This is my original blog. I haven’t updated for years. I keep it as a reminder of the journey.
Please see Broke Teacher for education and Poser Homestead for chickens, recipes, and dead zucchini.
Why The Self-Driving Car Can’t Work in Rhode Island
I do not want a self-driving car. The dealership gave me a loaner car. I already miss my zippy car. “My mom would like this car,” I think. It's a beast-- cruise ship. I don’t want to sail. I want to zip. Someone pulls out in front of me. This is Rhode Island--the...
The Curse of the Peanut Butter Sandwich
"What IS this, Mom?" "It's a peanut butter sandwich," I say. It shouldn't be a surprise. He eats a peanut butter sandwich on store-bought white bread every...single...day. I used to make the bread at night--it's easy--and the sandwiches in the morning, but then he...
Halfway Up the Tree
"Who's up there?" The kid was halfway up the tree. It wasn't a regular tree--it was a mammoth tree. An "if you fall you'll be dead," tree. A tree that went to God. "Get down!" That's what they say to kids in the schoolyard tree. Too risky. Not allowed. And every...
A Thousand Wishes
I was taking pictures of dandelions gone to seed when the boy cried, "Hey, Mom!" "Over here!" I said. My moment of artistic inspiration...gone. The boy pushed by me and started to rip up my puffy little subjects, oblivious to the fact I was kneeling on the ground...
Sunrise
Sunrise... Tried to sleep in yesterday. I can't, so I got up to write, as usual. This view... I could stand at that window forever, for the rest of my life, and not a single detail would get old. The magic of NYC to me is this: in a city of 9M people, I at once feel...
Daylight Savings Time: Start Making Hay Today!
In case you are wondering, yes, Daylight Savings Time is earlier than you remember. We used to spring ahead in April and fall back in October, but now Daylight Savings Time is the second weekend of March and the first weekend in November. Why? Congress. In 2005,...
The Star is You
This flag has no star. That's because the star is you. You are the person who's hard work, toil, and love for this nation completes our flag. That's what I'd like to say. The truth is this flag remains unfinished because I was arguing. "Make a flag with 13 stars,"...
Fashion Emergency: What I Do When I Get Fat
A sad, sad story from my pathetic fashion life... "May I help you?" asked the saleswoman. "Yes. Yes, you can." I said. "I ate too much recently and gained a pants size, maybe more, and none of my clothes fit. I got new jeans but I forgot about school clothes..." I had...
The Ultimate Guide for Squeezing the Most Out of First-Year Teachers
This post was first published in The Mission on Medium. (Update: this was originally written half a decade before Covid). First-year teachers are cheap, but they don’t stay cheap for long. Hiring a new teacher is the opposite of buying a car. Cars depreciate right...
Ten Back-to-School Promises to This Year’s Students
Are you ready for back-to-school season? All summer I’ve been anxious to know what I'll be teaching this year, but that curiosity has finally gone away. What I teach doesn't matter--it's what students do with it that does. Here's what I love: converting a class nobody...
The Seven Plagues of Summer
Butterflies I run through a field of butterflies. Sun-kissed wings brush my arms. Delicate. Glowing. White. I must be in heaven. "They're not butterflies. They're moths," she said. Pests to society. Destroying the world. Life is what you see. I see butterflies....
6 Killer Careers You Can Have, Even if You’re Incompetent
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO GRADUATES ABOUT CAREERS: Worried about graduation, student loans, and hunting down careers in this bad economy? Don't be! There are tons of amazing careers out there--even if you're terrible at your job. Not everyone has to get things right to...