The Polliwog Journal

When I began teaching in 1990, I got no tour of the school, no handbook of helpful tips, and no mentor to guide me. I got shown my room that was barely ready for school. Undaunted, I plunged into the deep end and did not drown. To be fair, I didn’t know one should expect [...]

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This was the question (paraphrased):
What assessment will you use to help you choose materials for your class?
When I heard it, I wondered how I would answer it. I also wondered what the question implied.
I think the intention of the question was to get a new teacher candidate to think about how to assess varying reading [...]

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Just before Christmas we disconnected our land line phone (still not used to that term) in favor of a cell phone for each of us. This small act has had several effects: we’ve become part of the texting generation (which is not defined by age but perhaps by opportunity and need) and we’ve had to [...]

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AP students are often asked to analyze the diction of a passage. Diction means to some degree the author’s style, such as formal diction, but more technically diction means the author’s choice of words. I sometimes have students highlight words and phrases that have a similar tone or meaning. They may use more than one [...]

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This is fun, but wish we all had access to email accounts

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Pam sent me this question and I thought it was worthy of public discussion:
I read your blog frequently for inspiration to share with our English teachers. Today I went to it to mine for free advice. Since I didn’t see any posts alluding to this question, I thought I would ask you directly.
What qualities do [...]

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I created AP English Connections yesterday, replacing an old website that did not offer interaction. I hope it will become a place for community and growth for AP teachers.

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Thank you Ted Nellen for the link to this video, “Learning to Change-Changing to Learn,” which is further validation of everything I believe about the future of schools. I am so proud to be a CyberEnglish teacher, which I owe again to Ted and his vision.
We’re a revolutionary classroom, and yet, we are not anywhere [...]

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I am adamant about the fact that teachers who integrate technology into their classes must use the tools themselves to truly understand their uses. As a teacher of writing, it is also important for me to write. And since I expect my students to make their work public, I must expect it of myself.
Spurred by [...]

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There’s a flaw in me as a teacher. I should be skating away on thin ice into my retirement years, but I don’t. I continue to develop new units in an attempt to make school meaningful and relevant for students. I know! What am I thinking? But I just can’t help myself.
I recently created a [...]

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