I wrote this in spring of 2008. My largest class this year has almost five times the number of students that this special little class had, and next year, the smallest class that the district will allow will be 32 students per class. I read this and weep…. _______________ In my 5th hour class, there... Continue Reading →

One thing that my district does well is to support teachers in getting professional development from outside vendors. This week, I have been at the 31st Annual Effective Schools conference, and I have learned effective, innovative ways to approach teaching--as well as being reaffirmed that some of the traditional ways that teachers reach their students... Continue Reading →

Yesterday, two girls were talking in my classroom after class had ended. The gist of it was this: Helen made Jackie (fake names, of course) promise that Jackie wouldn’t let Helen return her boyfriend’s call if he happened to call later, because she was mad at him (but—deep down—I am sure Helen wished that he... Continue Reading →

Today in class we read a short story in which the protagonist, Estelle, seems, to the other characters, to be nuts. She dances under (not on) the table when she’s drunk, and she tries to ward off a would-be rapist with one of those plastic lemons. She cracks silly jokes all the time, even when... Continue Reading →