Storytelling. Fact and fiction. One word at a time.
*Stories that did not make it into My List, My Rules: The Year a Checklist Changed My Life *Goal #67 may be inaccurate as far as numbers of my list go. If so I'll fix that later. Goal #67Make a Drawing While Blindfolded In all my years of teaching, I’ve had a lot of unique... Continue Reading →
I was leaving school. It had been a long day. There was a lot of cleanup and correcting to do in the art studio at this old school. The burden of my backpack reminded me I still had work to finish. I pushed open the door, having spent the entire day inside. A warm breeze... Continue Reading →
Near semester end a student told me she had an appointment and had to leave early. That was no problem. Later that afternoon she sent an email apologizing for mixing up the days. The next day in class she apologized again but was quite vague about where she had gone. Her lack of information made... Continue Reading →
I've been feeling restless. So, you know, that was my sign to make a list. Yeah---I'm the queen of lists. I love lists so much that I wrote a book about it. This is a shameless plug for my book (in case you didn't notice). Check it out here if you want. I'm not posting... Continue Reading →
The valedictorian I've seen over 30 graduations in my career---30 valedictorian speeches. Only a couple stuck. This is one of them. The usual It was time for the valedictorian speech. Ryder Wesson was introduced as a graduate, as a student with a 98.11 GPA, and as a member of the championship football team he played... Continue Reading →
Although this post is titled The Collegial Discussion, it was mostly about me listening and not discussing at all. The visitor I recently had an educational assistant in one of the most diverse classes of my day. It's full of neurodivergent children, children with cognitive complexities, and some English as an additional language students---some of... Continue Reading →
The first part of this post was written at school. I finished all my duties: room cleaned, marks entered, boxes packed and ready for transport. I am being moved to a new school. Last-minute administrative duties are done. With this bit of free time, I thought why not work on the writing side of my... Continue Reading →
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. I spent the last few days of the school year packing and moving and hauling and cleaning because I am being moved to a new school. I was spent. June is typically met with exhaustion, but let's add to that packing up a decade's worth of teaching tools and supplies and stuffing... Continue Reading →
People don't listen, they just wait for their turn to talk. Chuck Palahniuk That time it became obvious that people don't At the dentist, I had settled in for my bi-annual cleaning, right after summer holidays. The hygenist was clicking away at the keyboard. I could hear her but I couldn't see her because she... Continue Reading →
What kind of story would Munish tell? After the production of #34, at Regina's Globe Theatre, I stayed for the opening night party. I chatted with Munish, congratulating him on his success as the playwright and performer. He told me that when he started developing the idea for this story he was prompted by the... Continue Reading →
Angie Counios 