Can grit be taught?

Can grit be taught?
Grit has been a buzzword in education for some time now. Teachers around the country have been looking at how they can guide students to be more gritty. How can we increase grit through the application of interest, practice, purpose, and hope in every classroom, and how can we increase grit through a culture of... Read more »
By Kelly Carroll,
January 13, 2018 at 10:46 am • 

Plagiarism: to steal or not to steal

Plagiarism is not a new educational issue; however, it is definitely a more tempting offense for the emerging reader and writer today. Plagiarism feeds on insecurity, impatience, and reader detachment from the reading process. For as long as I have taught high school English and writing classes, plagiarism has been a necessary topic of discussion.... Read more »
By Kelly Carroll,
January 2, 2018 at 8:05 pm • 

To fear or not to fear originality

To fear or not to fear originality
During the last two weeks I had end-of-the-semester metacognitive conferences with my Advanced Placement Literature and Composition students. Students met me at their scheduled appointment times with written reflections in hand. They were to thoughtfully explore where they were at the start of the class in terms of college-level reading and writing skills, where they... Read more »
By Kelly Carroll,
December 23, 2017 at 7:03 pm • 
Advertisement:

That cell phone is not going to help you graduate

That cell phone is not going to help you graduate
A friend of mine who is a parent of two teenagers asked me why schools do not have stricter rules about cell phone use. In other words, why can’t the students check them at the door? This is not the first time I have fielded this question. It is a question that I have considered... Read more »
By Kelly Carroll,
December 17, 2017 at 9:54 pm • 

Stay curious, my friend: There is a great big world outside that small screen

Stay curious, my friend: There is a great big world outside that small screen
Over the past three years or so, I have been curious: does anyone stop to smell the roses anymore? When I was in my first year of college, I went through a particularly gloomy time in my life (18, identity crisis, a small fish in a very large university pond, etc.). I used to spend... Read more »
By Kelly Carroll,
December 14, 2017 at 7:56 pm •