Category: Letters to My Students

  • A book for everyone

    I’ve been rereading Uncommon Core in preparation for planning out my next book, and I have to tell you, it’s giving me the feels. I’ve cried through every chapter, remembering the connection I had with my students and the lessons we learned from each other. In some ways, it’s a hard book to market because…

  • Guest Blogger: Letter to Millennials

    As a college writing teacher, I have the pleasure of helping my students discover their writing voice and their passions in life. Every once and a while I will read an essay that I need to post on my blog because it lines up with my goals, which is to help people find their own healthy…

  • Friday Writing Challenge: A Favorite Movie

    Inside Out I know. This is a Wednesday, but when I started writing about Inside Out last Friday, I realized this movie was a post I needed to write about, not for writing practice, but to explore why it impacted me so profoundly. When I taught American Literature, I told my students that we study…

  • Uncommon Core Book Reading: Chapter 19

    On August 24, 2015, I read Chapter 19: Teach Them How to Be Happy from Uncommon Core: 25 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in a Cookie Cutter Educational System at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, NH. To purchase Uncommon Core, go to WordCrafts Press or Amazon. To schedule a book reading, speaking engagement, or interview contact…

  • Picking Favorites

    I have had students in high school accuse me of picking favorites. At that age, it’s understandable that they would have difficulties with the way the world works. They are still young and look at how unfair everything is–a fact they can’t seem to accept. Therefore, when they see a teacher showing perceived favoritism to someone, they…

  • Do you know who you were created to be?

    With the dramatic changes being made to education, I may not be allowed to have these random lessons or life talks with my students anymore; they don’t fit in with any core curriculum standards. They are important nonetheless. If I can’t speak to their hearts while educating their minds, I feel like I will only…