He jumped back. He was so startled that I thought I had a bug on my face when I went into my son’s room at 11 a.m. to wake him. “Wait, what day is it? Is there school today?” he asked. I shook my head and laughed nervously because I had been thinking that IContinueContinue reading “Why the School Year Begins with Nightmares”
Tag Archives: parenting
Common Core in Florida
If you ask an educator or even a well-informed parent who lives in Florida about the New Florida Standards, there will probably be a very intentional groan of frustration followed by a rant or its opposite—dead silence and a mournful shaking of the head. One of the many reasons I’ve stopped writing so much stemsContinueContinue reading “Common Core in Florida”
Teen Advice in Snippets, Weekly Writing Challenge
Writer’s Challenge Note: I ran out of time for editing too much, but I did what I could in bold. I’ve been an editor for too many years so I know the value of it; however, here in WordPress World I found myself so much more at ease with writing, so much more confident andContinueContinue reading “Teen Advice in Snippets, Weekly Writing Challenge”
Keep Your Head in the Clouds
Oh, look at that! It’s a panda. You see it? There’s a ship. Look look look. Where? Right there, follow my finger. You see it? No. Well sort of. Ooowa! That one’s weird. I think it’s an old man. He’s smiling. See? Yeah! I see it… I lied. I saw nothing. Really. Just nothing. ItContinueContinue reading “Keep Your Head in the Clouds”
Religion is in the details.
At the end of the first week back to school in Florida, I stood in a line with moms beaten, worried, and tired. We were from everywhere in Miami. We wore business clothes, jeans, and sweatpants. The “perfect” mom with the straight, red hair, black V-neck sweater, and pencil skirt raised her eyebrows as theContinueContinue reading “Religion is in the details.”
Everyone should have to teach middle school.
The uncertainty and shock of feeling as if I’d entered a distorted dimension, splintered and shapeshifting, grew into a full-time stint as a middle school teacher. Everyone should have to teach middle school. I’ve said this ever since I realized I wasn’t going to quit teaching after all, ever since I got through those first fewContinueContinue reading “Everyone should have to teach middle school.”
DP Challenge, Snapshots: Spears for Eyes
Her eyes bit into hers and, what a shame, since love often resided there. Brown spears sprung from a deep darkness pooled into circular rounds, cushioned only by a sense of humanity. To blink would’ve meant she’d lose her stance, her power. A black ring outlined the severity of her response to her mother whoContinueContinue reading “DP Challenge, Snapshots: Spears for Eyes”
The Best Summer Ever
The great part about being a parent is always the intensity with which kids force me to have fun. They bend my perception of myself backwards to a time when I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to stand like that or say those things. So, here’s what happens when you spend summer with kids. 1.ContinueContinue reading “The Best Summer Ever”
You’re only as good as your enemy. That would be you, mom.
Rolling your eyes at your mother seems a rite of passage for most girls. My daughter rolled her eyes so much lately that I finally rolled mine back at her. Of course, I was extra dramatic about it. I rolled my eyes up with an extended flutter to emphasize the severity of only the whiteContinueContinue reading “You’re only as good as your enemy. That would be you, mom.”
Our Education God: The Test
Teachers often share many similarities with the students they admonish, chastise, chase, change, and ultimately love like a mother who spends her days doing the same. Because we’re together so much of the time and essentially trapped in the same environment, teachers want to escape just as much as students do, especially at this timeContinueContinue reading “Our Education God: The Test”
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