Goodbye, blog!

Hello, anyone still following this blog! I've decided to shut it down because I never get to update it.

If you want to get in contact with me, abbeydick1@gmail.com is always good and my Twitter (@abbeydick) is the place to see what I'm thinking about. Turns out that micro-blogging is more my speed!

I've had a new job since July 2018--I'm the English Department Coordinator for the Chelmsford Public Schools in Chelmsford, MA. I love it! I get to focus exclusively on the needs of the 41 ELA teachers in grades 5-12 in two middle schools and one high school. It's the perfect curriculum role for me--I'm getting to do work I've always wanted to do.

So, if you've read the blog over the years, thanks! I hope I will see you around! Thanks.--Abbey

Long time, no post

Hello, everyone!

I haven't posted to this blog since August . . . of 2016. As Gretchen Rubin says, the days are long, but the years are short.

I'm actually in a new role that has kept me busy. In October of 2016, I became the Director of Humanities for the Malden Public Schools. I'm responsible for evaluation, assessment, curriculum, instruction, and purchasing for the following groups:

Grades 6-12 ELA
Grades K-12 Social Studies
Grades K-12 Art
Grades K-12 Music
Grades K-12 Foreign Language

So, as you can imagine, I have been preoccupied with learning about my new job as a district administrator. It's a real challenge and a real honor.

I actually decided to jump back on the blog to invite any readers to the 4th annual edcamp Malden. It's on Saturday, October 21, at a new location this year--Linden STEAM Academy in Malden.

Here's the link to registration: http://edcampmalden.weebly.com/

It's open to all! Hope to see you there! Enjoy fall. Take care.--Abbey

edcamp Malden is October 15, 2016!

Hi, all. Please consider signing up for edcamp Malden! It's our third event, and there's no theme this time, so let's pack the schedule with topics that matter to you! Register at edcampmalden.weebly.com.

Happy back to school, everyone! I'm getting mentally and emotionally prepared now . . .

Happy Vacation!

Hi, all. Long time, no write. I'm living with a lot of non-blog-writing guilt, but it is what it is. Hope everyone is well and enjoying vacation. I am both relaxing and staying a bit busy. It's nice.

I'm writing to tell you about this free event in August that I'm organizing as part of a grant I won to promote teacher learning.

Please come and/or spread the word! Twitter has completely changed my online life as a teacher--so many resources, so many friends. Whether you're complete new to Twitter or a pro, this session will help you dig deeper.

Feel free to contact me at abbeydick1@gmail.com or @abbeydick with questions. Keep enjoying that summer weather!

#sitxybooks: Books #4-8

Hello, and happy February vacation! I've been reading but neglecting to blog. Here's what I've been reading!

#4: Feed by M. T. Anderson

I teach this book every winter in my 10th grade classes, and I LOVE it. I usually hate sci-fi stuff, but I am obsessed with this book. It tells the story of Titus, a teenager with a chip in his head (his "feed") that does everything a smartphone can do. He falls in love with Violet, another teen who likes her feed but actively tries to resist it. The audio book is amazing because the characters speak in this crazy vernacular (just as crazy as my students' slang). It's an awesome satire that I don't mind rereading every year.




#5: Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind

I read this book with my newly formed book club of English teachers. This book is PERFECT for me and my school and gave me lots of tips for structuring my classroom, my lessons, and my language for my students. It gave me some structures for understanding my kids and helping them want to be in the room and focused. I'll definitely reread it this summer before the new year.




#6: The Wild Truth

This companion piece to Into the Wild was written by Chris McCandless's sister, Carine. She details the physical and emotional abuse rained upon Chris and Carine by their parents, and it provides a motive for Chris's journey into the wild. I avoided reading it for a while, but it's quite well written and gave me a much deeper understanding of Chris and his mindset before his journey. It turns the conventional wisdom of feeling pity for his parents on its head. If you believe Chris was insane to abandon the status quo and divorce his parents forever, this book will change your mind.




#7: The Man of my Dreams

I LOVE Curtis Sittenfeld. I read Prep and American Wife in the past and have been saving this one. Hannah is a young woman who never expects to have a boyfriend but keeps ending up in relationships and trying to figure out the guy and herself. Sittenfeld writes brainy women so perfectly. Lots of laughs and heartbreak here. I love how the book is structured into vignettes.




#8: Sisterland

Also great is this book about twins with psychic powers. They've struggled with their different personalities as they grew up, but as adults they both remained in St. Louis. One sister, Vi, feels a small earthquake and predicts a much bigger one is coming, making her briefly famous nationwide. The other sister has to deal with the consequences: does she laugh it off, or start buying batteries and bottled water? A great meditation on motherhood and sisterhood.




Next up, for my book club, is In the Best Interest of Students, by Kelly Gallagher. Can't wait to dig in. I always love Kelly's stuff.

#sixtybooks: Book #3

Hello! I've gotten though another book! It's hard to find the time to read, but I really look forward to it.

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff

This book has been on my radar for a while, but I was disappointed. I'm a big Salinger fan, mostly of Catcher because I've read it so often. When Rakoff was in her 20s, she became an assistant for Salinger's agent, so she fielded phone calls from him (he slowly became more friendly to her) and answered his fan mail (sometimes with a canned response, but sometimes she went rogue and answered letters on her own). One time, he walked by her desk and she shook his hand.

Is this tenuous connection with him enough to make a book? It's a coming of age in New York City publishing, and she has a bad boyfriend, but I'm not sure there's a story here. It was pleasant to read, and I learned a little more about Salinger, but I forgot Rakoff's POV the minute the book was over.

Breaking News: EdCamp Boston is early!

Hello! EdCamp Boston just announced their 2016 date (March 5) and when tickets are available (Sunday!?!). They will be gone in hours, so if you live in New England and want to go, check it out ASAP!

http://edcampboston.org/2016/01/13/edcamp-boston-2016-is-go-march-5/