'Grand Avenue' by Ron Koertge, and the literary and historical notes for Sunday, October 19, 2014.

'For Jessica, My Daughter' by Mark Strand, and the literary and historical notes for Wednesday, October 1, 2014.

Included in the APPR rating system for teachers in New York is the requirement that we upload artifacts demonstrating the teaching standards

On the first day of school, my wife's superintendent got choked up. He was delivering the usual kick-off speech, and she said he started to

If you live in New England, or were paying attention to supermarket labor news this summer, you already know this story. Almost a hundred ye

The goal of my teaching year is to be open and curious. I have not been in love with my public school teaching job for some time. The last t

Mickey Mouse is not a mouse. If you look very closely at him, you can see that he wears gloves.

'First Song' by Joseph Stroud, and the literary and historical notes for Wednesday, August 20, 2014.

When AOL executive and Comcast customer Ryan Block recently tried to cancel his internet service, he ended up in a near-yelling match with a

'Some People Think' by James Laughlin, and the literary and historical notes for Monday, July 21, 2014.

Thinking again about ways to be healthy. I've just finished week one of the Seven Valleys Writing Project Summer Institute. We meet 8:30 to

Just picked up a book from the library, Mark Sundeen's The Man Who Quit Money. The cover says, "In 2000, Daniel Suelo gave away his life sav

I spent the afternoon telling people to relax about an assignment. Just do it, I said. I've done this particular assignment twenty times. La

The prose poem is a bastard child that appeals to me. Billy Collins says, "poetry is bird, prose is a potato." The prose poem is a potato po

I haven't been good with suggestions. I've let them box me in. Yesterday I wrote about struggling with food. Several friends offered advice,

This morning I am feeling huge. Last night, after dinner, I ate at least another meal's worth of snacks. I wasn't hungry but the snacks were

'How the Trees on Summer Nights Turn into a Dark River' by Barbara Crooker, and the literary and historical notes for Thursday, July 3, 2014

There's a good post on Leo Babauta's zenhabits about clutter. I like that sort of thing, though you wouldn't know from looking at our house

Everything I'm reading stresses important the importance of focus. Self-help blogs and memoirs of incredible people talk of shutting out the

I have gotten into Cal Newport's blog about study hacks. There's no gimmick. He works at efficiency and intensity, challenging himself to do