Trickster Teachers

Trickster Teachers

Last week my mythology class was reading about trickster figures. Tricksters are playful, amoral, charismatic, and, well, tricky. After reviewing typical actions and attitudes of trickster figures, I asked students to form groups, choose a contemporary character (not...
Reflections from a Recovering English Teacher

Reflections from a Recovering English Teacher

Since 2004, I have had the same fall responsibilities: lesson planning, classroom prep, staff orientation, lesson planning, student open house, lesson planning, first day jitters, introductions, lesson planning, grading, and exhaustion. Then more lesson planning. At...
This is Your Last Warning!

This is Your Last Warning!

“This is your last warning.”  That is a line I heard a lot last night while watching The Walking Dead.  Of course, it never really was the last warning, because they kept repeating it for every situation.  As the semester goes into its 11th week, I was thinking about...
Do I have enough content in my course?

Do I have enough content in my course?

Now there is a question I would guess many people have either asked or been asked. For blended and online developments in particular I have this conversation time and time again. Of course there is a particular pedagogical paradigm and …

Can We Treat Our Students Like Adults?

Can We Treat Our Students Like Adults?

For many of us, our students are first-time college students which means they are first time adults. For many of these students this means this is the first time they are given the chance to choose for themselves. Their whole lives someone has been making all of the...
Resilience

Resilience

Martin Seligman, in graduate school, worked with dogs who surprised researchers and prompted the term “learned helplessness”.  These dogs, upon receiving shocks, simply stopped attempting to get away from the shocks. What stood out to Seligman, however, (as an...