English Teachers of My Youth: Mr. Campbell

That final year of high school, we all died. We were going to face that shadow guard to our IB certificate (or diploma), that infamous man, Mr. Campbell.
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English Teachers of My Youth: Mr. Bolte

11th grade: Mr. Bolte.

Junior year began the actual IB classes, incredibly rigorous examinations of difficult literature. We had to think more critically than ever before. Some of my friends were full IB, all 4 core classes plus like 2 or 3 extra being IB level. I would have died. And because I was not full IB, I felt the pressure to display my intelligence to my peers. But I also still wanted to be a goofball.

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English Teachers of My Youth: Mrs. Carter

10th grade: Mrs. Carter.

I did not like Mrs. Carter. This is important, because she was the first English teacher I decided I didn’t really care for. It wasn’t because she wasn’t good. She cared about us tremendously, employed creative means to educate us, and was always positive. But it’s important for me to know why.
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English “Thing” of the Day—A simple classroom atmosphere tool

I started at the beginning of my teaching career, based on my belief that students need exposure to the world of language outside of instruction and assessment.  I got the idea from Billy Collins, who implemented a “poem-a-day” program in various public schools that involved a reading of a poem a day, without any required instructional connection whatsoever.  Mere exposure for the sake of it being something in our language.
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The Case Against High School Sports

The Case Against High School Sports

The Case Against High School Sports
In this timely article, Amanda Ripley examines what may be one of the leading causes of American High School students simply not graduating with very much knowledge or many skills at all: the treatment of schools as sports clubs that also do classes and stuff.