Two novels I taught this year were To Kill A Mockingbird and A Gathering of Old Men. Prior to and during reading these novels, I had the kids look at some songs, poems, and historical context. Here are a few of my favorite things concerning the race relations in the novels. Prior to reading To Kill [...]

Sometimes sports do reflect the general state of education, and this week is no exception. As Craig Smith notes, two possible WIAA state sports rules could be created and: could be called “Archbishop Murphy Rules.” One would suspend a student who played with an expired physical but NOT the team for the number of games the [...]

Through the neon haze he sits alone at the end of the bar snacking on pretzels and nursing a light beer. Everyone knows his name, though no one sits with him. He watches the game, the bartender, the guys playing pool, the college girls who ignore him, and then he orders another beer. The girls remind [...]