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.
February 16, 2016
Sometimes we get extra lucky when we visit a school. Our second trip to the American International School of Lusaka in Zambia is one of those occasions. Instead of just finding another great international school (which we did) we were adopted.
January 7, 2016
“The more specific your story, the more universal the message.” I’m not sure who said that first, but it is one of those truisms that keeps me revising and revising – always for more detail.
January 7, 2016
As much as I enjoy going places and meeting up with new and old friends – just waking up in my own bed for an extended period of time sure has its upside.
