“This fall must go better than last spring.” “What can I do to help my teen through this?” “I can’t work full-time and stay on top of her school work.” “How can I best parent through remote learning?” When my local school district announced that …
We’ve all had a bad teacher. And I’m sure you remember that instructor very clearly. His or her appearance, attitude, mannerisms, and teaching methods are all stamped in your memory. Ugh. For me, it was my high school German teacher. She just wasn’t good at …
“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 …
It’s hard to believe that 2019 is about to end. Cliched but true, time flies the older you get. Also cliche, a top posts of 2019 list. I follow a lot of bloggers and love their best-of lists. It reminds me about their best posts …
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 …
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 …
A few years ago, one of my history students asked, “What was life like before the iPhone, Ms. P?“ As much as that question made me feel REAL old, I could see her point. My students’ lives have been completely taken over by cell phones. …