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.
Bad Mom Series: School Lunch Wars
The school nurse called. I didn't pack Declan the right lunch. Declan doesn't eat, but worse than that there seems to be some suspicion as to whether I feed him. It appears the boy "outgrew sandwiches." We've been making jelly sandwiches since he could walk. We...
The Sounds of Silence
The sound of the fishtank makes me have to go to the bathroom. Other than that, the classroom is silent. I shift in my seat because I feel like something's wrong. No. It really is quiet. Classrooms are never quiet. I pause. I look around. I take a sip of my coffee. My...
Stop Growing. I Don’t Want to Plan a Birthday Party
"For my birthday I want..." He's been planning it since the last Christmas present's been unwrapped. I don't want to plan a birthday party. I'm already the worst mom in the world. We have a wedding to go to on D-Day, his actual birthday. Who has kid on the day of the...
Your Farmer Is Not Stupid
I'm growing my own food again this year. Last year, I didn't get it quite right. The bugs had dinner before I could. I read every book on organic farming, yet still, they ate my veggies, impervious to my reading. There were grubs, slugs, and beetles, and other things...
Wonder Woman is a Glorified Cowgirl
I give the assignment. It's about superheroes. There's a lot to be said about superheroes--both Marvel and DC comic superheroes, and regular people who transcend everyday situations in ways that astonish me. "Batman is not a superhero!" says one student. "He is!"...
I Hate You. I Wish You Weren’t My Mom!
I hear this once a day. The first time Declan said the "h" word, he didn't like dinner. I'm not phased. If I were a regular mother, I'd have been crushed. Devastated, even. But I'm a teacher. Kids hate me all the time. I gave too much homework. Their grade sucks....
Why All Teachers Should Go to the Bathroom and What You Can Do about It
I had to go to the bathroom. I also had to finish doing something for a student, reading assignments, and planning. It didn't help I was on my one millionth cup of coffee. The situation was getting dire. I got out of my seat, grabbed my keys, and headed for the--...
Drawing Boy Things
"I like your drawing." You can't say "What is it?" Kids get insulted. "You should know what that is, Mommy!" they'll say. This art's pretty good. By "good," I mean easily identifiable by a non-parent. I've been surprised with the quality lately. He's been doing a lot...
Bad Mom Series: I Forgot to Do His Homework
Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, "we" get homework. Homework was the norm when I was a student but the left and right wingers battle out on the ed reform stage today. Imagine this debate on Fox News: "Homework is terrible for kids and families. It sucks away...
American Education Isn’t As Bad As You Think: The Musashi Standard
I wrote the following piece for ConversationEd. You can see it posted there today. If you're in the ed crowd, please take a minute to pop over there. Editor and creator Kathleen Jasper is starting the tough conversations. "Education is broken. We're going to fix it."...
Bad Mom Series: “Mommy Can You Sign Me Up for Baseball?”
I'm not a good mom. I don't know that sign ups for stuff are seven calendar years before the stuff actually happens. I operate like this: I smell mud on the ground--I think about baseball season. The chill is still slightly in the air, but my shoe makes tread marks...
“Shakespeare’s Not for Me”
It's Shakespeare's 450th birthday. This morning, I received a challenge in my inbox. Write something for him. "But he's dead," I protested. "He doesn't need a card or cake." I can't resurrect him by writing a blog post. Never one to pass up a direct challenge,...