Notes from the Inkpot
Writing, teaching, creating - one ink-stained idea at a time.
The Real Point of A Christmas Carol (And Why We’re Still Missing It)
We often teach A Christmas Carol as a cosy festive tale about kindness and personal change, but Dickens wrote it as a powerful demand for social reform. This post explores what we might be missing when we reduce the novella to seasonal sentiment, and why its true message—collective responsibility and systemic transformation—matters more than ever in today’s classrooms.
Why I Still Teach Of Mice and Men in 2025
It’s been taught a thousand times, and for good reason. This novella still silences a room, sparks debate, and gets students thinking deeply about morality, loneliness, and power. In this post, I share how I teach it, the moments that always hit hardest, and why it’s still one of the most powerful texts in my classroom.
Teaching 1984: Activities, Experiments, and Real-World Connections
Teaching 1984 isn’t just about exploring a dystopian novel, it’s about showing students how power, control, and surveillance shape the world around them. In this post, I’m sharing how a real-world classroom experiment helped my students experience Orwell’s warnings firsthand, plus practical strategies for breaking down the novel’s complex themes in an engaging, accessible way.
10 Big Themes to Teach in Literature (That Students Actually Care About)
Tired of trying to make students care about literature? Start with themes that actually mean something to them. These ten big ideas - from identity and injustice to grief and resilience - are the ones students really connect with. Plus, I’ve included text suggestions and creative ways to teach each one.