Twenty Years In, Still Learning

I take the feedback I give students on their writing very seriously. In fact, I would argue that it is the most important thing I do as an English teacher. I spend hours (HOURS!) reading essays, making comments, identifying patterns, asking questions, and suggesting ways to strengthen an argument or sharpen an analysis. I want students to understand not just what isn't working, but why, and what they can do about it. I take great pride in my feedback, actually.

But yesterday, my students taught me something about feedback.

When the Squeaky Wheel Stops Squeaking

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, as they say -- assuming the noise is the problem. In schools, the squeaky wheels are easy to identify. They are the teachers who ask questions, push back on decisions, point out when something isn't working – or isn't working as intended – and ask why the school is adopting a new initiative in the first place. They suggest different ways of doing things and sometimes say what everyone else in the room is afraid to. They volunteer for committees and then get frustrated when those committees don't accomplish much. They care about decisions that don't directly affect them and worry about things that aren't technically part of their jobs.

Thus, the noise is not always a problem. Sometimes it is evidence of investment.

This Is Not a Democracy

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have confused respecting students with treating them as equals. We want students to have a voice, to feel heard, to take ownership of their learning. All good things. But in our enthusiasm to create student-centered classrooms, I wonder whether we have become uncomfortable with the idea that adults are supposed to be in charge.

Effective Teaching Is...Affective Teaching

In 1994, English professor Jeffrey Berman published Diaries to an English Professor, a study of fifteen years' worth of the ungraded, introspective journals his students had kept in his literature courses at the University at Albany. Buried in that book is a line that has inspired this post: effective teaching is... affective teaching.

It's a small play on words with a large claim. Berman wasn't arguing that content doesn't matter, or that rigor is optional. He was arguing something more specific: that the intellectual transformation we want for our students – the kind that actually sticks – depends on an emotional and relational foundation first.

They Don't Want Easy

There is a persistent, tired narrative in modern education: Kids “these days” just want things easy. We hear that today’s students – navigating a complex, post-pandemic learning landscape, to be sure – want a transactional path to success: a system where compliance, high (perhaps performative) effort, and checking off boxes guarantee an easy A without any real academic friction – or growth.

Creating a Culture of Appreciation

At the beginning of a new school year, we once again take up the conversation about teacher morale, retention, and burnout, and the challenges of recruiting and keeping good educators. We talk about compensation, workload, working conditions, and the demands being placed on teachers. And, of course, these conversations matter. But there is another conversation we should have as we begin anew, about something that costs very little -- both literally and figuratively -- and can have an enormous impact: authentic appreciation.

Homework -- My Hill to Die On

Homework is a hot-button topic in education. People often conflate “homework” with “rigor” and, as educators and parents, we rarely pause to ask the most basic questions: What is homework for? And what is THIS homework for?

Redos for Learning: An Unpopular Opinion?

If you know anything about me or my teaching style, you know that I am a big fan of allowing redos. It’s kind of an unpopular stance; many teachers refuse to allow redos because they believe students should have gotten it right the first time. “If only they had managed their time better,” “studied harder,” or “paid attention in class,” the argument goes. I have even heard, “Well this is not how real life works.” And yes, on the surface, it does feel unfair to the students who did manage their time, who studied when they were supposed to – and performed well because of it – to offer redos to those who supposedly did not, but if the purpose of my class is for students to learn the material and build skills, then I suggest “one-and-done” testing doesn’t make sense.

Agency, Accountability, and Achievement

What if the secret to deeper learning wasn’t just in what students study, but in how much say they have in the process? Experience has shown that true Achievement is the inevitable result of two fundamental principles: Agency and Accountability.

Curating a Reading List

Every two years, I have the exciting opportunity to revamp my IB English Literature reading list. The IB course covers 11th and 12th grades, and for it, teachers are tasked with finding literary works across time, place, language, and genre, and are encouraged to choose writers from diverse backgrounds.

It’s a challenge I welcome and even look forward to, and while I have a couple of “trieds and trues” (I see you, Macbeth), I always like to consider how I might shake things up a bit with every cohort. In doing so, I focus on how each work will teach my students something about themselves and their place in the world.