Write Away

April 6, 2015

The Grade of F

Did you ever receive an F on your schoolwork? It meant you failed, utterly. Written in red pen in your teacher’s impatient hand, it was accompanied by the uneasy message See Me on the top of the paper. Perhaps your teacher handed the papers back in order of grades from A to F, with the Continue reading

Social and emotional development, Teaching and Learning
April 6, 2015

Excellent Sauce for Pasta Primavera

When a recipe has 4 ingredients, it’s easy. If it’s delicious, too, I call it excellent. Here’s the gorgeous sauce for the pasta primavera I served to 8 people on Easter. It took about 8 minutes to cook: Sauté 6-8 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add 2 pints of halved cherry tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes Continue reading

Teaching and Learning
April 4, 2015

Teenage Destiny

Many teacher movies are variations on a formula: difficult kids plus an understanding teacher equals transformed lives. Movies usually make it look far easier than this really is. But in To Sir, With Love, teacher Mark Thackeray, played by Sydney Poitier, resonates with lots of secondary teachers. His students are rude, incorrigible, and the boys Continue reading

Relationships, Social and emotional development, Speaking and listening, Teaching and Learning
April 2, 2015

The Crayon Carousel

A few years ago, one of my daughters gave me a pop-up carousel of Crayola crayons. What a dream come true! I reveled in owning a lavish amount of color. The smell of crayons has always created an atmosphere of possibility for me and brings back happy school memories. When I was a child, teachers Continue reading

Teaching and Learning
April 2, 2015

Bach’s Beauty: No Words Necessary

Sink into it at 17 seconds. Continue reading

Teaching and Learning

The Grade of F

Excellent Sauce for Pasta Primavera

Teenage Destiny

The Crayon Carousel

Bach’s Beauty: No Words Necessary