Burning Out? 9 Tips for Sustainable Teaching

Teacher burnout can peak in the darkest, coldest days of winter. It rears its ugly head as we recover from the holidays and feel the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by the prolonged stress. The overwhelming workloads, lack of support, and the emotional toll of working with students day in and day can break … Continue Reading

The Best Non-Teaching PD Books for Teachers

1 – THE COMFORT CRISIS: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter (recommended by Brian) TWO SENTENCE SUMMARY FROM AMAZON: In this gripping investigation, award-winning journalist Michael Easter seeks out off-the-grid visionaries, disruptive genius researchers, and mind-body conditioning trailblazers who are unlocking the life-enhancing secrets of a counterintuitive solution: discomfort. … Continue Reading

25 Things Teachers Should Know in 2025

1 – Overload – The work of teaching will never end, so you must choose when and where to end it. There’s simply not time to do everything required of the job; make peace with the fact that some things can go undone. 2 – Assume the Best – Enter each conversation, class, and day … Continue Reading

What Was Left Out of My Interview with The Atlantic

“The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books: To read a book, it helps to have read a book in high school.” by Rose Horowitch in The Atlantic published October 1, 2024.   Once again, high school English teachers are pinned as the problem of America’s “reading crisis.” This clickbait headline will affirm public opinion that … Continue Reading

LMS Curriculum

Today’s post is written by Brian Hannon, a long-time friend who shares our love for teaching and poetry. (And is just fun to be around in general.) I share Brian’s LMS Curriculum website at my APSIs each summer and literally hear teachers gasp when they see the amount of quality lessons provided – for free. … Continue Reading

Course and Curriculum Planning: AP Literature

One of the most common questions I receive at APSIs centers on how to structure an AP class. This is not an easy question to answer since there is no one right way to approach the class. The CED even states: “This publication is not a curriculum. Teachers create their own curricula by selecting and … Continue Reading

Unfulfilled Need (FRQ 3 Digital)

2023 Digital FRQ 3 Prompt: Many works of literature explore a character’s sense of lacking something important inlife. The character perceives an unfulfilled need which may be emotional, spiritual, financial, orsomething the character does not understand or cannot articulate. Either from your own readingor from the following list, choose a work of fiction in which … Continue Reading

“One Morning in June”

The only other time I scored for the prose question was the infamous Zenobia question of 2018 (taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance). Although many students misinterpreted the nature of that relationship, I remember really loving the Zenobia prompt. This year, I enjoyed reading for the prose question once again. This year’s prose excerpt … Continue Reading

Indecision – Q3

This reader reflection was written by Brian Hannon and Susan Barber, and we acknowledge this post does not earn the sophistication point. I (SB) was so excited to read for Q3 this year since it’s the question I have the least experience with both at the reading and in the classroom. I’ve only read for … Continue Reading

“On Summer”

Thanks to Emily Wessel for sharing thoughts from this year’s reading. You can find the prompt and poem here: 2024 FRQ Set 2 Exam Questions This was my first year reading for Q1 and I really enjoyed it. This poem was accessible and allowed students to explore many different literary elements and techniques. I will … Continue Reading