The Wolf Sanctuary and Empathy
“You must be asking yourself why I’m not in the enclosure with the wolves like the other conservationists,” the gentleman, an elder in age, said into the microphone. “It’s quite simple. I might not make…
Let’s Say Slideshows Are Bad for Teaching and See What We Have
I. The Good Of Slideshows I’m in essay grading mode. That means I’m living and breathing essays. I’m reading and reading and commenting and commenting. It’s a lot: like 151 essays a lot. In this…
Subversion Versus Dramatic Irony: An English Teacher’s Opinion on the Hubbub Concerning Season 8, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones
The internet is abuzz with Game of Thrones and whether or not Season 8’s fifth episode works. It’s getting quite vehement out there with digital-finger pointing and much crayness times a good and solid number…
Ads and My Shifting Baseline Syndrome
Context: The Times A couple weekends ago, I deactivated my Facebook account. It was tough. Kind of. I was there in the beginning, so there was some nostalgic reckoning there. Like in the old days…
Story Versus the Internet
The first time I voted, I researched candidates, trying to get down to the nitty gritty. Soaking in the issues and what was at stake. Reaffirming or discarding suppositions of the world. That kind of…
The English Teacher Black Hole
I hope I’m not alone in thinking, basically all the time, that I’m just not very good at what I do. I am speaking of a very special imposter syndrome: I’m a high school English…
The Writing Tick Psychoanalysis
I have a tick in my writing that has followed me for years. Maybe writing about it will be like when people who fear snakes do that process where they slowly acclimatize themselves to snake…
A Regular Consumer Protects his Sleep?
I have two books in my personal library that are begging to be read. They have been perused though. Taken off the shelf, taken stock of, and then put back on the shelf. One because…
Learning to Rock Climb
Wherein the Author Describes the Beginning “Let me down,” I said. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” “But you are almost there.” “Let me down,” I said again, this time with the loud but hushed quality of…
Writing to an Algorithmic Audience
When you are an English teacher, there are too many ways to teach. In the public view, you are teaching two really important skills: writing and reading. That’s a simplification. Teaching Language Arts is the…