Language is always changing, which can make it fun to play with yet also frustrating even stressful to keep up with when learning! Life has been a bit stressful for me recently with midterms, the poetry reading, changes in the house, and the general stress of making a living in Southern California. For this week’s […]
Category Archives: Blog
Language of Friendship-Part 3
This is the third and last installation in my friendship blog series. I’ve greatly enjoyed examining the English language for ideas about connection and companionship over the past weeks. In my teaching life, I’ve been trying to actively engage in interpersonal relationships as a teaching strategy to facilitate learning. It has been both equally exhausting […]
Language of Friendship-Part 2
Humans have always sought friends. Thomas Aquinas, a philosopher and theologian, claimed, “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” Wow, nothing? Wealth, possessions, fun, excitement, prestige, success — friendship is more important than all things? What is it about friendship that could make it so powerful in our lives? According […]
Language of Friendship-Part 1
Friendship is a wonderful thing. It can be as fragile as a spider’s web at times and stronger than steel at others. I am blessed to have friends from all walks of life, and I actively and diligently work to maintain these friendships. Of all the questions I receive on a regular basis as a […]
Language of Loneliness
I was reading one of my favorite science fiction novels, Dune, over the holiday weekend. I love how each time you come to a beloved, well-read story you can still find new treasure nuggets within. Despite taking place in a fantasy universe with sand worms and spice, the story, like all great stories, is one […]
Writing Lesson in Washing the Car
Like so many in Southern California, my lifestyle would be impossible without a car. I love my MX5 Miata convertible. It gives me joy at the end of a difficult day as I speed down the road with the top down and music up. I can park easily amongst giant SUVs who think they are […]
Back to School in Idioms
As I prepare for the beginning of a new semester, I’m excited and a bit overwhelmed. As usual, I am attempting to accomplish more than is humanly possible by one small dedicated teacher. I do this every time despite promising Mr. C, my cat, my friends, and myself that it won’t happen again! That said, […]
Real or Not Real?
The Freedom of the Press* is one of our foundational linchpins* on which American society is built. We want to make informed decisions, and this hinges* on the reporting of anything and everything that occurs in the country and the world. Even when I don’t like the news and it distresses me, as a concerned […]
Idioms in Human
I love this song. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yaoMjaAmE[/embedyt] Merriam Webster’s dictionary (my personal fav!) defines human as having characteristics or attributes of humans, but what does it mean to be human in today’s world? This week I had the wonderful opportunity (as usual with my awesome job!) to talk with humans from various linguistic and cultural […]
Metamorphosing with Quotes
This week’s blog is a personal response to something happening in my own life incorporating applicable quotes to support my ideas. In my summer writing class, we have been studying the quote sandwich. Today’s lesson exemplifies embedded quotes. Metamorphosing – Trying Something New with Quotations I’m a teacher, and I love my job. Yet, for […]