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Freewheeling in Semi-Retirement
I’ve always thought of my blog as a place where I share information about writing, books, teaching, storytelling, and the like. But now that I’m in this precarious phase of life called “semi-retirement,” I have to figure out what I’m all about. Things change. I mean this statement in the best of ways…it’s weird to be in this place, for sure. And I haven’t really flushed out my thoughts on it until now. I’ve been a teacher since 1993 when I taught my first college course. At that time, I was still working in baseball. Since then, I worked for a newspaper, had children, created my own business (twice), and…
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The Death of Cursive and the Repercussions
According to an article by Christopher Bergland in Psychology Today, “accumulating evidence suggests that not learning cursive handwriting may hinder the brain’s optimum potential to learn and remember.” Thank you for validating what we educators have been saying for years: students remember material better when they take longhand notes rather than type into a computer. I’ve preached it. If you had a me as a professor, you know that I’ve shared these findings with you. Mind you, I’m not discounting the importance and relevance of digital devices, I’m merely focused on retention of information via handwritten notes. In study after study, the results are in: there is a direct correlation…
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Talking teaching, life lessons, writing, and fashion on FamilyApp.com
It was an honor to be able to share my creativity on a platform called FamilyApp.com today! One of the things I love most about teaching at the college level is watching my students go out into the world and seeing where they land. One of my star students is with this organization, and she asked me to be featured on their platform! Talk about things coming full-circle in life. Connections. They are everything. Making connections with people, staying in touch, and keeping your pulse on what they are up to is important. That said, I’m flattered to be alongside many other creative moms and dads out there just trying…
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Writing Away
I haven’t been as diligent about writing for my blog as I have been in the past. It makes me feel a little guilty, because I’ve always put so much energy and time into my blog. However, there are good reasons for my absence, so allow me to explain: The semester ended in mid-May. I can honestly say that after working in education throughout a pandemic and teaching a full load + of courses online, it was more challenging than normal. Obviously, we have all been affected by this situation and our work lives were altered quite a bit, but the energy it took to produce, deliver, and grade remotely…
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Some Sentiments About 20 Years at Stevenson
*** Last week I received an email from human resources about celebrating 20 years at Stevenson University. And I used to think the 13 years I spent at the Baltimore Orioles was a long time. When I taught my very first semester at Stevenson in January of 2000, I was pregnant with my son, Matthew, and was hired as an adjunct professor. Now, Matthew is a junior in college. When you look at it through that lens, a long time has passed. I moved into full-time teaching in 2008, when Stevenson changed its name from Villa Julie College to Stevenson University. Prior to my time at Stevenson, I began teaching…
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The Loss of George
* This week, I learned much too late of the passing of my favorite professor and one of the best people I knew, George Friedman. He passed away in late February. Every once in a while someone comes along and makes an impression on your life. That person, for me, came in the form of Dr. George Friedman, professor of English at Towson University. George, as I came to call him, was the singular inspiration for my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, which began as a short story in George’s class—Writing Creative Short Fiction—during my first master’s degree. When he returned a short story I wrote, and verbally told…
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Advantages & Disadvantages of Working from Home
✨ADVANTAGES of WORKING FROM HOME✨ 1-you can go without jewelry and shoes and no one really cares2-you can work during the day or night at whatever time works for your schedule or short commute3-you can take potty breaks whenever you want4-you can multi-task without anyone really seeing you do it5-you can play music while you work and not bother anyone6-you can stretch your back on the floor after sitting for so long at the computer at your leisure7-your walk to the cafeteria (your kitchen) is much shorter8-you can squeeze in an exercise when it suits your agenda that day9-you can take quick breaks with your family and eat meals together10-you…
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Podcast 13 – Ideas to Help Foster Creativity During This Crisis
It’s difficult to feel happy during a crisis when there is so much heartbreak happening on the front lines of this coronavirus pandemic. I know I’m feeling a little depressed by the situation and can only watch bits of news each day in order to carry on with the things I have to accomplish for my students and university as I teach from home. We are all doing the best we can, and being home hasn’t been all awful, but I do feel as if my creativity has been zapped a little. Do you feel the same way? Today’s Podcast 13 offers ideas for those of us writers who need…
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Interpersonal Communication Up Next
* This semester, I’ll be teaching two sections of Interpersonal Communication. I couldn’t be more pleased to reacquaint myself with this course, as I have not taught it in several years. This is such a wonderful foundational course in communication, and it is the basis on which relationships are built, caressed, fostered, and extended. The textbook for the course, The Interpersonal Communication Book, by Joseph A. DeVito, has offered new insights into the course whereby DeVito includes new information about how we communicate online (just as I am doing here). Online communication has become such a large part of our lives that it absolutely warrants attention. We have connections with…
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12 Tips for Being a Successful College Student
I’ve seen a lot since I taught my first class in 1993 at Anne Arundel Community College as an adjunct. As a professor at Stevenson University since 2000, and full-time since 2008, I can offer some tips to those of you who have children going off to college this year, those who are in college, and those who may be struggling in college for whatever reason. While this list is not foolproof and is certainly not complete (as I’m sure my colleagues could certainly add to it), the list merely serves as a guide for students who want to improve or are taking their first college course. Here is my…
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Year 19 and the Spring Semester
It’s hard to believe sometimes that 19 years have passed, but then I remember I have a freshman in college. I’ve been teaching at Stevenson University since 2000, when I was pregnant with my first child. I remember getting the job and being excited to be teaching at a four-year institution. I’d been teaching at well-respected community colleges in the area, and had loved my time with them. But teaching at Stevenson University (then Villa Julie College) was something I wanted to try. I had come to crossroads in my life. I had been teaching as an adjunct since 1993 and had left a full-time job in Baltimore at the…
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My Travel Writing Class and Their Work: Feeling Like a Proud Momma
* Wow. It’s hard to believe we have come to the end of another semester. My group of writers in our travel writing class published their stories today on our WordPress site called MORE THAN MARYLAND that I set up as a place to house of all of my All-Star Travelers who have taken the course at Stevenson University. As the students made some of their final presentations in class, a lot was discussed, such as what they learned from taking a travel writing course, which pieces from renowned travel writers were their favorites, how this course has helped them see travel differently, and what they will take with them…
