Dear Mrs. Liechty: I’m in the final weeks of my first year as a teacher. You taught me in fourth and seventh grade in Winterset. You lit the spark in me to be a writer, which is what I was for 27 years. You encouraged me, along with Chris Madison, my first journalism teacher, toContinue reading “An open letter to my former teacher: ‘I’m sorry I was such a jerk’”
Tag Archives: Education
Observing 6th graders recalls ‘Wild Kingdom’ narrators
When I was a boy, we learned about animals from a syndicated TV show called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” The show featured a zoologist named Jim Fowler clad in khaki safari gear and giving off a big Indiana Jones energy before Indiana Jones was a thing. Fowler went into the field to research wildContinue reading “Observing 6th graders recalls ‘Wild Kingdom’ narrators”
Barf and lamination: Milestones for this novice teacher keep piling up
The teaching milestones keep piling up. A couple weeks ago a student threw up in my classroom. I’ll spare you the details save to say it was clear the poor child had some apples during the day. I sprang into action, which is to say I told him to go ahead to the nurse. HeContinue reading “Barf and lamination: Milestones for this novice teacher keep piling up”
The Paragraph Stacker 