Editor’s note: This article is the first in a delightful series. For the others, click the any of the following: Rest Your Best, Fill a Box with Stuff, Acknowledge a Colleague, Reframing the End-of-Year Countdown, and Dedicate the Year Behind. Dear colleague, Yesterday I took the chance to walk to work. I live close to […]
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New Book! 📖 Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High School ELA
Hey there, colleague — happy Tuesday to you. I hope I find you well. Got a minute for a story? A year or so ago, my editor at Corwin said, “Hey Dave! Want to write a book with Matthew Johnson and Matthew Kay?” The first few words — “Want to write a book with?” — […]
Caren Saunders’ Simple Template for Replying to Students Who Email Her about Improving Their Grade
A month or so ago, I wrote a post on “What I Do When a Parent, Guardian, or Student Emails Me Re: Make-Up Work or ‘How to Get My Grade Up.’” (Nuanced title, right?) One of our colleagues responded to this article with a simple template for replying to students who email her about their […]
Self-Assessment: Paul Graham on Three Traits of Great Teachers
Apparently this is Paul Graham week, colleague. Last time, we looked at a pop-up debate about the value of writing, using a Graham essay as catalyst for the arguments. Today, I want to give you a chance to reflect on what Graham argues makes a good teacher. This isn’t a question he gets asked often […]
A Pop-Up Debate for Helping Students Value Writing
Just the other evening, I was enjoying some (rare) quiet time in my house of four children under twelve by reading from the essays of Paul Graham. I’ve written about Graham’s ideas before (here on procrastination), but as I’ve not brought him up in a couple years, let me say for anyone who’s missed it: […]