I just finished reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, a graphic memoir that won just about every award out there in 2006, the year it was published. The book focuses mostly on Bechdel’s childhood in Pennsylvania and her relationships with her family, specifically her closeted homosexual father, as she grew up, and her own realization […]

Today was the final class meeting for my English as a Second Language (ESL) advanced speaking course, and it was the most fun we’ve had all summer. They’re a great class, as well as a very small group, which is wonderful for them and obviously for me too. Because it’s a course designed to improve […]

The first assignment was a success! The class came in looking tired this morning, but once it was time to read their autobiography book jackets out loud, they perked up (in fear, mostly, it seemed—but still). It took some prodding to get the first few volunteers, but once they got rolling, the pieces were fantastic! […]

Yesterday, after teaching, I spent $280 on a university parking pass. This morning, around 11 a.m., my friend Brian and I drove around for 25 minutes looking for an empty space, and never found one. Because we were going to be late to work at the university writing center, I finally said, “Screw it. We’ll […]

“They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.” This is what people say about spiders and crickets and, it turns out, freshman in college when one is about to begin teaching. On the Saturday before I started, I dealt with my oppressive anxiety by getting completely blitzed with three friends. After leaving the […]

My classroom is decidedly nice and easy to find. I visited it today, four days before classes begin, and found 20 matching chair/desk combinations on a lightly stained rug and a newly painted green accent wall along the back. There is a strategically placed clock and a TV and DVD player, and a view of […]

I am obsessing about my clothes. The navy top makes me look thin. Good, good, yes. But I feel like I should have a jacket. Or maybe the black jumper over a dress shirt? But the suit really does seem to lend an air of authority. It’s appalling, really. I start teaching in less than […]