At long last, it’s the holiday break! Two weeks away from school, grading work, scraped knees, runny noses, and spelling quizzes. A chance to relax and come back refreshed in January. So of course, I started my break by visiting my parents and going to church with them. School and church. At least I’m keeping them…
Tag: education
All I Want for Hannukah is to Keep a Little Oil in the Tank
Some parts of this piece have been percolating for a bit. There are a lot of things here that are just always gnawing at the back of my mind, waiting for the right story to come together for me to share. In fact, I even thought about writing it last week, but the truth is,…
What I’ve Learned this Year (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Happy Anniversary What I’ve Learned about… Learning If you try things, you’ll learn things. That’s the essence of what I’ve learned from running the 2 Rules of Writing website this year. I guess it’s the positive version of “fuck around and find out.” It’s also what I went into the project…
On Writing a Thesis
寫論文 寫論文的時候我是個扮大人說話的小孩走投無路時就開始匹諾曹式的撒謊論文越長鼻子越大這謊也就更加難圓。 On Writing a Thesis Writing a thesis,I am a child talking adult talks.At my wit’s end,I started to lie like Pinocchio.The longer the thesis,the bigger my nose,the harder it is to square the circle. (Poem and translation both by Shi Huiwen.) Spread the love
World AIDS Day, Part 2: Stories
Missing the World AIDS Day Gatherings With the COVID pandemic in its third year, most people are starting to meet in person again. That means that people who want to honor and celebrate those we lost to AIDS can do so in person. Carefully and with many precautions, perhaps even more than usual to protect…
World AIDS Day: A Tale of Two Pandemics
In the time of AIDS, when condom use was necessary… I am quoting John Ginoli, the founder of Pansy Division, the first openly gay punk band. Someone who had been at the forefront of the queercore movement in the 90s. It was on an episode of the podcast Out in the Bay that I listened…
NaNoWriMo: Conflict (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat Feeling Conflicted about Conflict I find that establishing and escalating conflict is the hardest thing to do for a new writer. Picture it: you’ve got your setting and it’s a good’n. It’s somewhere familiar to you, either based on the place where you grew up or on somewhere you’ve been that…
Socioeconomic Status and Food: The Conversation Begins at Home
Poverty is one of the biggest predictors of academic success for students. Teachers today are keenly aware of this. Hungry children don’t learn, so we have free-lunch programs, and teachers keep extra apples and crackers in our classrooms in a basket for whoever needs them. We have annual trainings to look out for students who…
NaNoWriMo Tips: Overcoming Obstacles.
My credential for writing this is that I have written the manuscript for one novel and it has not been published. You don’t necessarily want to hear from someone who has written (and published) half a dozen or more books and is now summarizing their craft. Leastwise I don’t. When famous authors say some version…
Shortcuts for NaNoWriMo
So. You’ve decided to write a novel in thirty days. First of all, you’re an idiot. But a good idiot. The kind that doesn’t know their own limitations and so sets out to find them. The kind that inspires people. You’ve probably gotten that look:“So what are you up to these days?”“Oh, you know. Work….