"Why English? The other day during an interview I was asked, "Why English?". I gave the standard "I love reading. I'm good at research. I've always been pretty drawn to writing." Not lies. Not the truth. I had never really considered why I chose English before; it was just something I did, not a choice [...]
Category: Teacher Tales
Today: A Gun in Our School
Today a kid brought a BB gun to the school where I teach. Fortunately, it wasn't a "real" gun and fortunately he was caught, though I'm sure he didn't intend to do any damage. I think it was for the accolades, though it concerns me that this would be an action taken to receive accolades. [...]
I am not a single story
I am not every negative thing that has happened to me or been said about me. I am a patchwork girl. I am pieced together from fragments of memories, experiences, and stories. I have been created by all the people I’ve ever loved or hated. And all the people who have loved and hated me. In [...]
A Teacher’s Perspective on Mass Shootings in American Schools
If you've read my very first blog post then you know I'm a teacher. You also might know that I'm someone with a deep well of emotion. I am quite gifted at numbing those emotions, usually. But when it comes to things like mass shootings in schools, I come undone. I feel pain that is [...]
An Honor, a Privilege, and a Burden
Most days I think of my job as an honor and a privilege. It is a tremendous gift to be able to encourage, cultivate, and nurture the minds of at least 140 teenagers each year. And, to be able to gain glimpses into their lives, their losses, their loves, their passions. They are all incredible [...]
Putting Humanity Back in the Classroom
Teachers are humans. We are real flesh and blood people, made up of thoughts, feelings, memories, and all of the complexity that entails. And, guess what? So are our students. When my students come to me at the beginning of the year, they do not come as blank slates. A freshly packaged canvas awaiting the [...]
Meeting the Stories of Strangers with Loving Acceptance
Have you ever been standing somewhere waiting, perhaps in line at the grocery store, and someone begins telling you what seems to be their entire life story? They were recently diagnosed with some illness, they were recently laid off, their mother-in-law is coming into town and they’re a mess… the details always vary, of course, [...]
Her Patchwork Heart 
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