Pretty much every good thing I know about writing I learned by writing for one man, in one class. He absolutely changed the course of my ...

I have spent a few days distancing myself from social media. It’s been revelatory, to say the least. Here are the things I’m learning abo...

This week has been one of the hardest weeks of our collective lives. So much uncertainty, so much restlessness, so little to do. And beca...

I'm convinced that social media is the chocolate chip cookie of connection. Once I start, I stop only with great difficulty and I always ...

I spent almost half of my life teaching high school English. I retired last year and up until about a week ago, when people asked me if I...

Parents, I’m here with a message from the future. One day, sooner than you can possibly imagine, your child will have lives of their own ...

If your household is anything like mine, you are having some pretty serious conversations and concerns over the state of affairs we are c...

I spent years in the classroom helping students appreciate the creative fruits of artists and express themselves with clarity and creativ...

For Mother’s Day several years ago, my children bought me two small fig trees. It was an amazingly sweet gesture. It wasn’t a secret that...

My dad worked his way up the ranks of a petroleum company in the oil boom of the 1970s and 80s by selling “mud”, the fluid used in drilli...

On the way to the vet yesterday, Bentley the wondernugget and I hit shuffle and Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall” came on. “…Now we find o...

Paul McCartney is one of several people who just inspire the hell out of me. He is not only musically brilliant, but he's so freaking pos...

More often than you might think, I work with students who feel ashamed of something on their transcript or school record. This may be a B...

You either knew the mean girl in middle school or you were her. Unfortunate, but true. Everyone, even her closest friends found themselve...

It’s the question I get from many of my high school students as they face the personal essay and the pressure that accompanies it. That q...

Google Maps is a modern miracle in the palm of your hand. Except for when you’re walking in the heart of a city and you’re in a hurry. Th...

Summer in Lafayette, La. 1978. I was 6 and 3/4 years old. My friends had Kiss lunch boxes and Grease records. I was allowed neither. In m...