This post was inspired by a fairly recent interview experience I had for an educational consulting job. It was one of the most intense interviews I had. I articulate a ‘street smarts’ approach to interviewing that is drawn from a ‘coaching session’ with my husband. And this is where the tennis metaphor comes in. I extend insights to help navigate other stressful life situations.

I have decided to stop thinking about writing on my blog—a very active endeavor, indeed!—and start writing. Period. Writing what’s on my mind. Writing to process. Writing to speak. Writing to become. If you can write it, you can become it…

Last fall, in early November, Max and I made a trip from New York City to Breakneck Ridge along the Hudson River per recommendation of a friend. We were beginning to feel a bit burned out from our respective training/education programs and needed to get away. We thought a hiking trip would be a good idea for a change of scenery and a different pace of moving. So, we took an early train out from Grand Central Station…

Today I will write… the days rolled by, folding into weeks, which later became months. The longer I waited in-between writing on this blog, the more distant the idea of writing became. Soon enough, I found myself harboring negative feelings toward writing… This blog post is an experiment with words, images, and feelings. I composed this in a single sitting, taking fragments of texts from different encounters and putting them in conversation (or not). This is my attempt at making sense of this time of the coronavirus (COVID-19), social distancing, and remote learning/teaching.

Here, I share an account of my first-time experience with jury duty service, which happened to take place in New York City. I detail my encounters and thoughts while serving my trial jury duty in Manhattan (111 Centre Street), and record my new learning: what to bring, what to expect, how to be excused, where to eat in Chinatown, etc.

As a second-year education doctoral student at Teachers College, I, Catherine Cheng Stahl, took my first philosophy course with Professor David Hansen. This ‘philosophy of education’ course has transformed me, my thinking with regards to my own education, and my sense of self-trust in my own writing process. Here, I share the very last essay I wrote as part of my own philosophical journey—an essay that I believe provides the foundation for my own philosophy of education to guide me into the new decade.

This Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to give thanks to the many educators who have positively shaped my thinking, learning, and teaching at various stages of my life. I would not have had the courage or the motivation to pursue a profession in education, were it not for my own teachers. They ignited in me a love of learning and cultivated the right environment for me to experience growth. Thus, I devote this essay to my teachers and to my colleagues who are teachers.

Who knew that people care so much about socks? After learning that my most-read blog post so far was one about no-show socks, I decided to write an updated one. So, here is an updated comprehensive review of a variety of no-show socks, ranging from liner socks to toe-cover socks, for both casual and more dressy shoes. This is my honest review of a sock brand called Sheec—a brand I have wanted to try for some time and one that caters to both men and women.

This is me, sharing one of my last papers written during my first year of graduate school at Teachers College, writing as Catherine Cheng. Here, I reflect on the tendency of teacher preparation programs to overemphasize practice rather than to provide a rich education that supports teachers in recognizing the aesthetics of teaching. I argue for a recognition of and, perhaps, a return to an “art” of teaching that takes into account the affective dimension and emotional labor of working with students.

After many, many weeks post-wedding, I am finally sharing some of my favorite photographs capturing memories from our small wedding at The River Cafe under the Brooklyn Bridge. In this post, I also detail my journey in search for a budget-friendly local New York City (wedding) photographer. I reflect on my experience meeting with and later being photographed by Shelby Phillips on my big day. The end result has been a beautiful collection of photographs that my husband and I will treasure for the years to come. Thank you, Shelby.