Traveling the World Through Others
I have seen a lot recently about teachers not being okay. This is absolutely true, but I think it is overshadowing the struggles of our students, our children, during this time. I am a teacher in a public school in a very wealthy district. The vast majority of my students are motivated, well-behaved, and “capable”…
Read More
As an English teacher, I once believed I was helping students develop good learning habits by making them read a certain number of pages of an assigned novel. Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t just make them read at home. I made them annotate as well. When they would return the next day, I then tested…
Read More
When I first broached the idea of going to school for teaching, my father looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Absolutely not. I will not pay for college if you are going to be a teacher.” My father was a machinist at the Naval Ship Yard in Philadelphia from the time he was…
Read More
Miracles often show up in literature. Characters ask for them. Sometimes they are just divinely given to characters who may or may not be deserving. They are small or large acts of mercy bestowed by a benevolent god or an understanding universe. But where do they really come from? Where does one go or whom…
Read More
My newest read Still Writing is splayed open and upside down next to me. My mom bought the book for me last summer, and yesterday I picked it from the pile, despite the stack of unread books I just received as Christmas gifts. Reading is my habit. I read constantly, but I have been struggling…
Read More
Going to work has been tough. I love my job. It gives me “the feels” everyday, but I am exhausted and burned out like so many educators. But in this moment of what feels like madness, the Universe has sent me light. This morning I received a text from my TA. She is going to…
Read More
There are a lot of tough things to deal with in education right now. Our students are not where they need to be. We are still suffering from issues involving COVID. We are being asked to do an extremely important task with little to no support from people who are in positions of power. In…
Read More
In the famous movie Walk the line about Johnny Cash, there is an iconic scene where Johnny Cash is drunk on stage with his bandmates before the concert. Peggy Carter sees them drunk and is furious. She argues with Cash and says, “Ya’ll can’t walk no line.” This supposedly gave rise to Cash’s song Walk…
Read More
My anxiety levels are through the roof. My heart is racing. Two students in my first period are stressing me out. They are a brother and a sister who struggle considerably with school. They are quickly becoming my number 1 and number 2 reasons for not wanting to come to school. They are late every…
Read More
There are various times throughout the school day when I want to completely lose my mind while I am teaching. Students disregarding the rules. Parents questioning. Administrators, well, doing whatever it is they do. There is a constant litany of reasons and motivation to lose it and retreat into a deep, dark world of why…
Read More
The Wandering Empath 