Infinite Jest on Teaching

Infinite Jest

Everyone teaches. Whether you are a mother teaching your child, a professor teaching your students, or a coach teaching your athletes, you are teaching. Hal from the pages of Infinite Jest is a Big B, or Big Brother, to one of the 13-15s (13-15 year olds) at the Elite Tennis Academy. He rather enjoys this […]

Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

Birthday Girl Haruki Murakami

“No matter what they wish for, no matter how far they go, people can never be anything but themselves.” ~Haruki Murakami, Birthday Girl Before diving into Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, I have students read this fun short story, “Birthday Girl,” by Haruki Murakami in my freshmen composition course. It’s a little […]

Mark Edmundson on Redeeming Education in Why Teach

Book Oblivion

“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.” ~Maria Montessori In the recently published book, Why Teach? In Defense of Real Education, Mark Edmundson defends education on behalf of all teachers. Real education is the life-changing, mind-altering, value-questioning […]

20 Books to Read Before You Turn 20

20 Books to Read Before You Turn 20

Below you will find 20 books to read before you turn 20. These lists are always arbitrary, but there is something timely about reading these works. If they find you at the right time. these books will stay with you the rest of your lives. I’ve tried to place them in order of difficulty starting […]