Teacher Town

Day 1 of the Oratorical Contest, we welcomed Dorothy, last year's winner, back to our middle school to perform her speech on stage in fr...

One son of mine just finished measuring the effect of salinity on plant growth. Because he was concerned about the timeline at hand, he rese...

What was designed to be a mini-vacation--kids with the grandparents & hotel reservation in the city--there didn't turn out to be muc...

Typical of any day, I didn't manage to fit everything into the time I was assigned, so after I sprinted (track practice was not enough) ...

Mr. Shneebly is passionate about music, but he lacks optimism. He wakes from a mindless stupor from his teacher's desk where he stares l...

I got into my car today and found the gas tank was empty. By the time I fit in a trip to the gas station, I ended up with the slowest pump a...

I’m sitting in a cold boat house, the beat of techno music and the whhhiiiissshh of the ergs rattles my brain, and my laptop, my sole sourc...

It was the first day of this season's track practice, my second year as assistant coach.  I wasn't much of a runner when I was growi...

She's roaring outside my bedroom window right now, in fact. We all thought we'd be greeting the kinder creatures by now, but here we...

I can't say I felt happy when I woke for a 5 am start to my Saturday, but I did feel proud standing dockside as my son and his seven tea...

My oldest son was two when I first started teaching. After a couple of years of mothering and taking graduate classes, our day's routine...

How do your passions impact the world?  This is a difficult question for anyone to answer; however, my concerns lie with my 100 eighth g...

When the flakes started falling last Sunday, I was grateful for the rest but wanted to snub most snow day activities. Sledding, igloos, hot ...

Last weekend was so full of big celebrations. Big run, big dinner, big brunch, and even a big snow. Today marks a big birthday, and even tho...

Speaking of Go Dog, Go , the party I described yesterday, the raucous celebration dogs enjoy after they've climbed a terrifyingly high l...

Go Dog, Go  was one of our bedtime stories tonight. It's the one where dogs of all shapes and sizes interact in herky-jerky ways. Two st...

From start to finish, my morning race was 26.2 miles, and after months of training, I was more than ready to get this day started. Because t...

Upon further reflection, I realize there's much that I left off of yesterday's list. This year, I have also witnessed eighth gra...

As we near fourth quarter, it's been long enough for some to ask, Are you glad you switched to eighth grade? I am glad. Do I miss sixth ...

I'm a big believer in talking for ideas. Just about every one of my lessons allows time for kids to talk BEFORE they write. If I didn...