It's been an amazing week here in Round Rock, Texas.  I love visiting the elementary schools here.  I've been coming to Round Rock for several years now, and I really feel like I'm part of the community.  At some of the schools, I do large group author visits, and now, at many of the schools, I also do Writing Camps.  I work with 3rd and 4th ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, whenever any guest visited the classroom or whenever we went on a class trip, my students always had to write thank you notes. If you didn't write an acceptable thank you note, you weren't permitted to participate in the next special event ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, Dave Matthews visited my classroom, and once my students' sang "What Would You Say" to him, his jitters were gone and the magic began ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, Dave Matthews visited my classroom in the South Bronx ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, John Popper of Blues Traveler paid a visit to my South Bronx middle school classroom, and when I was a teacher, my middle schoolers sang with the Barenaked Ladies on stage at the Roseland Ballroom. I thought nothing could come close to rivaling those once-in-a-lifetime experiences ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, my students stood in front of the stage and sang along to "These Apples," "Brian Wilson," and "Life in a Nutshell" as the Barenaked Ladies performed their sound check at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, on a rainy and miserable Saturday afternoon, I took 18 students on the subway from the South Bronx to the Roseland Ballroom so that they could hear the Barenaked Ladies perform their sound check for that evening's concert ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, John Popper of Blues Traveler visted my classroom, and he provided an unsurpassed motivational spark ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, I will never forget that March afternoon that John Popper of Blues Traveler spent with my students. He didn't want to leave ( Read more... )

When I was a teacher, those first few years in the Tremont section of the South Bronx was like teaching in a third world country. Often times, I was without the classroom basics-- paper, pencils, books and even chalk for the blackboard. This was sink or swim. Either I was going to succeed at this teacher thing, or I had been fed to the lions ( Read more... )