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Why We Gotta? Here’s Why:

I’m reposting here from my school blog in case anyone else ever wonders “What is the point of sticking with _(insert difficult thing)_?” Every year it comes up. I’m waiting for it. Excited to hear it asked. Mrs. Weems, why we gotta learn words we’ll...

Contributing a Verse

While we had a great summer break, I am ready for this summer to fade. It has been loud and hard and overwhelming– the world seems bent on turning itself inside out. A friend recently wrote a piece about returning to nature to find solace when the world seems to...

In Defense of Play

As most of you know, I teach English and creative writing at a local high school. My creative writing classes are working on creative nonfiction, and I typically spend a week or two helping them collect dozens of ideas. Creative nonfiction lends itself well to...

Feedback

I’ve realized that I am often seeking feedback whether I admit it or not. From the pictures I post online to the conversations I have with friends, I am often looking for approval, agreement, commiseration. I am slowly learning to accept that I am doing the best I can...

One for the Teachers

Another school year is upon us, and the orientation/introduction/inservice meetings are in full swing. In the last week, I’ve met several teachers fresh out of preparation programs, hoping their student teaching and internship experience will guide them into the...
Where Prejudice Lives

Where Prejudice Lives

My students read A Raisin in the Sun at the end of last semester, in the midst of the upheaval in Ferguson, MO. I nearly changed the reading selection, knowing my class of outspoken and clashing world views would have strong opinions about the play and its themes of...