About this Blog
An English teacher’s reflections
The generosity and support have been unbelievable. Every day, I come to school and find a big stack of boxes precariously perched on my pulled-out metal mailbox or scattered like confetti in the mail room. The secretary gives me a daily update on the number of packages that have arrived. One morning, the principal pulled…
read more »Every effective teacher needs street cred. Most students will consider with suspicion anything a teacher without street cred says. I mean why shouldn’t they? Street cred means proving to your students (especially the ones that are–no joke!–21 years old) that they should truly consider you a teacher, as someone whose advice and ideas are worth…
read more »Many of my students see no value in rereading. A few weeks ago, we read Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”. When we announced that we would be reading this (brilliant and suspenseful) story, some students complained that they had already read the story and “knew the ending” (as if that was all that were…
read more »I recently taught my students how to write formal letters. As a homework assignment, I asked them to draft a letter addressed to Michelle Rhee, on a topic of their choice. Students wrote about a number of things, including broken windows, “mice turds in the back of the class,” the disgusting cafeteria, the Reduction in Force,…
read more »They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say, “true.” But I also say that there is actually something more powerful than a picture worth a thousand words. That would be a picture worth a thousand words and some words to accompany that picture. Before the words, the picture:
read more »There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
read more »The “Where I’m From” poems somehow seem to unlock my students’ minds. There must be something particularly stimulating about searching deep inside one’s soul for the language to express one’s identity. As previously discussed, I had my summer school students write “Where I’m From” poems. ER’s poem was excellent. But, now that I have more…
read more »Bowties are such wonderful things. In a previous post, I mentioned that I was contemplating busting out my bowtie collection. What kept me from wearing this wonderful accessory was that I was never sure how my students would perceive me. I am enough of an “outsider” as it is; there really should be no reason…
read more »Something unbelievable just happened. Yes, I’m still in disbelief. I still haven’t fully processed my thoughts. I keep trying to catch my breath, but my breath keeps on running away. One simple phone call after lunch this beautiful Sunday afternoon changed my whole perspective for the year…
read more »Friday was a tumultuous day in the DC Public Schools. 388 DCPS employees received pink slips, including 229 teachers. Hawk One, which was experiencing financial problems, went bankrupt Thursday night, leaving DCPS schools with no security guards during a tension-fraught day. Due to the sensitivity of the firings that took place all across the district,…
read more »
Teach For Us thanks our national sponsor for its generous support
Recent Comments