Here's a little something I found in my inbox this morning.

What makes for a meaningful life? I consider each day, not just the life as a whole. I look at four ingredients. First, was it a day of virtue? I’m talking about ...avoiding harmful behavior of body, speech, and

… Read full post »

Why should young people study literature?  Why, in particular, should seventeen-to-twenty-year-olds who don't read for pleasure and have weak literacy skills be forced to spend their time reading poetry, novels, plays etc. instead of working on simple reading comprehension and writing ski… Read full post »

Have you gotten behind on your blog reading?  Do you wish you'd had time to read EVERY SINGLE POST here at Classroom as Microcosm this past year?  Or are you a new reader who doesn't know how to get caught up on all this teacherly goodness?

Never fear – I've put… Read full post »

Classes start again in less than two weeks.  (Primary, secondary and university teachers who are already back at work, I know what you're thinking: "Shut up."  Believe me, I know how good I've got it.)

I don't make New Year's resolutions.  However, one theme that presents itself… Read full post »

If a class is loud, irritating and occasionally rude, does that mean it's a bad class?  If I come away from every meeting with them wishing it was the last, does that mean things aren't going well?  Or are my feelings irrelevant, if the students are actually learning something?

This… Read full post »

It's been a rough week.

I got a couple of shrieking emails from Lia on Tuesday.  I wrote to another student, Janet, on Saturday, to let her know that I wouldn't be grading her essay rewrite, because I'd found it on my office floor days after the deadline, with no indication… Read full post »

Despite the relief that classes are now over, I don't really like this time of the semester.  As I plow through the stacks of final assignments in a kind of death march, slowly posting the grades up online, students begin to panic and sides of their personalities emerge that I haven't… Read full post »

Hi Siobhan,
First, let me say that your blog is a great resource. I stumbled on it a few weeks ago and have read almost all of the entries. Your writing is refreshingly articulate, and I have enjoyed reading it.

I'm considering a career in CEGEP teaching down the line. At… Read full post »

Is education primarily about growth?  What exactly is “growth,” and does it always equal “education”?

The philosopher John Dewey defined education as an accumulation of experiences that stimulate both growth and the capacity for further growth. In Experience and Ed… Read full post »

What do you mean, "Why am I failing English?"

You've failed EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT since the beginning of the course.  You handed in your first essay 2 weeks late, and you wouldn't have handed it in at all if I hadn't asked you where the hell it was.  You got 37%… Read full post »

When Yannick walked into my office on Thursday, his first words were, "Miss, do you remember me?"

I did.  He's in my Travel Literature class, but I hadn't seen him in almost 2 months.  He hadn't written any of his required blog posts.  He'd showed up to do his (half-assed) oral… Read full post »

Today might seem like a bad day.  But it isn't.

1.  I'm getting a cold.  However, it shows no signs of being the swine flu.  What's more, I have a warm bed to curl up in later tonight.  I'll be going to work today, but if I feel really sick tomorrow,… Read full post »

I've just finished reading Pema Chodron's Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears. If you're not familiar with Chodron, she is perhaps the world's most famous Tibetan Buddhist American nun, and her works are meant to help Westerners understand the basic precepts of Tibetan Buddhi… Read full post »

I haven't had much time recently for blogging, or thinking about blogging, but I came across a quote this evening that sums up where my head is at these days, in the classroom and in the world.

Remember that you don't have to like or admire someone to feel compassion

… Read full post »

Benoit's in my remedial class - and how.  Every so often I read a student essay that makes me ask, silently or out loud, "How is it that this student was admitted to an English college?  What can possibly be done for him here?  How in the name of God is… Read full post »

What do you do with a problem like grammar?

I'm teaching two sections of a Preparation for College English course.  These courses are designed for students whose first language is not English, and whose level of written English is too poor for them to manage in a 101 course.

At… Read full post »

Two of my three classes this term have been, so far, focused yet energetic, respectful yet lively. The third has been a bit of a pain in the ass.

This class meets from 4-6 in the afternoon - the worst possible time. They're tired. I'm tired. Their… Read full post »

The final post in my summer-long guest series on School Gate, the TimesOnline education blog, appeared this morning.

In this post, I explain how keeping a blog made me a better, and more sane, teacher.

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting on these posts, and emailing me your thoughts! … Read full post »

Lately, I've had blogger's block.

I could say that I've been busy.  (It's true.  The school year just started.  There's stuff to do.)  But that's not really what it's about.  

I've been blocked.  I recognize it, because I've experienced it so very often in the more classic… Read full post »

The penultimate post in my series "How I Saved My Teaching Career" appeared on School Gate this morning.  In this post, I describe how learning to meditate made me a better teacher. Read full post »

Some of my Twitter contacts (particularly Shelley S. Terrell, or @ShellTerrell, who keeps the great blog Teacher Reboot Camp) have been encouraging me to sign up for the "One Comment a Day" project.

This project was developed by Andrew Marcinek, who posts about it here.  The premise: on/… Read full post »

My final guest post at Change.org's education blog went up this morning.  Today: what do I do when my (college) student's parent won't leave me alone?

Big thanks to Clay Burell for inviting me to guest blog this week while he's moving to Singapore and writing a (no doubt fabulous) book.

"Dear Aunt… Read full post »

This morning at Change.org, Auntie Siobhan gives her thoughts on the question, "How can I encourage passionate engagement in my classroom without encouraging aggression?"

It's been quite a ride!  My stint at Change.org ends tomorrow, but if you have questions for Auntie Siobhan, feel free to send… Read full post »

The latest installment in my "Ask Auntie Siobhan" series is up at Change.org.  Today: what do I do with my students' absolute lack of motivation?

While you're there, you might want to check out the extremely passionate discussion about cell phones in the classroom that arose in response to yester… Read full post »