Tag Archives: Class of 2020

#373: A Prose Poem Meditation on the Penultimate Day of National Poetry Month by the American English Teacher in His Potentially Penultimate Professional Year, Ending in a Rhyming Couplet, II

Last year on April 29 I wrote a poem with this same title, hence, the Roman numeral two punctuating its conclusion. Let this be the second part of a prose poem meditation on the penultimate day of National Poetry Month by the American English Teacher in his potentially penultimate professional year, ending in a rhymingContinue reading “#373: A Prose Poem Meditation on the Penultimate Day of National Poetry Month by the American English Teacher in His Potentially Penultimate Professional Year, Ending in a Rhyming Couplet, II”

#358: The Class of 2020 May Not Want to See Your Senior Picture

People keep posting their senior pictures in solidarity with the class of 2020, as if this will make young people whose proms and graduation ceremonies were cancelled, who may or may not have had their own senior photos taken, feel better about their losses. I don’t know. If I was 18, I might be pissed;Continue reading “#358: The Class of 2020 May Not Want to See Your Senior Picture”

#357: First Day of School, April 13, 2020

I had no students. As are all seniors in Oregon, my seniors are done, but I read a few lovely, comforting notes of gratitude from a few of them, and some requests for letters of recommendation. My sophomores, cared for now by an extremely competent, caring intern, earning her Masters in Teaching, remotely, at aContinue reading “#357: First Day of School, April 13, 2020”

A Journal of the Plague Year: #17

Most importantly, I will not be able to BE with my seniors in IB English, not even remotely. I won’t see their faces, hear their voices, read their writing, laugh at their good humor, be in awe of their intelligence and kindness. But additionally, I will not be able to formally finish the Hamlet unitContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #17”

A Journal of the Plague Year: #16

We saw it coming. In fact, it’s not at all surprising. Nevertheless, I was surprised (!) to hear our governor’s announcement today that schools would remain closed until the end of the year. Distance Learning would be the modality that would take us through to the end. What I found most distressing in this news–andContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #16”