michaeljarmer

#180: Another “Workable” Solution

It turns out that the brave colleague who volunteered to teach five preparations in order to relieve another colleague of a student load of 217 did not, after all, have to take on five preparations. Instead, two of her small classes were swapped straight across with two of the other teacher’s giant classes. These movesContinue reading “#180: Another “Workable” Solution”

#179: A “Workable” Solution

Today the English Department got together to figure out how to relieve a colleague of a student load of 217. That’s all I really have to say. The fact alone is enough. One of our colleagues was assigned 217 students. The obvious solution, hiring another teacher, is apparently out of the question. A school is given soContinue reading “#179: A “Workable” Solution”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VI, Letter C

A wrench in the works for my project of listening to compact discs, one at a time, all the way through, touching at least once on every band or artist in my collection: I bought a new turntable for the basement listening lounge! I have been distracted this week by vinyl and paused my project toContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume VI, Letter C”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume V, Letter Costello

It happened when I was listening to The Beatles; I couldn’t choose which record to listen to. It happened again with The Boomtown Rats, again with Cheap Trick, and now, in my mission to listen to one cd from each artist represented in my collection in alphabetical order, I am faced with choosing a singleContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume V, Letter Costello”

A Single Dispatch from Writer’s Camp 2015

It’s quiet on campus. Everyone has gone home. It’s just me and Mark, the dorm all to ourselves. He’s here still because he can’t travel on the Sabbath. I’m here to simply take a few deep breaths, to take advantage of some solitude before heading home. I went down to the cafeteria tonight for dinner,Continue reading “A Single Dispatch from Writer’s Camp 2015”

#177: Trigger Warning

Trigger Warning: The following poem may contain upsetting material. The poet wants to warn you about it in advance so you can decide whether or not to proceed, knowing full well that you might be upset by the poem’s contents. It has become the convention of late for writers, for readers, for teachers of writingContinue reading “#177: Trigger Warning”

#176: On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs

On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs It’s possible to measure out a marriage in pets. Up to year 29, my wife and I have had two cats and two dogs. Our first pets as newlyweds were all about the same age, relatively speaking, so about half way through our history inContinue reading “#176: On 29 Years of Marriage Measured in Cats and Dogs”

Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume IV, Letter C

Welcome to Volume IV of my crazy project of listening to a single compact disc from start to finish from each musical artist represented in my neglected cd collection and then writing about it in a blog post. Wow, that was a mouthful. The B section was bountiful; it took two volumes of blog and manyContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume IV, Letter C”

The Audio Book Experience: Musings on Being Read To and Reading Out Loud

I have never been much of an audiobook kind of guy. I like reading. I’ve always felt a kind of snobbery about the audiobook, as if somehow the actual reading of text on a page and making all of the voices and inflections and imagery happen in one’s head is a more rigorous endeavor, thatContinue reading “The Audio Book Experience: Musings on Being Read To and Reading Out Loud”