Category: Uncategorized
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Are adults as boring and corny as 6th graders think?
When I recently presented about the writing process in two sixth grade classrooms, the students had a lot to say about writing fiction. I told the students that according to the International Screenwriters Association, powerful storytelling consists of an entertaining story, a sense of voice, dialogue, and authenticity. The students added a few more attributes…
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ethical consumerism … possible?
At least two decades ago, my sister and I were driving from her house for a weekend road trip, and one of her car tires had a slow leak. “I’m not stopping here because I heard on the news that they denied a franchise to a black man,” Karen said, as she pointed to a…
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yard sail
I don’t know about you, but I’m on information overload. I thought a short story might be best for this month. The first to arrive was Mrs. Clenner, from across the street. “I’ll give you eight dollars for this sweater,” said Mrs. Clenner, with the horsy teeth and yappy dog, according to Helen’s mom. “Ten…
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Words: push-ups for our brains, lift-ups for our thoughts
Before I turned eighteen, before I’d read any books about thoughts shaping our beliefs, and before neuroscientists explored the brain’s complex network with magnetic resonance imagining (MRI)–commercially produced in 1980. Before all of this, I silently recited, “I love math” every day as I walked to my math class at a local community college. Every…
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pigs and flakes: infused with ESA and childhood in England
See below for Events and Praise for Pigs and Flakes. Click here for Book Club Questions. Heidi Fedore, retired Puget Sound school administrator, and former English teacher, has observed teenagers for over twenty-seven years and has witnessed the fallout from teen gossip and the resilience of many adolescents. She also has seen how learning about…
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is looking better self-love?
Amid many topics, my friends and I occasionally ponder aging and interventions we’d consider, ranging from facials to cosmetic surgery. We ask questions like, “What would you be willing to do to look better?” No doubt you and your friends ask these kinds of questions, whether you’re thirty or seventy. Our intervention choices are vast.…
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Is bleepin’ cussing necessary?
I’m crawling into a shrub, my shirt dampening with dew from its leaves and my ponytail unraveling in the branches. I’m pulling my Yorkie away from cat feces that he’s attempting to eat, and I’m throwing down a few cuss words. “Cat poo” doesn’t cut it. Neither does “darn it.” I’m carrying my Yorkie away…
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Familiarity: Stifling or Soothing?
“I got a real compliment for you…” “I’m so afraid you’re about to say something awful.” I fell asleep again only to wake up to hear, “My knees go when you turn on the charm full blast.” Exhausted, I missed at least half of the dialogue in this classic Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt movie.…
Fedore Writer 