The two things I try to teach my students
I teach my students lots of stuff — how to write clearly, how to read closely, and how to care about their world. But this year, here are the two most im...
Category: teaching
Background knowledge and the State of the Union address
According to Politico’s Byron Tau, President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday was written at an eighth grade reading level. Eve...
Bridging the gap of expectations
There’s a lot of talk in education about the achievement gap. Before we deal with the achievement gap, however, we need to deal with the expectations gap...
Am I a teacher or a proofreader?
My students’ skills in grammar and mechanics aren’t improving fast enough. I’m not sure what to do. I’m convinced the problem has three...
Improvements to my English class
January is a great time to make changes. After all, most students completely forget about school over Winter Break. Teachers can take advantage of that amnesia...