Teachers and The Knack

Mamacita says: There is a knack to teaching middle and high school students that some teachers never quite learn. I’m not sure it can be learned; it might be an art, a talent one must have at birth. For want … Continue reading

Potty Mouth, Wiggly Little Boys, Recess, and Reading

“No two people are alike, and both of them are damn glad of it.” Mamacita says:  That’s a quotation; that’s not me saying “damn,” although I frequently occasionally do. I am, to my shame, greatly afflicted with “potty mouth,” and … Continue reading

What Do I Really Want To Do In My Classroom?

Mamacita says:  Finally.  Someone has finally asked me a question I’ve wished for years someone would ask.  It’s a question that’s right up there with Ed McMahon asking if he could come inside and give me a surprise. (Shut up, … Continue reading

Frog, Frogs, Arlo & Susie, The Frog Prince, and Me

Mamacita says:  Sometimes I wonder how I ever decided to become a teacher, what with my lower-than-low opinion of people who aren’t interested in lifelong learning, my intolerance and complete disdain of willful ignorance, my disregard of any rule that … Continue reading

Some End-of Semester Thoughts

Mamacita says:  I teach in a community college, and I have found that my hardest-working students are, for the most part, the older ones, the ones who have been out of school for many years, the ones who have been … Continue reading

Standardization, Administration, & Other Bollocky Things

Mamacita says:  Beethoven and Rodin would never make it in an American public school these days. Neither would Lincoln, or Clara Barton, or Thomas Jefferson. Nor Einstein. Or Edison. Administrators have forgotten that ultimately, our culture will be judged on … Continue reading