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An open letter
Dear ______________________, I am writing you today because I have no one else to write to. I am also writing you to lament that the art of letter writing has long since passed. No one does it anymore. Only because they feel they have to. Some cordial process one must not abandon. As in the […]
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The photographs I didn’t see
The photos all had one thing in common — me in them. I was 5. Then 10. Then 17. I was always smiling, but never with my eyes. When I opened the envelope, not expecting pictures at all (but, then, I remembered a phone conversation with her. She was sorting all of her photographs. “I […]
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Can math play be a part of trauma-informed care?
Need more information on trauma-informed teaching? Check out Alex Shevrin Venet’s resource round up blog. They were wooden blocks, and they were smooth. My fingers slid over the edges, so precise, and met at the corner of the cube. The teacher was talking, that I was aware, but my attention was on the soothing beauty […]
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My Personal Why: Why I am writing my thesis with a focus on trauma-informed education
Picture a fancy art gallery. You know the kind I am talking about. They’re small, with narrow, cluttered hallways. Art of various sizes all over the walls. Shelves and display cases askew around the room. Sculptures of varying breakable material in every direction you turn. You kind of shuffle through and do your best to […]
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My memory/His memory/Which memory
Why did you tell me that? Here and now when all I wanted to do to was go home. The drive was really long and the trees didn’t go by fast enough. You were mad. I know. Because I am/was demanding. But now we are parked in my driveway of the duplex with sunken windows […]
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Central Tendency Puzzles — Reflection
On Twitter, Mark Chubb posted some amazing central tendency puzzles, and asked people to try them out. I was intrigued, so I did. You can see the post here. I just want to go through some of the student thought process, and reasons for making decisions I did while students worked through the puzzles. This […]
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Water (gun)
You asked me why you couldn’t play with the water gun today. Your eyes looking up at me. You barely able to reach the faucet to fill it up. Eyebrows scrunched, hands frozen under the water waiting for a response. It doesn’t even look like a gun. Not really. It’s electric blue and fluorescent green. […]
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Fictional Truth Writing
There it was again. Thump. Thump. “I know you are there! Come out so I can see you!” Richard called, his voice shaking. He was so tired. Tired of the sounds. The whispers. The constant not knowing. “Just come out so I can see you!” Fists clenched, he banged the wall, not sure if he […]
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The students are better than me
A year ago today, I posted this on my various social media. Thinking back, it was the midst of going from our April break into virtual that would last the rest of the school year, despite outcries of “Oh, we’ll be back in a few weeks!” About a year ago today, I was set up […]
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I want to write a ghost story…
I want to write a ghost story. I want to write one so deep and rich the bones in your knees crack and snap. Where ghosts scream and call and pull in mouth-gaped silence as they reach for you. Where your heart is bleeding and aching at the sight of the twisting and splitting mists […]
Heidi Allum
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Heidi Allum 