Wow, it's been a busy few years.So what have Leah and I been up to? Since we last updated this blog, we've worked from home and gotten through quarantine, gone back to work, coached, done a lot of hiking, and worked on our house. We've buttoned down, learned to order groceries, celebrated birthdays and weddings online, …
Tag: school
99 English Essays to Grade, 99 English Essays to Grade….
Oh midterm grading time! School has wrapped up, yet the blog has not been updated much, and midterms are the reason why. Essay after essay after essay needs grading, and when you multiple ten minutes for the average essay, times three essays per midterm (not counting short answer questions), times an average amount of students, …
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Course Evals and My Students Love Carrots
I just gave all of my classes course evals. This is something college students and instructors are intimately familiar with, I am sure, and though I did do it last year, not every high school implements them. My school this year encourages course evals though, and I love that since I’ve always found them productive. …
“Macbeth,” and a Question: Is “Hamilton” Worth the Hype?
Lately I’ve been posting about “Macbeth,” a play I’ve thoroughly enjoyed teaching. But what does that have to do with the play “Hamilton?” Well actually, if you’ve seen “Hamilton” (or at least if you’ve listened to the soundtrack), you’d know the answer to that question. Or obviously, as you have probably guessed if you aren't …
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Explain the Porter Monologue in “Macbeth” or Just Skip Over It?
Some more notes on teaching “Macbeth”: First, don’t worry—my next post won’t be about this play. And second, though Shakespeare and his language are often seen as “high and mighty,” in so many ways “Macbeth” can shatter this illusion for inexperienced students. I’d say that’s for better, because I’m in favor of making all literature …
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Describe Lady Macbeth in Just One Word
I recently checked to see if my students were doing their “Macbeth” reading. The task was pretty simple—describe Lady Macbeth in just one word (a task which shouldn’t be too hard after reading two acts, considering how strong a character Lady Macbeth is). Some answers that I received: Angry Motivated Sinister Evil Malicious (that was …
Publication: “Creatures of Habit” in “101 Words”
Last month “101 Words” published my piece of flash fiction “Creatures of Habit,” which you can read by clicking here. If you had to make a guess regarding the conceit behind “101 Words,” I bet you would get it right! Everything submitted to the website has to be exacting 101 words long, and their submission …
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Publication: “Creativity School” in “Cleaver Magazine”
Earlier this month “Cleaver Magazine” published “Creativity School,” a piece of flash fiction that I wrote. You can read it by clicking on the link here. I’m not quite sure where the story came from, except that I woke one morning thinking it would be funny if a real-life student was transported into a Dr. …
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Wild Wild Documentary: Growing Up in Eastern Oregon (p. 1)
“Wild Wild Country” is a pretty darn good documentary. It’s on Netflix, and you might have heard reviewers, bloggers, or fellow teachers at your school recommend it. Leah and I finished it recently, and it is very much worth the time—six, one-hour episodes, which honestly you’ll probably just binge in a day; it’s that engaging. …
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Addendum: Texts I Taught This Year and EDGAR ALLAN POE
Recently I wrote about both the well-received texts I taught this school year (Of Mice and Men, “The Cremation of Sam McGee”) and the “misses” (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Heart of Darkness). Not that anything here is to say that the “misses” weren’t texts students didn’t learn from. For example, though “Julius Caesar” can …
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BATCH & NARRATIVE 