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From Every Book…. Learning the Pleasures of Being Literate {Slice of Life}
I wonder: Who taught you the pleasures of reading and writing? Did you discover them in high school? Earlier? Later? In my high school Intensive Reading/Critical Thinking class, it takes a while to get students to ‘buy into’ reading for pleasure. It’s not uncommon to hear, “You want us to read???” followed by:…
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When Dads Walk Away…. {Slice of Life}
What happens when dads walk away? As a ‘dad-less’ daughter, I know kids are left behind to wonder why. Why did he go? Why didn’t he want me? What did I do wrong? Why didn’t he want to be around? What could I have done differently to make him stay? Or, worse yet, kids left…
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Dear Teacher… {Six-Word Wednesday}
I recently shared six-word stories, one of my favorite writing forms, with my high school students, on a day we could actually breathe a little. Any more, these days are few and far between. No observers. No guests. No testing. Just time to write. Creatively. Makes me miss (even more!) the…
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Creative Chaos?!?!
I took this picture yesterday …. I’d love to tell you it was a few minutes of messiness, but that would be a BIG, FAT, l.i.e. Can you relate? Or, are you shrieking as you look at the cacophony that threatens to swallow my desk in its discord? One day last week,…
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Why I Teach: Ten (Important) Reasons
Students Students Students Students Students Students Students Students Students Students Oftentimes, when I tell people I’m a high school teacher, I get this response (or a slight variation), “Oh, wow! I could never do that! Teenagers these days….” Truth is, the teenagers have been the only reason I keep coming back…