Book – Relentless Robin

Review of Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James

The students of color at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts, picked a memoir about a Black student’s time at a white boarding school for the summer of 2022 book. Here is my review. ADMISSIONS: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James (she/her) is a memoir by the first African-American legacy student toContinue reading “Review of Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James”

Razorblade Tears

This month I checked the book club selection, Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby, out of our school library. This meant that I had to change the way I take notes. If I own the books I circle, underline and scribble notes in the margins. The book centers around a seemingly random act of violenceContinue reading “Razorblade Tears”

Of Women and Salt

In Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia all in the voices are of women and the stories all center around women. The faculty book club at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts choose the book for their March selection. It is an intergenerational novel, centered around Jeannette, a young woman struggling with addiction, andContinue reading “Of Women and Salt”

Teaching as a Subversive Activity

The first term this year at The Rivers School, I was fortunate to share an office with four middle school educators. One teaches math to reluctant 7th graders. Three teach 8th grade humanities. All had a wealth of interesting books on their desks. Eighth-grade humanities called “Systems of Justice and Injustice,” is an interdisciplinary courseContinue reading “Teaching as a Subversive Activity”

These Precious Days

These Precious Days is a 2021 essay collection by American writer Ann Patchett. The 336-page book of 24 previously published essays was revised for the collection. I read this book as a Rivers Faculty & Staff book club assignment. These are my notes. “Essays never filled my days,” Patchett writes, “but they reminded me thatContinue reading “These Precious Days”

The Other Black Girl

I read this book to assess its suitability as a 2022 summer reading selection for grades 9 through 12 at The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusett. My conclusion is that high school students will not yet have the life experience and frame of reference to understand the racism and microaggressions that Black women face inContinue reading “The Other Black Girl”

Notes on the Lincoln Highway

I read this book as a Rivers Faculty & Staff book club assignment. These are my notes. The Lincoln Highway, a Great American Road Novel by Amor Towles — three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory, plus a inquisitive, abnormally smart 8-year-old — journey from Nebraska to New York City in an old StudebakerContinue reading “Notes on the Lincoln Highway”

One Drawing a Day

I commit to produce at least one drawing per day EVERY day for a year —365 days in a row — varying my materials, my location, and my thinking. My sources for direction and inspiration are the Sketchbook School One Drawing A Day online class ( https://sketchbookskool.com/kourses/a-drawing-a-day ) and One Drawing A day, a 6Continue reading “One Drawing a Day”