I am sitting here at 7:35 pm. My last student left an hour ago; my first one arrived at 9 am and I have had back-to-back two-hour sessions all day. I am grateful for the work. There was a time during the recession when my student numbers went to half. That’s when I came to…
Category: Students
Congratulations to Western Regional Scholastic Award Winners
I am proud to announce that two of my students have received Western regional awards from the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest in personal essay, critical essay and Senior Portfolio. The contest sponsored by the Alliance of Young Artists and Writers is the oldest and most prestigious writing contest for youth in grades 7 –…
Book Review: Finding Grace
I am very proud to say that I was the story consultant and first editor on Finding Grace, this very fine book by Patricia Dunn-Fierstein. This coming-of-age novel set in the Deep South during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement tells the story of Charlie, a thirteen-year-old girl, whose new friendship with a…
Why I Didn’t Post Last Night…
I worked 9 1/2 hours yesterday with one student on her college essays, which are due on 1/1. That is why I didn’t post last night. Today she will return at noon for what we hope is the wrap-up. I sincerely hope not to be working on New Year’s Day; however, I will if we…
The 21 Best Things I Did in 2015
Upon reflection, here are twenty-one of the best things I did in 2015. These are in no particular order. I just want to remember what I did that brought me happiness this year. 1) Spent a day a week with my granddaughter. This might top the list as “best” since this lovely child has been…
Burning the Midnight Oil
I have had a student here since 4 pm – she just left at 9. We are working through all the supplements that go with colleges she is applying to that have a January 1 deadline. Ouch. There are nine schools and they each have one to three supplements. That means many extra short essays…
Happy News
My student Oona Oglesby received the word tonight that she has been accepted to Bard College based solely on the Bard Exam. The Bard Exam consists of four scholarly essays of no less than 2500 words in science, philosophy, literature and art. Hours of work to produce four thought-provoking essays, but clearly well worth the effort….
20 Minutes a Day 