I had decided that last year was going to be my final one in education. After two significant changes that I hoped would make a difference, I committed to giving it one more try. Here I am less than a month in and it’s already clear that the changes I hoped for, the changes so … More Another Departing Teacher Post

There’s no shortage of voices discussing our recent election and its fallout. So many that I wondered whether there was any point in adding to the din. But we’re all trying to process something huge here and also, quite frankly, I’m tired of being quiet. It’s a conclusion I reached well before casting my vote but it’s … More Dismissing Each Other

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about what my students are hoping for each day when they come to school. We’re in the midst of one of the busiest times of year and it’s easy to let yourself get pulled away from the big stuff when there’s a daily, unrelenting push of smaller stuff. … More What’s Important to Children

The internet is filled with emotional posts over the fatal shooting of a critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla named Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday after a four year old child climbed into his enclosure. The previous day had been Harambe’s 17th birthday. There are heartbreaking stories about the things we humans do to our fellow … More The Ethics of an Other

-Chapter One- Sydney woke up to the rain soaking through the sleeve of her robe. She’d fallen asleep with the window open and the wetness had pulled her from a dream where she’d been running. She couldn’t remember why. For a moment, she lay still, letting the rain continue to drift inside. Waking up had … More Where We Live

The Council of Villains had missed their meeting last week. It was the first time in three years. Three years since they’d come together and made the group official. Three years since they’d written their mission statement. “We, the reviled, the misunderstood, and the hated, we the villains of countless stories, both true and untrue, … More The Council of Villains

Each year, we’re given free circus passes to handout to students at the school where I teach. Most years I throw them in the trash. Others, I staple them to a list of things families can do instead of going to the circus. Always, I’m a little afraid I’m going to get in trouble for … More Instead of Going to the Circus…

Tilly had heard that you were what you ate. She thought maybe she wanted to be a spicy cheese puff. Or a bologna sandwich. On white bread with plenty of mayo, of course. Maybe on Saturdays she’d be one of those ice cream sundaes you could get from her favorite drive through. On Monday at … More I Want to Be a Rainbow

Sebastian was a Snail Farmer. His backyard was full of snails. Families and friends of all kinds. He loved to watch the shiny trails they made along the ground and up the trees and across the fence posts. He liked to watch their groups and see how fast they went and learn about what snails ate and … More The Snail Farmer

It was a Tuesday. Isabel woke up and something felt wrong. She didn’t know what it was but inside her heart she felt a soreness. It was a little empty and a little full at the same time and it felt very tender like if someone bumped it, it would hurt very much. She asked … More The Sad