She said one week. One week to watch her dog and she would be back. It’s now day 10. No call. No notice. No answer. I understand. I’ve been in a pinch before, too. She said she would return the favor. My dog waits patiently while her dog wonders. She said one week. Where is …
Sometimes, like today, I just need to immerse myself in a book. I need to escape from my reality, from my conflicts, from my tensions and walk around in someone else’s for awhile. As I walk with these characters and I help them figure out their conflicts, challenges and problems by reading on, I feel …
Really inspiring words, from an inspiring teacher: “I am at the end of my life,” Menasche told USA Today. “I don’t know how much longer I have left, and I just wanted that sense of satisfaction that the time I did have I used well.”
Well, this morning on the first day of the New Year, I started my day with a cup of coffee with soured milk. My first taste of 2013 and it was sour. It would be easy to cross examine this experience and say that there are unfortunate events ahead for the new year, but I …
Maybe, it was all the Pinterest. Maybe, it was the stress of finals, but in the somewhere along the way, I decided to make many Christmas gifts this year. It took a little practice to relearn how to cross-stitch, but I caught on again! I found myself thinking about the person I was making …
I love this time of the year. Not only is fall my favorite time of year, but it signifies the start of a new year. Every year of my life, my years have been shifted to run from September to September rather than January to January. So actually, my new year’s resolution are formed during …
I saw a flag on the car that pulled out in front of me. It was one of those flags that you close into your window, but this one wasn’t to support a certain team. It was an American flag and as it blew in the wind, it reminded me of my grandparents’ car. They …
An incredible analysis of what is means to be a writer: Part of finding your own voice as a writer is finding your own grammar. Don’t spend your career lost in a sea of copycats when you can establish your own set of rules And yet, we don’t teach students this. Ever.
I learned early on when I began to blog with students that if you allow too much time to pass between the experience (whether that’s reading, a guest speaker, a field trip) and writing about the experience, then students’ writing becomes stagnant and lifeless. To truly capture their voices, students need time during the experience …
I know from a teaching perspective that it’s important to teach students that it’s ok to abandon books. You don’t have to love every book that you put your hands on and you don’t have to finish every book that you start. And I know that it’s important to model what you teach, but I …
