Reflections from Teaching in Secondary
This Fall semester, my UTeach internship consisted of six hours of field work and observations from a 10th grade classroom, and a course in English teaching in High School. In…
Category: Featured
She Gave Me of the Tree: Seduction in Medieval Literature
“Then the man said ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate (New King James Version, Gen. 3.12).’” From ancient…
The Modern Merlin
In Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, the legendary characters of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin have something like a father-son relationship. Merlin, the right-hand man to King Uther, removes infant…
Literacy in the Life of a Homeschooler
I met Karoline five years ago, on a Friday night. I was hired to provide childcare for the Willson family’s small group meeting at church, and middle-schooler Karoline Willson voluntarily…
The Magic of a Workshop-Style Class
I love the workshop-style classroom. It brings me back to my Middle School experience– I had this amazing teacher, Mrs. Mela, who taught TV Production for 6th-8th grade. The class had…
How I Lost Reading
Chapter 3 of Randy Bomer’s Building Adolescent Literacy is about helping students develop habits for literate lives. This includes using students’ natural literacies outside of the classroom to our advantage, and encouraging them…
The Picture of Dorian Gray in the High School Canon
The high school English curriculum is coveted real estate among teachers, parents, school principals, and state legislators. Oscar Wilde is a giant literary figure, evident by the numerous biographies and…
I Don’t Believe in Shakespeare
I don’t believe in the prevailing prestige of Shakespeare. I don’t believe that art, literature, music, or poetry can be studied or mulled upon in an ivory tower, isolated from…
Back to Hieroglyphics? 💩😂✌️🍕
Technological upgrades and advancements are an integral part of the evolution of language. Over a century ago, common language behavioral norms changed to accommodate telephone conversations, replacing body language signals…
Can you just tell me what to do?
Most people agree that the real world is different from a classroom. Many modern jobs don’t have multiple-choice tests, rows of desks before a lectern, or step-by-step instructions for completing…
Speaking out in Class: Which Gender is More Confident?
Abstract In many traditional classrooms, the focus is on the teacher, and students play the role of passive audience members. Modern teaching philosophy is leaning in the direction of student-centered…
Guiding a Guide
I arrived home with a chubby bundle of white fur and floppy ears. It was one week after I finished my freshman year of high school, and I had been anxiously…