Monthly Archives: September 2010

Teacher Bonuses

The Politicians, Pundits, Polemicists, and even some Professors who, of all people, should know better, keep telling us that teachers, especially union members, keep up a mindless litany of “no” at any suggestion of progress. Well, there are some proposed … Continue reading

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Figurative Language

A friend recently sent me this list of examples of student writing. You have probably seen it before. It follows the comments. We English teachers (and perhaps others, if they assign writing) have always had our little chuckles over student … Continue reading

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Teachers as Writers

Once upon a time, a decade or few ago, the constituency of public schools considered it important for us English teachers to teach kids to write coherent, meaningful, and reasonably correct English prose. In those halcyon days of yore, we … Continue reading

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Grading the Teachers

Politicians, Pundits, Polemicists, and Professors Who of All People Should Know Better, love to lament that “teachers unions reflexively reject anything that smacks of accountability.” Or so said Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald, who usually hits the nail right … Continue reading

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A Reasonable Reading of a Text

As I sort through my folders of old e-mails, I occasionally come across something that I said pretty well and that  stands alone like a little essay without a lot of the context of the correspondence. Much of it is … Continue reading

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Digital School Books, Part One

When I travel, I occasionally take a break from the local-wherever-I-am newspaper and indulge in USA Today. That’s how I came across the August 10 article “Learning Curve Goes Digital.” On the USA Today website, it is titled “Can college … Continue reading

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