Mohawks and Jessie Eisenberg
During my April vacation from teaching, I had the honor of traveling to Canada to teach storytelling on a Mohawk reservation. The Mohawk nation is paying Mohawks to learn their…
Constantly frowning and avoiding dogs at every turn
Grammar is important, especially when it comes to the design of memorial plaques. Ignore a few basic rules of grammar and you could end up with this:A woman who both…
I am competitive, which means I might be a jerk but also other important things
I had no idea that highly competitive, super serious tag was a thing. And what a thing it is... I want to play this game, which should come as no surprise…
A former student’s advice on avoiding procrastination
A former student visited my class last month to offer advice to my fifth graders as they prepare to embark on their journey to middle school.His advice was fascinating:In order…
A dose of 1850’s racial politics to start my day
Five minutes ago, at 5:34 AM, my nine year-old daughter, Clara, walked down the stairs, sat beside me, and the first words out of her mouth were these:"Hey Daddy, I…
The old fashioned way of breaking up is the right way to break up
When I was a kid, you had to break up with your romantic companion in person. If I even suggested to my friends that I might break up with a…
I did a backbend. Now I can do anything.
I did the impossible this week. I did a backbend. Maybe you know me well and agree that this is impossible to imagine. Or perhaps you don't know me as…
Pain and fear and joy all wrapped up in a stone
Here's a game I used to play as a kid which strikes me as fairly stupid today:My friends and I would gather handfuls of stones, ideally a dozen or more…
I don’t see it.
I'm constantly told that Clara is the spitting image of Elysha. I don't see it. I've never seen it.People are always dumbfounded when I say this. But my explanation is simple:When…
Don’t be selfish. Tell a story.
I tell people to tell stories a lot. I know. It's my clarion call. But allow me to say it again. Last Wednesday night, I performed in The Moth GrandSLAM at the…
