We all get stuck. And waiting around for inspiration to strike is…well, let’s just say it’s not a winning strategy. We know this. So what can we do about creative block? I’m a teacher, but I’m also a creative professional — a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, who’s dabbled in music, theater, cartooning, and other …
In the education profession, you’re trained to approach lesson planning a certain way. Your key question is, “What’s the objective?” You’re supposed to write lessons around learning objectives — what will the student be able to do at the end of the lesson? But I’ve found that, in practice, the exercise of writing lesson objectives …
The Pegasus and the Pantograph. Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” And if you teach English like me, you’ve seen your fair share of essays that open with Albert Einstein quotes. The guy is just so quotable. Heck, that quote was a favorite of mine in the seventh grade, and I …
The Wow Gap. Somewhere, I heard that what’s obvious to you is amazing to someone else. And the saying stuck with me. See, as a teacher, I’m in the business of explaining stuff, and it’s easy to get jaded about something you’ve explained a hundred times. We teachers should resist getting jaded though. The same …
Rubrics are Hell. Essay rubrics. Project rubrics. Oral presentation rubrics. As a social constructivist, I’ve always disliked them. But I can’t escape them. We teachers are actually wedged between rubrics on both sides. We use them on our students’ work, to try and streamline the complex and demanding cognitive process of evaluation. And our administrators …
I’ve been teaching the technique of freewriting to high school students for a dozen years. Peter Elbow invented it. Buy and read his book, Writing without Teachers. The theory in a nutshell is this: you can more efficiently clarify your thinking, invent thesis statements, or whatever, if you warm up your brain by writing some …
All-right, five-paragraph essay. You and I have struggled long and hard. In middle school, you rolled up on your Razor kick scooter and, laughing, rubbed my nose on the asphalt. In high school, I fumbled my hand up your shirt and thought I was in love. In college we fought; I’m fuzzy on the details, …
You Suck at Writing Poetry. The first draft is always a failure. If you’ve ever tried writing poetry, I bet you know this. I have a theory. Lots of people try poetry. Most would sooner admit to watching porn on their lunch break. But they do. They try it, but they get stuck. Because they …
My Quest for Useful Books on How to Write Fiction. I have a confession. I call myself a writer, but I’ve never read Stephen King’s On Writing. Yes, the classic on how to write fiction. The one everyone quotes. Haven’t read it. I know. Sacrilege. I’m assuming you’re here because you haven’t gotten around …