About me
I am an English teacher at a JK-12 school in Illinois.
Working on a puzzle in the middle of the Atlantic
I have been a seventh grade teacher for eleven years (I love seventh graders), and I have four and a half years of work in the the upper school (mostly juniors and seniors). After my second sojourn with upper school, I returned to my beloved seventh graders, never more to stray. A career switcher, I have worked in advertising (client side) and video production.
Arrived in Illinois by way of South Dakota, Northwestern University, Boston, and a year on the S/Y Jubilee as cook/stewardess/deckhand. The boat took me to the Caribbean (as far south as Union Island in the Grenadines), Gibraltar, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, France, Croatia, and Bosnia.
Love: music, poetry, up eared dogs, cooking, reading, computers, cashmere sweaters, my garden, the circus, old friends. all things Spain, and my kids and husband.
This blog is where I reflect on my teaching and my life. Sometimes it’s a good moment from my day or a project that succeeded, sometimes it’s an explication of a piece of writing that helps me clarify why I teach it, and sometimes it’s a place to share disappointments.
I can be reached at tabor330 [at] gmail [dot] com
Site Meter
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i found you. and i love your site. and i’ve been reading it for the last hour–after i finished “she’s the man.”
I too came to teaching as a second career, however middle school would make me crazy. Even 9th graders are too squirrely for me. This year I have all upper classmen and I love it. Of course, the majority of them are students I had as sophomores and who I trained very well. It’s all paying off this year.
@dkzody – Seventh graders have a very special challenge – they have to be prepared for changes to everything (the bodies, the brains, their friends, their relationships) every day. But they also have an honesty in their work that is refreshing. I just use the squirrely stuff to my advantage! Great to hear from you – visit again. Thanks for the time to read and comment.
Hi, are you available on google talk chat? May I add you?