Tag Archives: teaching

Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins

Posted on August 15, 2019 by

The world of children’s literature lost a champion this week with the death of Lee Bennett Hopkins, poet and anthologist. I had the good fortune to meet and interview Hopkins when I was working as a graduate assistant to Dr. … Continue reading →

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Fire at CT’s Shakespeare Theater

Posted on January 17, 2019 by

My heart weeps for a Connecticut theater destroyed by fire recently. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/13/arts/stratford-shakespeare-theater-fire.html I grew up attending performances at the American Shakespeare Festival Theater in Stratford, CT. My mother took my sister and me to its shows, mostly Shakespeare plays; it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, Education, Family, Shakespeare, teaching, Theater | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sharing Amanda at Bat

Posted on June 26, 2018 by

It’s summer! Little League baseball and t-ball games are in full swing. Before school let out, I shared Amanda at Bat with fourth graders at a public school in Teaneck, NJ. My friend Caleb, one of the teachers, invited me to … Continue reading →

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Do Something

Posted on February 22, 2018 by

Do Something. It’s a mantra that’s been playing inside my head since the 2016 election. Last July, I joined the League of Women Voters, a nearly 100-year-old organization dedicated to preserving our democracy. Inspired by a friend in Connecticut whose chapter teaches … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Education, teaching, women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Back to School: Teachable Moments

Posted on August 29, 2017 by

Visiting my sister Madeline last week, we took in the eclipse and did some errands before she returned to work as a teacher on Wednesday. She’d been into her classroom several times over the summer, labeling bookshelves, covering bulletin boards, … Continue reading →

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Trump’s Vocabulary

Posted on February 12, 2017 by

As a child, I discovered the thesaurus and loved finding synonyms for words. My parents had the old-fashioned kind, organized conceptually instead of alphabetically, and I spent hours making word lists. As a writer, I love the thesaurus. As a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, commentary, Education, Grandchildren, parenting, Reading, teaching, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

9/11 & Grandparents Day: Choices to Make

Posted on September 11, 2016 by

It’s National Grandparents Day. It’s also the 15th anniversary of 9/11. And both these days resonate for me. On Sept. 11, 2001, I was teaching 8th grade Language Arts  in South Orange, NJ when the principal made a vague announcement over … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, Education, Family, History, New York City, parenting, teaching, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments