If asked to pick a fictional character that most closely describes me in high school, it’s Hermione Granger, hands down. That girl and I are way too similar. Super organized, high strung about school, and bit too judgmental. (I’ve calmed down since high school.) […]
One Christmas when I was in elementary school, I didn’t get a particular present that I wanted. And I complained about it a lot. I don’t even remember what the missing present was, but I remember my grandmother’s response. “When I was little, one Christmas […]
“Ms. P, if a teacher is good enough, their students will just learn. The teacher will teach and the students will just remember it all. Kids won’t have to write anything down or study or anything.” I will never forget the (misguided) young man who […]
When I was dating the man who became my husband, I figured out really quickly that Christmas is his jam. He is obsessed. However, when we were comparing family traditions, I found out that his parents didn’t do Christmas stockings. {Gasp!} I know. I think […]
So, I’m a bit of Harry Potter fan. Just a bit. I’ve written about Harry Potter here and here. And maybe here as well. I’ve read all the books multiple times, seen all the movies, I listen to a podcast, and I’ve got lots of […]
One Christmas when I was in elementary school, I didn’t get a particular present that I wanted. And I complained about it a lot. I don’t even remember what the missing present was, but I remember my grandmother’s response. “When I was little, one Christmas […]
The fall of 2015 was not good to me. I was several months into the hardest year of my teaching career. After 3 rounds of IVF, the doctor told us that biological children weren’t in the cards. We’d recently moved halfway across the country and […]
I remember coming home from the hospital with our first child. She was so sweet and tiny and helpless. My husband and I got home and looked at each other, thinking, “Well, what do we do now?” We had just figured out there was no […]
After I explained the directions, my student Jane always asked what we were doing. She brought the wrong notebook to class. All the time. Her backpack was a mess and her planner was empty. Twenty minutes into an activity and she had just started it. […]
“Ms. P, if a teacher is good enough, their students will just learn. The teacher will teach and the students will just remember it all. Kids won’t have to write anything down or study or anything.” I will never forget the (misguided) young man who […]
“What play did President Lincoln go see the night he was assassinated?” my 11th grade English teacher asked the class. “Our American Cousin,” this history nerd muttered. But apparently loud enough for the boy in front of me to hear. When the teacher announced it […]
When I taught, I used to check my e-mail on the weekends. But over time, I started getting more e-mails from parents that would ruin my entire weekend. So, I stopped checking my e-mail on the weekends. It wasn’t convenient for my students, but it […]
I’ve said this before and I will say this again – Hermione Granger is my spirit animal. I was an . . . intense student in high school and college: focused, a planner, and goal-oriented. When I read the Harry Potter books, I definitely saw […]
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