-
Next week I begin my Fall Semester 2026 with an assignment called, “Two Truths and One Lie.” Whatever time the schedule says, that’s when I fire up my Canvas instructions on the Big Screen. When my students walk into the classroom, they will see three of my paragraphs I use to introduce myself to the…
-
The first week of each semester – coming fast! – I ask my students to connect with their online and/or in-class peers. They are unique individuals that come to my course with varied experience and diverse ideas. With Jay’s “About Me” Page, I encourage them to share WHO they are and WHAT they are about.…
-
This Summer 2026, more than a few of my students are writing about Beehive Hairdos, Knee-High Go-Go Boots, and Hippie-Style Bell-Bottom Pants. That’s because we are reading a sixties novel and developing sixties research papers. The sixties were a time of change. The Civil Rights Movement created forward progress in diminishing racial injustice. The Beatles inspired…
-
With each new semester, I try to build upon the novel we are reading in class with a group research project focused upon its respective setting. I mean, this is the class I would want to be in. Something that would take me far way from the everyday monotony of life as I know it.…
-
I first discovered Eve Babitz in a literary anthology I have tucked away on one of my shelves here in Mexicali. The book is titled Drinking, Smoking, & Screwing: Great Writers on Good Times. I agree. Eve is a great writer. Her books are a good time. I just read – what I want to…
-
Saludos desde Border Field State Park in San Diego. I can say this because this guy looks like he is surfing just to the north of the famous border wall that divides Mexico and California. The twelve-foot fence extends about 300 feet into the sea (to prevent people from swimming over). It’s made of metal shafts…
-
In every writing workshop or writing class I’ve taken, I hear, “Write What You Know” so much, so often, the phrase, whether I agree with it or not, has become cliché. I mean, the closer you are to your subject, the more insight you will have to offer. Who is going to argue with that? …
-
On occasion I connect with my students when and if we talk about personal reading. This might be before or after class. They might ask me about a book or an author, and when they do, they reveal an enthusiasm for reading that most keep hidden away. This makes teaching so much more fun —…
-
Upon our return from Memorial Day, I will ask my students to take their Mexico City research to another level. This semester we read a 350-page historical novel based on the Life, Love, Art, and Death of Frida Kahlo. Every student in the class submitted an extensive research paper comparing what we read about Frida…
-
I begin all my semester classes with a brainstorming activity to help students test the waters for their research paper selections. I find many students at this level are INTIMIDATED by research paper assignments. Maybe they are used to being TOLD what to write; they haven’t been told they can DECIDE what to write for…