Tag Archives: school
Don’t Smile Until After Christmas? Nonsense!
A version of this essay originally appeared in Middle Ground magazine in October, 2008. Don’t smile until after Christmas. I’ve always been puzzled when I overhear talk of this informal … Continue reading
Student Guest Blogger: Career and Future Uncertainty
I’ve shared this blog with some of my students, an attempt to showcase how writing is “real” for me. As far as blogging goes, many students use Tumblr. I’ll admit … Continue reading
Struggling Writers: Is Personal Expression the Answer?
Glancing around the room, fiddling with his smart phone, and tapping his pencil, Michael will do anything but write. He’ll scribble a few sentences on the paper, and the chicken … Continue reading
Nothing Compares to Being a First-Year Teacher
“A student urinated on my floor when I was out in the hallway. On a day I was absent, students jettisoned textbooks and graded papers out my second-story classroom window. … Continue reading
A Seventh Grader Said “Poetry is Gay”
I’ve decided to post narrative e-mails from my first few years of teaching middle school. It was my way of journaling and reflecting on my craft, student behaviors, and experiences–both … Continue reading
Reckless Technology Adoption?
As I left my morning session on brain-based learning strategies at the SREB High School That Work Conference, I had trouble exiting–hoards of educators flocked into room 353 at the … Continue reading
The Will to Teach Black Males
We’ve got to teach them to be men, what manhood is all about. How did we go from Medgar Evers, Frederick Douglass, and Langston Hughes to Lil’ Wayne, Drake, and … Continue reading
A Narrative Vision for Schooling in the 21st Century
A narrative vision for schooling in the 21st Century, according to the 2012 Republican Party of Texas Platform: Every morning, little Timmy and his 4th grade classmates pledge to the … Continue reading
Revising the School Calendar
Should schools still operate on a traditional seven hours to the day, with rigid class periods, highly regulated time, and a 180-day calendar? I’ve been blogging as a part of … Continue reading
