It was my good fortune this weekend to attend the National Writing Project’s 2010 Urban Sites Network conference, Writing Across the Margins: Illuminating Urban Voices.  The Friday morning kick-off was pretty amazing: By Any Medium Necessary -   Oakland Leaf Youth Roots‘ interactive session on poetry is one I will remember for a long time to [...]

Thanks to a post in the SacBee, I just learned that Earth Day turns 40 this Thursday. All around the greater Sacramento area, organizations are hosting regional projects and celebrations to promote the Earth Day concept of “Think globally; act locally.”  If you’re at a school site with field trip money (which is pretty unlikely [...]

I’m trying to imagine the climate at Oakridge Elementary School last week, based on my friend Alice’s description: I arrived at my school Monday to a site abuzz. Coworkers had heard from teachers at other school sites in the district sharing that on Friday, they had received an email that was going out to “a [...]

I have a message on my cell phone  I will never delete.  It’s the voice of Tuskegee Airman George Porter letting me know that he’d be very happy to meet with students in Martin Billings’ 11th grade US History class and share his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman. Formed in 1942 amid controversy, the Tuskegee [...]

A poem begins with a lump in the throat.  ~Robert Frost The only problem with Haiku is that you just get started and then ~Roger McGough Poetry has the tendency to promote literacy skills in ways that can have a life-long impact on students. As a 6th grade humanities teacher, I regularly shared favorite or [...]