The assignment was due March 5. Today is April 2. So far, only six students have received grades. Why? Because only six have fulfilled *all* the requirements, and I’m refusing to mark assignments that aren’t complete. Before you get worried, I don’t think I’m overly demanding. The basic assignment is to write a 100-word memoir. A complete assignment has a title and a story that is exactly 100 words. Students must use a spelling/grammar-check (I’ve recommended LanguageTool, but some use Grammarly)  so that no underlined problems remain, and they must label three “craft moves” – or good thi ..read more

In grade 9, we’ve moved from our first unit – Stories of Us – into our second – Stories of Others. We’ve written Where I’m From using not only George Ella Lyon’s wonderful poem but also interpretations by Melanie Poonai, a young writer from England, and Danika Smith, an Indigenous author from British Columbia, as models. We’ve worked as a class and in small groups to create Where We’re From poems that help us understand our class as a whole. Students turned these into posters or short videos – and the school board’s print shop has delivered gorgeous prints that now decorate our room. We’ve wri ..read more

My friend’s text makes me laugh: Argument in our car: everyone but Dad, “We are late.” Dad, “the invite was for any time after 3, so we are not late.” Everyone else, “We are so late.” Follow-up: We arrived 20 min late. And by far the first to arrive. **** I am 22 or 23, living in Washington, DC. Somehow, I’ve fallen in with a crowd of young French people who are here largely working for the French government. We meet up for drinks, go out dancing, and generally spend a lot of time being young and single with few obligations in a city full of things to do. Eventually, I am invited to a dinner p ..read more

As I walked up the sidewalk towards the house, my heart dropped. Two large boxes waited just in front of our door. I glanced inside: the lights were off. I dropped my things on the front porch and, although I was fairly sure I already knew what I would find, dug through all the pockets of my purse: nothing. Just in case, I checked my backpack. Not there either. Finally, I walked back to the driveway, opened the passenger door and checked in the glove compartment. Still nothing. I could hear the dog pawing at the door, but there was nothing I could do about it: I was locked out.  The thing ..read more

PA system: “We are in a secure school. Please clear the hallways and lock your doors. I repeat, we are in a secure school.” Email: “If you see [student name] please contact me in the main office right away.” Email: “Photo” 25 minutes pass PA system: “We are still in a secure school. Please remain in your classrooms when the bell sounds.” 50 minutes pass PA system: “The secure school has ended.” Email: “We will be having a stand up meeting at 3:35 in the auditorium.” Person: “First, I want to say that under a difficult circumstance, we got to the best possible outcome because so many people cam ..read more

“Excuse me,” an unfamiliar adult leaned through the office door, “can you tell me where the staff washroom is?” One of my colleagues looked down and tried not to snicker.  “Um…” I started, “well, there *is* a washroom on this floor, but the light is out, so you have to use your phone as a flashlight.” The poor supply teacher looked a little startled. I quickly continued, “Probably the easiest one to find is” and then I gave a set of complicated directions to a washroom some distance away from us. She looked at me, wide-eyed, nodded, and left. Glenda at Swirl and Swing has written before a ..read more

I only joined the gym because she kept badgering me, and I finally realized that she was (probably subconsciously) finding a way to make sure she had friends and plans during what was almost certainly going to be a difficult year. I don’t like gyms. I’m uncoordinated and I hate classes. Still, for her, I joined the damn gym. I went with her a few times during my two-week free trial, but I didn’t go even once for the first few weeks after I officially joined – mostly because she wasn’t going because her daughter was in hospice. Then, the very evening Eve died, she texted and asked me to go with ..read more

All day, I’ve been meaning to write.  All day, I’ve been meaning to prep for the week.  All day, I’ve been meaning to mark. But I couldn’t. Because, you see, I need to fold laundry. A LOT of laundry. Maybe five loads? Maybe more? I was going to post a picture, but I can’t – it’s too embarrassing.  I promised myself I would do it before I sat down at the computer.  I did not promise myself I would fold laundry before I went grocery shopping. Done.  I did not promise myself I would fold laundry before I walked the dog. Done.  I did not promise myself I would fold l ..read more

The text came in just before 10.pm. Hi neighbours. Sorry for the late evening message. Tippy is at our place and is not willing to leave, maybe because of the cold. We can try to send her out if you are able to let her in. Tippy is our cat. At least, we are the ones who brought her home from the Humane Society seven years ago. At this point, we are pretty sure she has several others families. Tippy when we first got her, seven years ago. She has always loved kids. For instance, she has definitely adopted the family two doors down. They have two girls, each a year younger than one of our boys ..read more

“Ok,” she said, “push your tongue hard against this popsicle stick for thirty seconds.” He does. Then, they repeat the exercise once on each side. Next, she has him hold his tongue to the roof of his mouth “as if you were going to cluck like a chicken, but you stopped in the middle.” He chuckles, but he does it. Later he will hold water in his mouth and breathe through his nose for three minutes, then hold a spacer between his teeth and move his tongue in various figures. At some point during the session, she says, “I’m just really interested in tongues!” Fascinated, I text my friends – the on ..read more