Has the parade of seniors started knocking down your door yet? Continue reading
If time is money, here are six more ways to feel well-compensated: Continue reading
Fellow English teacher Heather recently asked, “How do you do grades?” With her permission, I’m posting our email conversation in a Q&A format. Maybe you’re new to the classroom or, like Heather, just looking for a new approach. Either way, here’s a look at how I keep scores. Continue reading
I have officially broken up with the Scantron machine. We had a decent run, but the recent mess of semester finals helped me to discover there are far more attractive options on the market. The best new scoring machine I’ve found is actually my phone, or more specifically the ZipGrade app on my phone. Over […]
Sad truth: Homework makes my kid hate school. After too many hours watching my tween sweat through her nightly stack of worksheets and textbook chapter summaries, I’m now questioning the validity of most homework assignments – both the ones she’s given and the ones I assign. When my kids were really little, they had monthly […]
I was just stabbed in the back – by a machine. Last week, a few diligent students visited during lunch to review their answers to the Scantron portion of their semester final, a usual practice as I encourage students to review their marked papers to learn from their mistakes. The first student (and then the second, […]
Every day, I’m pulled in so many directions that I sometimes start to unravel. One of the best realizations I’ve had in the last few years is that I can’t – and shouldn’t – try to do everything. To that end, I employ a legion of helpers, namely my teaching assistant (a senior who needed […]
I’m always impressed by singers who passionately belt the same song, night after night, concert after concert. Don’t they get bored? I mean, how many times can Sting sing “Roxanne” before he stops caring about that red light? Hasn’t Beyonce grown tired yet of all those ringless single ladies? Performers have been on my mind […]
