Uncategorized
-
Dish Soap
When I first moved out of my parents’ house in the ’80s, I started buying my very own dish soap, among many other things. I didn’t use my mother’s choice because she used the cheapest she could find, usually a generic or an off-brand. Me? I wanted to use a real brand, the real deal…
-
His Name is Yella Dog
Yella is a yellow lab—a homeless yellow dog who staked out a two-block area about a mile from my home. I didn’t know he was homeless until months later when I was able to strike up a conversation on the front lawn of one of his adopted caretakers. I met the yellow dog while walking…
-
Teaching as a Highly Qualified Teacher
Teaching K-12 isn’t always about adding new concepts to the weekly instruction. Teach this concept on Monday, teach that concept on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, teach something new. Teaching isn’t lecturing every day, either. You, student, listen while I talk (and talk), and we’ll get along fine. Sort of like college does, right? Half…
-
Middle School
Last year, I took off a year from teaching to learn the ropes of copywriting. With that, I fully intended not to return to the profession. I was burned out. Had it. But then something unexpected happened. I was called by the middle school principal over the summer and asked if I’d take a Reading…
-
The Day I Met S.E. Hinton
The Outsiders was a bestseller when I was a little girl. Before the book became a movie, S.E. Hinton came to the Ardmore Public Library, where my class walked the few blocks from Franklin Elementary to meet her. It wasn’t a long talk, but the spirit of inspiration was there. She was a young…