I think perhaps most of all, we teachers need to teach our students to be independent. That's why when students come to see me for help with their writing, I make a point of NOT doing all the workfor them. (I can tell sometimes they wish I would.) By the end of the semester, I feel a little like a mother bird who knows it's time for her little ones (even though some of my students are 19, not to mention extremely tall!!) to leave the nest.

The reason this proud bird, I mean teacher (!!) is clucking is because one of my Print Journalism students, Lia Calderone, sold her Mother's Day essay to the Montreal Gazette. Here's the link to Lia's story, which appeared yesterday. There's also a beautiful pic of Lia and her mom.Most wonderful of all, Lia's story was a combination Mother's Day and birthday surprise for her mom!

I've got a few more piles of correcting left... and then I'll be back at my writing desk full-time. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time writing, but truth is I'm going to miss those birds something awful!