Being observed for two hours straight is both exhausting and exhilarating, apparently. My students were champions today. Regardless of if this turns into a job in California or not, today was one of the most motivated and productive I have been as an educator since becoming an educator. It was incredibly validating, self-esteem boosting, and…

This has been an amazing thing: my life, at large. (Escaped.) I don’t mean to sound cryptic, I just think over Thanksgiving break I might have found something. (Stated while perpetually knocking on wood, please let this not have been a fake-discovery.) See, previously my life was these two factions: Caroline the Michiganian, the semi-artist,…

Prompt: Your teacher has asked you to write an essay about your favorite memory. (etc etc) Student Response: One day I woke up very early cus it was my birthday. My sister Brend and I were happy. Brenda and I went to McDonds on our bikes, then we came home to jump on the trampalin.…

Bieber kick has returned in full force, via the Christmas album released three weeks ago; the album perhaps obtained by an inappropriate means. I listen to it religiously (ha ha, Christmas album). Here I sit, tank-top clad upon the over-starched sheets of a full bed in the Travelodge Chicago. Teach For America, thank you. Thank…

The Oxford American has a lot of potential. When my brother first told me to subscribe he said, “It’s like The Atlantic of the south.” Well, shoot. So I bought into the quad-annual (??) magazine, looking for great southern writing. The first issue I received was all about food, and it was excellent. The latest…

Apparently, I have started blogging daily. I don’t mean to, but I need some way to spill so I can get some amount of sleep. Speaking of, I have been waking up this week to this deep, semi-awful heaviness. It feels like I’m running or having nightmares, but without any recollection at all. I have…

Geminis are known as the “twin”. Split personalities, light and dark, flighty and often misrepresented (heh) as superficial. I post this, because lately I feel I’ve come off as completely ridiculous to the people around me. Part of me aches for a blog that could be completely open-hearted, about life and not just teaching, but…

From our last Friday Freewrite: F, 11-11-11 Have you ever lost a best best friend? I did, and I’ll tell you how. It all started when both of us where on the bus. We had a really big argument. She got really really mad at me. We both went home mad. Every day she wouldn’t…

My school year ends on June 1st, but because I teach sixth grade I stop officially teaching in May. We have promotion a few days before all the younger kids get out, then have work days until the school year comes to a close. I love my job. I love working, but there is something…

In college, one of the things I had the most pride for and tried to keep quiet about was our honors college. Because I went to a “generic state school”, I was and continue to be pretty hushed when it comes to academic bragging rights. I stay verbally quiet, but I have a lot of…

I will preface by saying, I have drunk the Kool-Aid. (Drank?! I teach English!) I sing TFA praises, I write in my mostly-TFA-endorsed blog, I am an ICEgroup leader, and I am seriously considering applying to be a M,TLD. But one thing I’ve been thinking about, a lot, especially since peeking at that M,TLD application,…