THIS IS US
In Memory of Natalie Portman the Chicken, a Rooster
Some stories need exaggeration to make them interesting. This one doesn't. Every word is true.
The Human Babies
My friend Kelly and I were pregnant at the same time. Our babies grew to be soybean-sized, then avocado-sized, and then spaghetti squash-sized. We had the same due date and figured our babies would be…
And most people have never even heard of it.
Your heart is a muscle in the center of your chest. It pumps blood through tubes that travel to all parts of your body. Inside your heart is a small, teardrop-shaped bone.
Most people don’t know about this bone.
The students…
Adventures with weird birds
I was at this art gallery on Cape Cod and there were these huge black and white images of feathers. They were printed on this creamy-textured paper that you just wanted to rub between your fingers. I was very pregnant and the skin on my feet was pulled so taut…
Even the toughest helmet can’t protect you from everything.
If cities are made of blocks, suburbs are made of loops. The house I live in with my husband and our kids is at the end of a cul-de-sac that connects to a half-mile loop of pavement. …
This Is Us
Social distance means we can no longer create shared memories by smelling the world — and each other
What’s the worst smell you can think of? Skunk? Brussels sprouts? Sour milk?
For me, it was a mixture of Coca-Cola, coffee, Gatorade, and rotting bones. The smell was so pungent it clung to my hair and clothes for hours after the air had cleared. I was a student teacher…
Now that I have your attention.
We’ve all got boxes in the back of the closet, right?
At first, they’re full of stuff we’ll take care of in a few weeks. …
Or, how I spent a year trying not to say the number 69.
Seventh-grade boys have a special type of energy. It’s like they’re powered by nuclear skittles but they’re operating with a tiny t-rex brain. They are frustrating, adorable, delightful, and stressful. Also, they smell like body odor, acne medication, and Axe body spray. …
My failed social experiment taught me not to dabble in social experiments anymore.
When I was younger and braver, I left my job teaching at a regular public school to join forces with a few other rogue teachers and open a charter high school. We wanted to create a community-based school where students were valued for their individuality and creativity.
It is very…
Readjust then engage. There’s no other way.
Today was my thirtieth first day of school. My high school students, still only on their tenth or eleventh first day of school, arrived with a mixture of excitement, fear, uncertainty, and hormones. Some wore ripped jeans, retro band t-shirts, and combat boots. Some had new monogrammed backpacks, loafers, and…
