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.

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.

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 a break from blogging, here’s an eclectic assortment of thoughts, questions, and adventures: A podcast in which I share a few of my favorite coffee shops in New York City; My dilemma as a writer who is deep in her thoughts at a time when many of us just want taglines and soundbytes; Wonderings and Wanderings as I delve deeper into my graduate studies thinking about Affect Theory, the Posthuman condition, and what to make of it all; A reflection on being forever “stuck” in this space of in-betweenness... This may be a post that resonates with you or bores you to death :D

To start off this year, I am sharing 19 ideas (in honor of 2019!) for “New Year’s resolutions” for college-bound students. Even if college is not on your radar at the moment, you may still find these ideas to be relevant to you. Likewise, if you are already in college, it does not hurt to skim through the list and see what you are doing already and what you might want to consider as a goal…

Many things important in life and essential for navigating adulthood are not taught in school. Likewise, many things taught and emphasized in schools provide only a limited view. Here I give an example of the importance of multiple perspectives and the space for addressing conflicts and controversies in schools. I end with practical examples of how to talk and write in a purposeful manner for greatest impact.

Real student life has kicked in. One week later, I can tell you that I hit an absolute low point in my self-esteem this week, doubting my sense of worth. Have you ever felt like you are an imposter, like you don’t belong? That’s how I felt on Tuesday, the first “official” day of one of my doctoral seminars in the program. Although I thought I had done everything right to prepare…

It is 10pm on a Tuesday evening as I’m starting to write this, but this Tuesday feels different. This Tuesday is September 4, 2018, and today was my first day back in school, but not as a teacher. Today, I became an official student again---a doctoral student in an Ed.D program in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching…