“It was a pleasure to burn.”– Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 One of my favorite first lines in literature. I love Ray Bradbury’s language and themes in his 1953 novel. To be fair, I love reading dystopian novels period—but this one has always been one of my favorites. This week, I Read more…
The past week and half has been a whirlwind. Last Thursday I was in Houston for NCTE. This past Thursday I stuffed my face at my fiancé’s family’s house for Thanksgiving. Friday, I stuffed my face with leftovers at my family’s house in PA. Today I found myself back in Read more…
Writing should be magic. Magic that we all have inside us. Magic to transport and magic to transform. But, by week 9 in an incredibly busy school year, that is not what it feels like to me, or to my students. Instead, for many, writing has become a cage of Read more…
Taylor Swift makes a regular appearance in my classroom. As does Katy Perry. Alas, it is only through their music videos. I’ll be honest, I am an unironic T-Swizzle fan despite the fact I’m turning 30 in a few months. I have found that analyzing visuals is one of the Read more…
by Jenifer Gearhart This past Friday evening, my boyfriend and I spent two hours in a used book store in an attempt to freshen up my classroom library shelves. His job was to find more “boy books,” and he did an excellent job. He did sit in the aisle for Read more…