Toni M. Poling I’m a list person. I love lists. Each morning, whether I’m working at school or at home during quarantine, I sit down and make a list of goals to accomplish that day. There is something so rewarding about crossing something off my list when I finish a Read more…
Toni M. Poling In fifth grade, my friend’s sister died in a car accident. We were ten; she was sixteen. I remember our teachers gathering us together to tell us. I remember the darkness of the auditorium, the abject sadness on the faces on our teachers, and the alienness of Read more…
By: Toni M. Poling When my son turned six, we bought him a Ninja Turtle bicycle, complete with Leonardo helmet and Ninja Turtle knee and elbow pads. I couldn’t wait to watch him zipping around the park on his bike! I told him story after story of how I spent Read more…
by Toni M. Poling I still remember the first lesson I ever taught that fell completely, utterly, and painfully apart, like the tiny pieces of confetti that blow around Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I was about halfway through my 15-week student teaching placement and things were really starting Read more…
By Toni M. Poling I don’t make personal resolutions at the beginning of each new year. This is mostly because I try not to lie to myself. In the past decade I’ve joined a gym. I’ve quit the gym. I joined a gym. I quit the gym. I joined a Read more…