Recent trends in education have moved away from studying complete novels or plays. Instead, the curriculum may offer two scenes from Romeo and Juliet or one chapter from The Scarlet Letter and invite students to analyze key literary elements. This excerpt practice takes literary works out of context and fails to build reading endurance. Students … More #TLC: Reading Endurance Depends on Student Voices
I’m a working poet ready to endlessly discuss poetry. I keep a big pink binder in my classroom with hundreds of poems photocopied for student use. Students can flip through and choose poems that speak to them. I love listening to them react aloud as they glance over poems — “Whoa, what’s that mean?” or … More #TLC: Understand a Poem in 6 Real Steps
In the past six years, I have taught all varieties of high school English — including AP, Dual Enrollment, creative writing, and journalism. While some may find the college-prep classes prestigious and appealing, I enjoy the standard grade-level Englishes because they allow me to move slowly and deliberately through plays and novels. In upcoming posts in … More #TLC: Dramatic Reading in the English Classroom
A teacher’s work never stops. Some of us may get summers off, but how are we spending our time? Attending professional developments, planning for the next year, sorting through our classroom supplies. My brain is always buzzing with ways to improve my craft. I decided to attend the Teaching That Succeeds Virtual Symposium. And I … More #TLC: 3 Practices That Help Students Build Meaning
As educators, we are often asked for a teaching philosophy or teaching statement. Here’s mine: I am inspired by the power of clear communication. Whether it’s the precise description of scientific data or the luxurious reflection promised by poetry, language helps us understand our world and imagine a better one. I want students to learn … More #TLC: Grace, Patience, and Authenticity
If you want to understand what it is to be a poet, spend time with people who consider themselves unpoetic—people who feel defeated or confused by poetry. You will keep bumping up against that thing that separates you. It feels like a low cement wall. The essential separation borders a world where every question has … More Poet’s Mind
In spring of 2012, I was preparing to graduate with my M.A. in English. I was teaching with a respected professor and touching up my first real CV. Terrified of the great blankness that would follow graduation, I planned to teach, but I had no idea how I would continue to meet intelligent and fascinating … More Why We Still Need Literary Spaces for Disabled Writers
On the Blink 