October 14, 2016
And away we go! Sara and I start another school year and we couldn’t have asked for a better kick off than McKinley Elementary in Elyria, Ohio! Not only do we get to begin our season in our home State which has become too rare an occurrence for us (hint hint Ohio schools – we […]
October 12, 2016
Sara and my school year kicks off for earnest tomorrow with a visit to McKinley Elementary School in Elyria Ohio. This is on the heels of our visit to Bellingham Washington – just North of Seattle – and our presenting at and attending of Western Washington University and Pomelo Books amazing Poetry Camp. Shout out […]
August 17, 2016
“What I love and always get out of your presentations is that poetry is not only a form of writing or art to express emotions, but it can be a vehicle for showing learning.
May 19, 2016
We are so excited to work at Eastern that one year Sara had us show up a week early – we peered into the dark hallway from outside noses pressed against the locked doors like ragamuffins in a Dickens novel until the realization that the school was on Spring break finally dawned upon us.
May 13, 2016
Poetry scares teachers – how do we teach it – and more problematic for instructors, how do we interpret and or grade it? Ought we beat it with a hose as Billy Collins laments, “…tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.” Or should we just let it exist floating in the air like a balloon attached to our heart by a strand of silk, ephemeral and too precious to critique?
April 11, 2016
“I’m too busy to have the poet visit my classroom.”
April 3, 2016
“You’ll get worms if you eat poop!”
This is the sage advice given to me from Max – a kindergarten student at the International School of Belgrade – just as I was leaving campus.
March 27, 2016
I may not be able to buy a cup of coffee with my good looks – but at the American International School of Budapest I was able to purchase a double latte with a poem.
March 18, 2016
It was an exciting three days and the students engagement was matched by the teachers who after a full day of teaching stayed after school for a PD session with us. I am always impressed with the dedication of the educators we come across in our work and their eagerness to seek out new classroom strategies.
March 15, 2016
Somewhere along the way we teach young adults to hate poetry.
