Sentence Appreciation: Favorite First Sentences

A missed first sentence. In college, we studied Moby Dick in one of my American Literature courses. The first question on the test over the book asked: “What was the first sentence of Moby Dick?” I got it wrong. Some English major I was. It’s only one of the most famous first lines ever: “Call me … Continue reading »

Stop leaving things outside the door.

Stop leaving things outside the door. Just recently I told a student to leave what’s happening outside the classroom at the door, so they could focus on what’s happening inside the classroom. That was dumb of me to say. It’s impossible to leave the things that eat at our hearts outside of us. It’s in … Continue reading »

See the ball hit the bat.

“You gotta keep your eye on the ball in order to hit the ball with the bat. See it all the way through. See the ball hit the bat.” -My grandpa My grandpa was my softball coach. He would say this to me at the batting cage and just before I’d go up to hit … Continue reading »

Why Projects Stall and Fail

Doing Things For The Right Reasons Questions I’ve recently asked in my head:  Am I nagging or do I have a real complaint? Am I doing a lesson that makes my life easier, or am I doing a lesson that’s best for my students? Am I quiet because I’m afraid to be criticized, or am … Continue reading »

Writing is not something you should do alone.

Writing is not something that should be done alone Publishing blog posts is one thing, but if you’re serious about being published in a magazine or publishing a book, you need to have someone else look it over. Why it’s important to share your work with others These are not the only reasons to share … Continue reading »

Being a Sign of Life

“Be a sign of life.” My journalism professor, Stephen Bloom, said this to me when I was a freshman in college. You may have heard of him. He wrote “Observations From 20 Years of Iowa Life” which was published in The Atlantic back in December. (Not everything he says is bad.) The details of our … Continue reading »

Playing Music for the Music & The Birth of a Newsletter

A Weekly Newsletter is Born I set up and wrote my first newsletter today. It took me all morning, but it’s done. My goal is to work on my projects during the week, blog here when relevant, and share what I’ve been working on during the week in my newsletter. My hope is that by … Continue reading »