I have my first ever piece up at The Guardian today! I’m so totally excited!! The piece is published in the Comment is Free section today, and I’m talking about armed guards in schools: On Monday, Congressman Mark Meadows, a… Read more ›
Oh my god, I love Catcher in the Rye. Seriously. Love it. Every time. I tried to explain to my students the other day why I loved it. They haven’t read it, so they were confused. “Is it about baseball?”… Read more ›
I love love LOVE this article about teaching Macbeth to junior high students that appeared in the New York Times a few weeks ago: Reading Shakespeare sounds like pandemonium. They take 10 minutes just to give out parts, one boy… Read more ›
For the past two years, I have asked my students to go on a quest through literature in my classes. They think of a time in their lives that they felt discriminated against or like an outcast. Then, they explain… Read more ›
I’m over at Care2.com asking whether teaching is exhausting or exhilarating. What do you think? Related PostsA Partial Strike – #DayWithoutAWoman We Are Teachers: These Women of Color Belong on Your High School Reading List Ms. Blog: The Women’s March… Read more ›
I’m over at Care2.com today talking about 7 classic dystopian novels that are great to recommend (or teach!) to teens after they’ve read The Hunger Games. This is particularly important now that the first video is out on DVD. Even if… Read more ›
Welcome to the third edition of the Feminist Odyssey Blog Carnival! I’m excited to be hosting this month, as the topic is something close to my heart – Feminism and Education! As a teacher, this is something I think about… Read more ›
My first full week of school is complete. I even already have an essay that is piled up, waiting to be graded. And here I am, avoiding grading the essays, which means school has OFFICIALLY started! 😀 I haven’t been… Read more ›
It’s the first day back at school today. Two days of teacher institute, then a full week of classes right off the bat. Except, according to friends and family who work year-round, I’m not supposed to talk about this. Well,… Read more ›
This is my last full week of summer break. My school packet has arrived in my mailbox. I know what I’m teaching next year. (Two sections of English 2 Honors means double the quest papers! Yay! And three sections of… Read more ›
My students and I had many conversations this year about equality for women and men in schools. We even had two debates on this subject: one about whether or not toys should be gendered, and one about whether or not… Read more ›
As happy as I am that the school year is over, I am going to miss these students so much. I’m excited for what this summer is going to bring – new house, new people, new writing opportunities, new adventures… Read more ›
Every once in a while, a television show comes along that captures life so perfectly and beautifully that you savor every minute and can’t wait to get home and watch more. And when that show is over, you cry. And… Read more ›
Someone recently tweeted F. Scott Fitzgerald’s heartwarming list of things he wanted his daughter, Scottie, to worry about and things he wanted her not to worry about. As I have just finished reading The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (a… Read more ›
Well, folks, the contest play is over. It’s bittersweet in that we didn’t do as well as I had hoped we would, but I am glad to have more time on my hands, especially now that the weather is getting… Read more ›
This week, I have been on overload. You may have guessed by my absence here. Seriously, though, I’ve been doing too much. The way I see it, I have four separate things going on in my life: Blogging and writing… Read more ›
I fell in love with literature at a very young age. I loved books so much, I wanted to create them, because I wanted to give readers the same joy many authors had given me. Then, I grew up a… 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 ›
It’s the end of the semester. We’re all feeling the pressure. So let’s take a look at some of the more interesting articles about teaching I’ve been perusing this week! “Where do teachers come from?” – Huffington Post But even… 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 ›