We need our poets. Whether composed with rhyme or meter, or to music, or if it is just on paper in free verse for someone to interpret through cadence, we need their words. We need words put together to frame an emotion, an event, a doubt, a success, a life event, or something that never … Continue reading Hallelujah! Why We Need Poets. Thanks Leonard Cohen. 

The following is the third prompt (open argumentation) from the 2010 AP English Language and Composition Exam.  The suggested time period for completing the prompt is 40 minutes. Quick, eh? It reads, "In his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton argues that the chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain but “to … Continue reading Dave Chappelle Is A Great Teacher

Bombadil! thou shouldst be living at this hour: America hath need of thee: she is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, Have forfeited our American Dream’s dower Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; Oh! raise us up, return to us again; And give … Continue reading Who We Need Is Tom Bombadil

I did not vote for Donald Trump. Read my blog for just a few minutes and you can easily come to that conclusion. But I teach in a public school. In fact, I teach a course and subject area which demand conversation, constructive argument, and rhetorical analysis. And each student who comes into my class … Continue reading Being a Teacher the Day After “THE ELECTION” and How Public Schools Teachers Are Now More Important Than Ever