunge me into his difficult masterpiece 2666. It’s a relatively slim book, with an attractive, Continue reading
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What I’m Learning From What I’m Reading: Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto
On Thursday, I received a number of pre-spring-break, post-1st-major-assignment visits, emails and phone calls from students who are now hopelessly behind. These communiqués are always bad for my blood pressure. I start obsessing about what I will say if they challenge my “no makeups without a medical excuse” policy. I twitch every time I think Continue reading
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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
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 