renée a. schuls-jacobson
Lessons From Nan, Who Passed On June 16, 2004
I will always remember Nan, wearing a snazzy pair of purple pants, sitting on the gold couch in my parents’ living room. Just sitting quietly, patiently, watching my brother and me as we made up games or put on little shows. Many years later, she would sit in the same place, doze off an on, awaking with an almost apologetic smile. Agatha Christie once said, “I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable . . . but through it all, I know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” I believe Nan knew this, too….
Contemplating Quitting The Classroom
I have been thinking that this will be my last semester in the classroom. It’s been a hard year for a variety of reasons, but I have been thinking I just am not connecting with my students the way I used to. Part of it may be that I am getting older. I have somehow become an “old-fashioned teacher” who doesn’t show movies, rely on Smart Boards or Power Point presentations. In other words, I have always been able to “be my own show,” create my own bells and whistles, and that was enough. I was enough.
This year is different. I feel… old….
Grammar & Facebook Do Not Mix
While I am definitely a Facebook fan, I do not enjoy what social media (and texting and the media in general) is doing to our language. it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a set of rules upon which we can all agree are necessary to follow. Because, really, that’s all the conventions of writing are….
My Reading Glasses: Revisited
I’ve had my reading glasses for over a year now. At first, if you’ll remember when I posted about new glasses, I was suffering with the concept of how the damn spectacles represent that my eyes are getting older and that, by extension, I am getting older, too. I’m getting used to the concept. Some of you suggested that I try to find a pair of glasses that I really love, so I don’t feel as though I’ve lost my mojo….
End of the Semester Blues
In reality, it is kind of hard to fail my class. I offer a lot of help to students to want it. I make myself available to conference. I allow students who show initiative to revise their papers. I offer extra credit opportunities throughout the semester – just not as an “emergency out” at the end.
I hate watching students unravel at the end of the semester but – the reality is – there are always some who come unstitched….
An Unwelcome Dx
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed that after a day of teaching, my voice is just shot, that I am hoarse and I strain when I speak. At first, it was kinda cool: I sounded like Stevie Nicks, all husky and sultry. . . but when I developed a night-time cough and realized I’d lost more than a full octave when accompanying the piano, even I knew it was time to make an appointment with the Ear, Nose and Throat Doc who told me exactly what I didn’t want to hear: I’m a vocal over-doer….
Functional Illiteracy: The Repost
People who know me know I’m struggling this semester. I try to explain how my students seem weaker this year; how I can’t get them to use capital letters (or, in some cases, how I can’t get them to stop randomly capitalizing words that don’t need to be capitalized); how they won’t stop writing “im” instead of “I’m”; how I can’t get them to stop using the letter “u” when they mean the word “you.”…
Curly Girly Goes Simply Smooth
As she stood behind me in her black and white polka-dotted smock with skinny red trim, Shauna applied the chemicals. Wearing short black gloves that stopped just above her wrists, she painted and combed, making sure to coat every single strand, fussing over my tresses the way no-one has ever fussed before. She was serious about this procedure….
Gratitude From An 11-Year Old
I’ll tell you what I’m grateful for: my son, who decided to take over as today’s guest blogger and gave me a little extra vacation time….
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Teachers
Even though I am employed by a local community college, I recently decided to conduct an experiment to see if I, with my soon-to-be twenty years of classroom experience, could land even a part-time position in any school district within a desirable radius. I updated my resume and cover letter and applied to four local school districts. Did I get a bite? Not one! At first I was bitter, but now I understand. There are just too many teachers….