Posts by jessie
Without Change, Education is History Repeating
Phip Ross Her father was dying of cancer spring semester. She took him to many chemo appointments. He died in March. Her brother killed himself at home over the recent winter break. She has failed a number of courses, passed a couple, the last year and a half. She works part-time in a fast-food restaurant.…
Read MoreWho Even Are These People?
Cheney Luttich Who even are these people? That’s what I think every now and then when walking through the halls of the community college. Last semester, you would have seen me saying hello to students by name and stopping to engage in conversation. Those moments made me happy. But now, I’m walking through the hall…
Read MoreNo Time for Crickets, NDEC Conference is Here
Phip Ross It’s been crickets in the blog here and the season for crickets and critters trying to get inside is upon us as the season cools. We are too busy to chase crickets. As I sit in my chair within earshot of my granddaughter playing in the backyard with neighbor girls, I am reflecting…
Read MoreAre you there, it’s me: Teacher-Student Texting Mid-Semester
Phip Ross Below is a copy of a text conversation I had last night, as I write this. This student had dropped out last semester of my class. She works three jobs and is a non-native speaker living at home. We had planned to meet via Zoom earlier in the day—at noon, she requested, but…
Read MorePrinciple 1: How Do We Value Our Students?
By Phip Ross From the Council on Basic Writing Blog “Towards a Position Statement on Basic Writing,” our NDEC folks began to explore the meaning of the five principles shared here at our October 2019 conference in Lincoln. In small groups we discussed the implications of these principles and imagined how we might revise them…
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