Retiring after 38 years in education, my coworker and friend recently described his school days attending Catholic Grade School in Southwest Louisville, an area then–and still–a working class and comparatively impoverished part… Read more The Great Discipline Conundrum →
Imagine a 30 by 30 room, with students sitting silently in rows, ostensibly listening to lectures, text messages covertly being sent inside hoodie pockets, and whispers here and there. Eventually,… Read more Classrooms Without Borders →
I remember a frying pan encrusted with the remnants of beans and pork fat, empty two-liter bottles, and cautious stares as I worked on construction projects with my church youth… Read more From the Bluegrass to The Navajo Nation →
One of my goals in our Unleashing Digital Storytelling elective course is to help elevate student voice through authentic media creation. Taking matters into her own hands, Kaylie created this… Read more The Power of Student Voice →
A version of this essay originally appeared in Middle Ground magazine in October, 2008. Don’t smile until after Christmas. I’ve always been puzzled when I overhear talk of this informal… Read more Don’t Smile Until After Christmas? Nonsense! →
See if you can read through this entire blog post without being distracted by e-mails, hyperlinks, instant messengers, or the phone in your pocket. I bet you can pretty easily,… Read more The Challenge of Attention →
I cringe when I watch the Presidential debates. My heart rate elevates slightly. I keep waiting for questions and answers that nobody wants to hear, questions and answers that we… Read more To the Presidential Candidates: Q & A’s We Should Hear →
I’ve shared this blog with some of my students, an attempt to showcase how writing is “real” for me. As far as blogging goes, many students use Tumblr. I’ll admit… Read more Student Guest Blogger: Career and Future Uncertainty →
Glancing around the room, fiddling with his smart phone, and tapping his pencil, Michael will do anything but write. He’ll scribble a few sentences on the paper, and the chicken… Read more Struggling Writers: Is Personal Expression the Answer? →
Paul Barnwell 