Each and every summer I have a Back to School anxiety dream. While each year is slightly different, they are all variations on the same theme. It’s the first day of school and I’m not prepared. Some years, I’m a student and I miss the …
As a social studies teacher, I had MANY difficult conversations with my teen students, including race and racism. My brown and black students already knew what I was talking about because they and their families lived it. I was teaching race and racism to the …
“Thank you so much for writing that recommendation for me. Can you help me with this envelope I have to send it in? How do I write an address on it?” That year (before college apps went digital) I had not one, but TWO, high …
Recently, my neighbor said she’s become the “Room Mom” for her 1st grader’s classroom. As she talked about all the ways she was helping the teacher I thought, “Why don’t they have this at the high school level? I would have killed for this.” But …
If I let him, my husband would set up our Christmas decorations on November 1. But I won’t let him. I firmly believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. So, no decorations until after Thanksgiving. And then we go big. Big tree, lots of …
When I started college, I was shocked by what my fellow freshmen were unable to do – laundry, making their beds, making a simple meal, and the list went on. Some of them were having a LOT of problems handling the adult portion of their …
Have you ever seen the movie The Princess Bride? The book starts with a grandfather reading a book aloud to his grandson. The grandson is less than excited in the beginning, but gets more and more into the book as the plot progresses. By the …
I’m a planner, especially when it comes to Back-to-School season. This lady prepares early. So, I planned my first day of school outfit several weeks in advance. As one does. However, one year I did not account for Restaurant Week. If your city doesn’t have …
My first day of teaching was also my students’ first day of high school. (Yay for teaching all 9th graders!) I’m not sure who was more scared. As I nervously sweated through my clothes (TMI?), I realized my students were all terrified. Huge eyes, nervous …
School’s out for summer! As both a student and a teacher I looked forward to summer vacation, probably even more as a teacher. While I do believe in an old-fashioned summer for kids, that doesn’t mean that your teen should stare at a screen the …