I was challenged to write a "shadorma" poem, which is a syllabic poem that comes from Spain, I tried my hand at some bilingual writing in...

A haibun is a mixture of prose and haiku. Chessie was a puppy until the day he died at age 14. He was full of energy and strong-willed;...

A garden of children; a classroom of flowers. Kinder garten. A teacher is a gardener. We dig, we sweat, we get our hands dirty. We make...

I swing my legs on the high stools at Steamboat’s between Dad and Kevin, as neon-yellow liquid cheese soaks into my salty fries and hot...

I was in junior high when I heard about Columbine. A friend’s mom was driving us home from school. *Nsync was playing on the radio when...

Depending on when you met me, I might have been Jenny: the first grandchild, learning to jump on the sidewalk in front of my...

It’s familiar and strange, all at the same time: My first lunch at a restaurant since the pandemic began 15 months ago. I put on a...

Maybe we're greedy. Maybe we're selfish and ungrateful. Or maybe - is it possible? - we want to be treated like the professionals we are....

I sit down on the couch and pull my laptop into my lap. I used to sit in the middle, so a dog could lay on each side. But then the...

The hardest part of the MRI is you have to remain still and quiet. Nothing to do but wait, nothing to look at but a white tube, nothing...

strengths your see i capable listen do i the beauty the to tongue mother your of sound voice brave your in never have i sounds make to...

How do you write a travel blog during a global pandemic? Is it sacrilegious? Diminished solidarity, eroded willpower? Even though we took...

The bookshop had multiple doors. There was a huge wooden door, painted beige, so heavy it took one’s entire bodyweight to heft open, with...

“Welcome to Cabot Elementary! You’re all set and registered for Kindergarten! Here’s a packet for you to read over before school starts....

This is the year with all the First Days of School. Of course, back in September we had a virtual one, to prepare for which we had hours...

Last week I grappled with the realization that I had accidentally taught my Kindergarten students the sanitized history of George...

“George Washington was a good man.” At least, so says my curriculum. Monday was President’s Day, which prompts the annual flurry of...

You will need: good-natured husband, laptop, phone (for before/after photos), swivel chair, shears, clipper, comb, spray bottle, dustpan...

I got my COVID-19 vaccine today! A tiny amount of mRNA is now swimming around in my bloodstream, training my cells to mount an attack. My...

I have loved literacy for longer than I can remember. Even when I was very young, I always proudly owned my identity as a reader. I'm...

Our third full day in Bogotá was spent listening and learning. In the morning, we asked questions of a panel of Colombian education...

After visiting our first public school in Bogotá, we reflected that we couldn't imagine visiting another school later that same day. Our...

Our first public school visit was breathtaking. As we climbed several flights of stairs to the library, I felt literally dizzy and...

The next stop in our "Teachers in Bogotá bus tour" was the Colombian Fulbright Commission headquarters. My understanding of Fulbright was...

After touring UNITEC (post-secondary education institution - see previous post), I had one of the most amazing and educational lunches of...

Our first school visit started at the top: higher education. Our first morning in Colombia, the newly formed posse of U.S. teachers...

A feeling of welcome permeated my first night and day in Colombia. I had met up in Atlanta with 12 other U.S. teachers, all participating...

I'm writing from midair on the way to Bogota! I'm delighted to be traveling to South America for the first time ever as part of the...

Before I studied abroad in France, everyone teased me that I'd meet a French boy and fall in love. I dismissed this completely, but in...

My cousin recently moved to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands and one of the busiest cities in Europe. Taking full advantage of a...

My cousin married his sweetheart in the sunshine, on the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year), next to the Butte River in...

Monuments: I recommend renting a bicycle to see them all. The best time to do this is after dark, when heat and crowds lessen and the...

Today marks the first day of summer vacation. Last week, we said goodbye to students, boxed up our classrooms, and raised our sparkling...