kob14

[kob14]

The Farm

You were only 5 or 6 in human years

before your parents did me a favor:

sending me off to the farm.

Don’t worry they really did - 

a lovely farm with rows of corn and chickens

down in Ohio in Amish country 

where there were horses and buggies - 

no electric, no street lights. 

Just brilliant stars and meteor showers.

A quiet place with room to roam.

No leashes or fences. Or terrorizing children. 

They fed me well and didn’t bother me much. 

I napped most days on the front porch, 

eyeing the postman. 

Do you remember when I was on a leash,

tethered to a zip line between two trees? 

You would wake me and taunt me 

and I would chase after you as you ran.

And just as I was about to bite your little behind,

you’d veer and dive out of reach. 

The leash jerking me back -

hind hips flying up - over my head,

twisting in the air, choking myself.

And you’d laugh and laugh. 

That wasn’t cool. 

[kob14]

Testing Tumbler for Poetry Month

Every year 

I wish to write

more 

poetry. 

I set out 

with an ambitious 

goal to write 

a poem a day. 

I consider blogs 

and tweets. 

What is best 

for students?

For teachers? 

Where will they read it?

If it’s not 

on their phones... 

it will never 

happen. 

In an attention 

economy

- and an art

that is an economy 

of words -

attention must be

paid.

[penguinrandomhouse]

[vintageanchorbooks]

[universitybookstore]

A visual representation of the recurring characters and settings in Stephen King’s novels and stories.

[kob14]

#visualstorytelling #infographic

[radicalselfloverevolution-deact]

Elmore Leonard

[kob14]

Dialogue

[whereisthedog]

This is a work in progress and will be added to regularly- as will the blog. In the mean time feel free to send me a request for something specific for me either to find or write about http://whereisthedog.tumblr.com/ask

Thanks!

-

General writing tips

Five things I wish someone had told...

[kob14]

Writing tips and more

[explore-blog]

3. Do not confuse reading passions with reading biases. Be aware and upfront about your biases and work to decrease them. Your passions are healthy, as long as you help students understand why certain words stir you. 6. Create a space for safe confusion. 13. Politicians will misrepresent you. Vote. 17. You need to be awake. Sleep is essential. Hoard your hours of sleep. 35. Give students the confidence to believe that they might publish their work, but teach them the humility necessary to withstand rejection. 54. One day you will no longer be in the classroom. You will be standing in a garden or sitting in front of a television or holding the hand of a grandchild or pulling a plate from a dishwasher, and you will remember those rows and some of the faces. Try to remember none of the distractions; not the shortsighted pedagogical fads or the boorish politicians. Remember the students who thanked you. Trust that you helped the ones who did not. 55. For some students, you are their only light.

A selection from Nick Ripatrazone's altogether fantastic 55 Thoughts for English Teachers, a number of which echo Bertrand Russell’s 10 commandments of teaching and learning.

Ripatrazone frames the poignant premise:

There are few professions more confusing, or misrepresented, than high school teaching. Education is a ubiquitous experience — public or private, we are all taught by someone, somewhere — and yet it remains misunderstood.

Read his full article on The Millions.

(via explore-blog)

"One day you will no longer be in the classroom. You will be standing in a garden...Try to remember none of the distractions...Remember the students who thanked you. Trust that you helped the ones who did not."

[kob14]

[austinkleon]

"People of the Future" by Ted Berrigan from Collected Poems

[kob14]

This short film celebrates the life and work of Ireland’s most famous contemporary poet, Seamus Heaney.

[etr-gu]

Flannery O’Connor – born March 25, 1925 – is the most accomplished graduate of an American MFA program, and like any freshly minted MFA, no sooner did she get her degree than she propounded on the whole business. Her insights – in an essay written for the alumni magazine of the Georgia...

[luciacostamagna1]

[bookshelfporn]

Follow Bookshelf Porn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest.

[weezieworld]

Our forever house is SO going to have a room like this! #heaven #books #library #escape #lovely

[bookshelfporn]

Follow Bookshelf Porn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest.

[notmybeautifulhome]

[dyingofcute]

[nobilior-deactivated20220313]

A well-furnished home.

[observando]

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

—Langston Hughes

[seizethebook]

A good story should make you laugh, and a moment later break your heart.

Chuck Palahniuk (via seizethebook)