Let me preface this by stating, unequivocally, that I am not a curmudgeon, uptight, rigid, or unreasonable.  I am not crotchety or cranky.  

There.  Now I can go on and tell my story.

Have you looked over the Common Core State Standards to see how they will affect the way you teach writing?   

    Hard to believe fall is almost here.  My thoughts wander to the summer past.  I think, with a growing sense of wistfulness, about a few golden days at the beach, shared with friends.  And about one peculiar evening at the seawall in Narragansett, R.I.  Amazing how an entire season becomes encapsulated in a single significant memory...a main event…   

When I was in the classroom one of the joys of summer vacation was having some unhurried time to read.  Not lesson plans, emails, state standards, or the rest of the minutia of school.  The feeling of setting my chair near the shore and settling in, the lazy luxury of soft sand sifting between my toes, the smell of coconut lotion, and the feeling of warm air buffeting my skin – this was always the backdrop to a book.  Anita Shreve, Sue Monk Kidd, Pat Conr

Doesn’t everyone dream of being on the Oprah show?              

“Rubrics are performance-based assessments that evaluate student performance on any given task or set of tasks that ultimately leads to a final product, or learning outcome.”

What could be wrong with that, right? 

Recently I took a trip to China. Packing was, as usual, a chore. Beforehand I’d done a little shopping and picked up some lightweight pieces that would pack easily. But, there was no place to hang them in my closet. This realization prompted my latest wardrobe downsizing event.

About twice a year I walk into my closet (or, to be honest, plow my way in) and go on a ruthless mission of purging it of any and all pieces of clothing that either:

a.) I can’t remember the last time I wore

b.) don’t match anything else, or

c.) (UGH!) no longer fits.

At the Connecticut Reading Conference I’m talking to long-time colleague Jim Johnston. I tell him I’m blogging – “about what?” he asks. “About Passion,” I say. Jim chuckles. “Wow.” “About teaching!” I reply – “Passion about teaching!” That’s when I add the subtitle – the art and science of teaching.

  It’s a question all authors ask, whether they’re in first grade or fifth, whether they’re still wet behind the ears or an award-winning, well-published professional.

This is the first Empowering Writers' blog, and wow!  I have to say, as a relative techno-phobe I was dragged here and turned into a blogger kicking and screaming! 

(That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not that much!)