What to Wear to Work

Hey all! Check out my guest post for Whitney over at her teacher-fashion blog Between the Lines. She has a really refreshing, honest voice and posts lots of creative "real-life" outfits that she puts together. I was excited and really flattered that she asked me to participate in her weekly feature, "Women who Work." I got to share some pics of outfits I've put together for teaching, as well as answer some interesting questions about fashion and my job. So check out my answers and outfits, and give Whitney some love!

DIA Day!

Friends, I'm having a great day. Today was DIA day for my writing classes!

My students are working on collecting readings in various genres that can inform their research proposals. We learned about how to evaluate websites, then we surfed the web. We learned about searching databases with keywords, broadening and narrowing our searches, and then we practiced in the library. Then, we learned about analyzing and evaluating visual texts, and our practice took place in the "library of visual art", the DIA.

 

A couple of my students were really interested in the Diego Rivera murals in Rivera Court. I was so geeked to talk to them about this massive, strange and beautiful work. Even cooler was when a museum staff member came up to us and offered us an ipad with all sorts of info in the pre-loaded apps about the painting process, the symbols...tons of stuff!

 

An any time I'm at the DIA, I make sure to visit the Rothko--Orange and Brown.  I try to stare at it from different angles and let my mind drain. I try to just pause and feel, as I imagine Rothko intended me to do. Today I thought to myself: wow, these colors are so warm (it is frigid and windy in the D today!), it's probably the perfect one of his paintings for Michigan...The coolest thing was that I got to introduce this piece to a student who'd never seen it, who wasn't even familiar with Rothko. We talked about the painting and you know what she said? "It's great that it's warm colors. It warms me up on a cold day."

No kidding. 

I could probably go on and on. The day was just packed with moments that made my teacher-heart sing--students asking docents for advice, asking me questions about pieces, taking notes, telling me they're planning to stay all day, exploring, smiling, absorbed in art! Man, what a great day.

How is your day going?

book talk: educated by jane austen

image source

My friend, Jenni, is going on vacation next weekend. We were discussing what books she'd take to read on the trains she'll be riding around Spain. She said, "I will definitely bring my pocket Pride and Prejudice, because it's always good to read." I emphatically nodded my approval. 

So, as a Jane Austen fan, and as a teacher, I was doubly excited to read this book review in the New York Times. It led me to this book: 

Apparently, William Deresiewicz has taken the novels of Ms. Austen and learned all sorts of cool life lessons from them, and written it all down in A Jane Austen Education. I love it. 

Even more intriguing is his connection between Austen's literary style and teaching practice. In his article for The Chronicle, Deresiewicz describes how reading Northanger Abbey, and specifically interactions between Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney, revealed "lessons to explore for a lifetime, but the first place I applied them was the classroom.":

"Instead of training Catherine to follow the conventions of life in her society, Henry was trying to wake her up to them by showing her how absurd they were. But he didn't do it by being didactic; he did it by provoking her, taking her by surprise, making her laugh, throwing her off balance, forcing her to figure out what was going on and what it meant—getting her to think, not telling her how."

I see in Deresiewicz's quote the glimmer of what I consider the true teacher's heart. This is a book that I need to read, for my love of Austen, certainly. But also for my love of teaching. 

What about you? What author has taught you your most significant life-lessons? 

I am so inspired by her...

Check out this fantastic article about Bel Kaufman. She is 100 years old is an adjunct professor at Hunter College. She teaches a course in Jewish humor called, "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh." (heh, if you ask me, to be 100 and still teaching higher ed. *requires* a great sense of humor!) But seriously, this lady is so inspiring--she dances the mambo for crying out loud! I hope I can be just like her when I'm 100. 

Semester Transition

Ah, semester transitions can be so complicated! If you've ever been on a college campus during this time, you know the feeling: excitement, a bit of stress, and a general *sigh* of relief.

As I get ready for the Spring semester to start, the weather here in the Mitten is mirroring my mood. It is tempestuous, shifting. Sometimes sunny and cheerful, sometimes chilly and brooding. I'm preparing for my second-to-last semester of teaching writing at my current university; my feelings and thoughts are jumbled. But, in the midst of all the bittersweet-nervous-excited-kind-of-sad emotions, here is some fun teaching stuff I've been into lately:

Kicking off the Spring semester with some cool professional development

breaking out of "grading jail"

The Five Stages of Grading

hilarious onion article about student evaluations

What about you? Do you have a mixed emotions about transitions (semester or otherwise)? What are your experiences with teachers and grading--either as a teacher yourself or as a student?

time to celebrate!

Dear friends,

I can now share with you the event I have been waiting to celebrate: I got a new job!

I will be moving to a new university, leaving an amazing institution that has been a home to me for years. It is bittersweet, to be sure. But, I am excited. It will be a fine new challenge, a move ripe with opportunity to do the work I love, writing and teaching writing.

I did, at last, open that special blanc de blanc 2009 from 45 North:

Followed quickly by an impromptu cheese plate (inspired by Madame Fromage, Cup of Jo and The Senses Five):

But, one cannot just sit around and eat cheese all summer. (I wish!) There is much to be done: tutoring and teaching, training and writing, developing new syllabi and course plans. So much to do...but first, we celebrate!

What have you been celebrating lately?