Category Archives: lessons

Trying on jerky pants — or what it’s like to be a 7th grade teacher in February

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

On my way to class the other day, I passed a few colleagues on hallway duty in the break between lunch and the start of classes.  One colleague was waving her arms like a traffic cop, desperately attempting to quell … Continue reading →

Posted in education, growth, lessons | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A frigid winter’s night

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

What does believe mean? Believe — It means truth, without seeing, Knowledge without touching. What do you believe? I believe in love. Love? Well, you can’t see love. I can. A small hand reaches out to touch my face. It … Continue reading →

Posted in children, dreams, experience, family, lessons, poems | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Taking responsibility

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

The end of the school year is hard in many ways, one of which seems to be ending well, saying goodbye, and making a transition to a new phase of schooling and growing up.  At my school, on one of … Continue reading →

Posted in community, education, lessons, race | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Life in the middle

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

You might be tempted to think that this post will be about surviving one’s middle age, but at the moment, life in the middle is all about the woes of middle school.  This year, I have grown to be quite … Continue reading →

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Rugelach: a budding pastry chef practices her trade

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This week, the Doristas made Rugelach, from Baking with Julia, and though I’d never tasted Rugelach (nor do I think I can say it properly), I was more than willing to give it a go. The directions made me a … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, lessons, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Exploration — Lewisandclark style

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Wintery and chilly, with blustery winds, cloud cover, and even sprinkles of rain, today was the perfect day for my class to take its annual “Lewis and Clark” expedition to Washington Park.  In the couple of days leading up to … Continue reading →

Posted in education, experience, inspiration, lessons, photography, teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Diane Arbus: more haunting than beauty

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Prompted by incidental TV watching during Winter Break, I went on a search for biographies of Diane Arbus, and discovered two — Patricia Bosworth’s Diane Arbus: A Biography,  and William Todd Schultz’s,  An Emergency in Slow Motion: The Inner Life of … Continue reading →

Posted in Diane Arbus, lessons, photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Memories of Dad

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

My sister recently posted this family photograph on her Facebook page.  My dad’s birthday was February 5th, and I was thinking about him on Sunday, in part because my dad was a huge football fan.  He loved the Chicago Bears, … Continue reading →

Posted in family, identity, lessons, loss, memory | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stinky cheese: gorgonzola-apple quiche

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

When I was in France with KDM, she tried to get me to eat stinky cheese.  I gave it my best shot, but each stinky cheese, with its bluish veined ripples of bacterial and mold infection, and its pungent aroma, … Continue reading →

Posted in cheese, family meals, food, lessons, mistakes, paris | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

At the berwyn sears

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

One of the first tests of my teenage life was acquiring tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert.  My friends, KDM and KAW, and I camped out overnight at the Sears in Berwyn (the one with the garbage statue and the … Continue reading →

Posted in experience, friends, friendship, lessons, motherhood, nostalgia, sisters, teen stress | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments