Teaching with ACCLAIM

What follows was written at the end of last academic year.Twelve months later, nothing has changed except context (a shift from hybrid to full-time online teaching).If anything, the past year has reinforced these observations and increased my dedication to offering...

On Writing a Community

Inside online magazine Pennyblackmusic So immersed are we in text — messages! pop-ups! chats! stories! — it is easy to forget how much creative elbow grease goes into this writing, and the wonderful behind-the-scenes connections this work forges.Creating and...

On Value-rich Education

How smart investments enhance return on education IndebtedSaturday, June 8, 2024 was momentous: it was the day I paid off my student loan. My undergraduate student loan. Twenty-three years and one month after earning my BA at Penn, I settled my debt.Penn changed my...

On Literary Devices

Fun with figurative languageThis is a short video I put together as an introduction for young literature/writing students, and a review for high schoolers who are embarking on more complex topics. Brief, topical videos such as this are part of my ‘modular’ approach to...

On Cultural Cross-Pollination

Reading your way to better writingOne of the things that has been (is) vital to my success as a writer and educator is the fact that, from a freakishly young age, I’ve read everything.Nutritional information. Ancient magazines in waiting rooms. Bumper stickers....

Write Like a Pro: Wa Yang

How Wendy Yang Writes to Success at SAPWelcome to Write Like a Pro — where experts from diverse fields and industries discuss how writing supports their professional success.Professional: Wendy YangCompany: SAP (7+ years)Role: Global Program Management and Development...

Teach, Learn, Drink

Why every educator should be a student sometimesThe Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 Award in Wines is a big deal in wine land. It’s a course designed for wine makers, buyers, distributors, sommeliers, viticulturists, oenology students. Globally, it has...

Parents vs Social Media

How to win the warOne of my students is putting persuasive writing to real-world use — they’re trying to get their parents to let them use SnapChat.This emerged as an issue a few weeks ago, in a discussion of informative writing. Their pitch on that occasion bore no...

Teacher of a lifetime

A salute to Penn prof Paul HendricksonBack around the time Y2K and the Millennium bug were matters of concern (and when we could unironically Party Like It Was 1999) Washington Post journalist and author Paul Hendrickson stepped into a teaching post at University of...

Let's Teach Kindness

Why animal welfare education matters for kidsIn November 2022, I read about New Zealand children being taught to trap and kill rats. The story has nagged me ever since.The child killers were ostensibly working towards the laudable goal of protecting native fauna.What...