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. 

A Good Lesson…A Bad Poem

I am in the middle of class. A good class. They listen. A hand goes up. I say, "Yes." I am waiting for the genius, the home run, the reply--the question of the year. "I have to go to the lav." Deflated. I try again. The class smiles. I reengage. The class leans...

I Can Do Anything I Want

"Mom, you can't do that!" Um, yes, I can. It seems like I, once again, made an executive parenting decision that was unpopular to the crowd. Too bad. I started to think. I just turned 42. There is a whole host of things I can do now. In fact, I can do anything I want....

“College Girl–Get Me Some Coffee!”

“College Girl–Get Me Some Coffee!”

I needed a job badly. School was expensive. After the financial aid was subtracted, I still had a ton of cash due each month. I moved off campus--our campus housing was like a country club. The food was great, the housing decent, and both were priced accordingly....

Write Less. Be Right More. A Top 10 List.

Everywhere I go, there's a top ten list. "Top 10 Ways to Make Your Sneakers Smell Fresh," "Top 10 Ways to Declutter." As an stodgy history writer, I decried the top ten list for the longest time.  Now I write them. "What? People have such short attention spans they...

Happy Tax Day America–Enjoy Your Ramen

God Bless America on Tax Day Happy Tax Day! Because it follows my birthday by five days and I always get money back, I feel like the government's sending me a gift. "Casey, you're a great citizen. Happy birthday! Don't spend it all in one place." This year, I had...

Teach Like a Soviet

Everyone in the world wants to "Teach Like a Pirate." Not me. It's a great book. Dave Burgess is inspiring (read it!!).  I don't want to teach like a pirate, though. I want to "Teach Like a Soviet." Soviets were the most resourceful people on the planet. They had to...

How Much Manure is in Your Job?

The snow has melted. There is a really loud bird singing outside the window. Crocuses poke through the dirt, and the Yankees just got clobbered by the Red Sox--it's spring. Time for growing stuff.  This weekend, we constructed the garden. At the old house, I built a...

Separating Out the Geniuses

I was having a conversation with someone I respect. He's a member of MENSA. MENSA is a society for geniuses. This made my conversation important--I can say, "I was talking to a genius." Wait! I am a genius. There is a test score in a box somewhere from when I was...

Don’t Piss Off The Voices in Your Head

My students often ask me why I left a corporate job with a decent salary and the potential for more--things like bonuses, promotions--for teaching. I tell them, "It was The Voice." No one ever believes me, but this is a true story--I was sitting in my cube. A ray of...