Three Strange Conversations in One Day

I had two strange conversations with students today at school that are blog-worthy. 1.) The first was about Adam and Eve, as we were discussing the story as it was alluded to in our class story, “Flowers for Algernon.” Some kids never heard of the story, so a boy decided to explain it to the [...]

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Salinger Dies

I’m sad to here this, even though the guy lived a long (albeit bizarre) life. Catcher in the Rye is still my favorite book to teach. It’s one of only a handful that all the students read. There’s something about Holden that connected to students today just as he did in the 1950s. There’s been [...]

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An Aggressively Inarticulate Generation

Here’s a short video that captures my frustration at listening to the nothingness from the teenage (and twenty-something) vernacular. Like, enjoy this?

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A View from My Hotel

Here's a shot from the lobby of our hotel in Utah. It's a great place.

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My Rejection Letter

From: Steinbeck Institute <steinbeckinstitute@gmail.com> Date: April 2, 2009 10:10:26 AM JST To: ron.coia@mac.com Subject: Steinbeck Decision Dear Ron, The review of applications to our summer institute, John Steinbeck: Voice of a Region, Voice for America, has been completed, and we regret to inform you that we will be unable to offer you a place in [...]

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My Rejection Letter

From: Steinbeck Institute <steinbeckinstitute@gmail.com> Date: April 2, 2009 10:10:26 AM JST To: ron.coia@mac.com Subject: Steinbeck Decision Dear Ron, The review of applications to our summer institute, John Steinbeck: Voice of a Region, Voice for America, has been completed, and we regret to inform you that we will be unable to offer you a place in [...]

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Working in Italy

I had a work trip to Naples, Italy, and we stayed over the weekend. It was one of the best trips we had. Bruce and Annie, our friends from Korea, were excellent hosts, and they showed us Pompeii and Herculaneum. Ash people from Pompeii:

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Heading Back to Asia

We found out today that my request for a transfer to Okinawa was approved. Kristie and I are excited to go be beach bums for a couple of years. We wrestled with returning to Portland or going for another tour with DoDDS. We both felt lured to Okinawa, so I put that down on the [...]

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Questioning a Woman’s Place

Here’s a lesson plan I created for a technology conference in December. It is one of my better efforts, I think. This Power Point will take students through examining roles of women in the media and around the world. The “Onslaught” commercial alone is worth a viewing.

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Six-Word Memoirs

I across across this clever writing exercise when I was in Portland last month during a Powell’s book reading. It’s called a Six-Word Memoir, writing your life story in six words. A collection of the online submissions was published called Not Quite What I Was Planning. Go to the Smith Magazine site to see the [...]

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