Dear Students, When you came into class sad about your games, trips, matches, activities being cancelled, I could relate. And I did. I told you that, my senior year, 9/11 happened, and it forever changed the way the world functioned.… Read more ›
I am a woman and I study and teach literature. Until relatively recently in my life, this has seemed a pretty normal, womanly thing to do. Not only am I a teacher – a typically female profession – but I… Read more ›
I am a teacher. It has taken a long time for me to be able to come to terms with that. It was always something I knew I was good at, but it wasn’t always Plan A. Plan A was… Read more ›
I love writing. I have opinions, and I think it’s important that I express them, especially because the number of women publishing op-eds in major news outlets is so dismally low. When I presented at the CWWN conference two summers… Read more ›
Today, I’m on the Ms. Magazine blog with my piece about teachers as trained professionals! Here’s a taste: My husband also chose a career in teaching. When people ask us what we do, I answer that I am a high… Read more ›
Recently, one of my former students came to me and asked for some book recommendations for over winter break because she had recently finished The Book Theif on my recommendation, and hadn’t been able to find anything that came close… Read more ›
I’m over at Gender Across Borders today, talking about US and global viewpoints of single-sex classrooms: Picture this: A 120-pound, 5’5″, white, 23-year-old teacher stands in front of a classroom of 30 juniors in high school who are mostly Black… Read more ›
Apparently, an elite education has its disadvantages. Yet it is precisely that opportunity that an elite education takes away. How can I be a schoolteacher—wouldn’t that be a waste of my expensive education? Wouldn’t I be squandering the opportunities my… Read more ›
Janni is one of my favorite bloggers and tweeters out there. As a teacher, she is passionate and cutting-edge. As a feminist, she is ardent and intuitive. Her support has meant the world to me, and just being able to… Read more ›
An article from WBEZ today states that teachers are feeling ‘beat down’ as the school year starts. As students prepare to begin another school year, their teachers are hopping mad. They’re facing layoffs and deep budget cuts and many say… Read more ›
Yesterday, I gushed about Matt Damon. Today, I saw his entire speech at the Save Our Schools rally, and I love him even more. Here’s the text of the speech from the Washington Post for your reading pleasure: I flew… Read more ›
Thank you, Matt Damon. I always knew I liked you. I would like to see some context to this video, though. From the clip we get, it seems like both the reporter and the cameraman are staunchly conservative people who… Read more ›
Today, I’m over at Gender Across Borders talking about going back to school and back to teaching feminism. It is officially August. Which means it is officially time to start thinking about going back to school. As a teacher, it… Read more ›