In the last episode of the Vocabbett podcast, I suggested that a more autonomous trend might emerge in education in a post-COVID-19 world. That episode largely spoke to parents and students. In this bonus episode, I want to speak to educators about how we can make changes to the existing framework to better respect and nurture the students in our care. Are you an educator who doesn’t want to walk away from the existing system, but knows that changes need to be made? Her

With summer finally upon us, it’s only natural that people have begun to ask what school will look like when (if?) we return in the fall. Though a number of recurring themes have emerged (outdoor learning, family-style dining, more virtual learning), I have to admit…I’ve been disappointed not to see more innovative paths forward being proposed. On episode 23 of the Vocabbett podcast, I share an idea for a new model that might gain traction in a post-COVID world. And to be

All the chattering souls gathered at 5 Manderly Place to discuss the most pressing matters of the century. The address was an old one in...

Hello, and happy Thursday! Amid the rest of the news in the world lately (and heaven knows there’s been plenty!), you might not have seen this little tidbit: the University of California recently voted to remove the SAT/ACT from its admissions requirements . The news has caused many people to draw the (eminently logical) conclusion that they no longer need to prepare for the SAT. “No SAT means no SAT prep, right? I can just stop learning all this stuff?” WRONG! Listen to ep

I didn’t want to be a teacher. Not really. But I’m not tall enough to be an actress, and my parents said I’d never make any money as a...

Fat Amy sneezed. Her fellow Bellas, singers from the premiere a cappella group at Barden University, shied back in a way they hadn’t...

We made it! Episode 18 of the Vocabbett podcast contains the final installment of our “5 Ways to Instantly Sound Smarter” mini-series. Seeing as it’s the last episode, I thought it might be time to change things up a bit. Rather than covering a grammar rule you should probably follow, this episode covers a “rule” you might want to break! One of the often-repeated grammar rules in English is to "never end a sentence with a preposition." NEVER, they say. The grammarians who sp

Back when I was teaching English, I used to describe grammar like this: Imagine that instead of a writer or speaker, you’re a painter. In order for anyone to know how talented you are, they’re going to have to see your paintings! But here’s the thing: if you hang your paintings in a fancy Manhattan art gallery, your work is going to come across a lot more valuable than if you hide everything at the bottom of your closet. HOW YOU PRESENT YOUR WORK MATTERS. And guess what? YOUR

I'm going to give you a few sentences, and I want you to see if you can spot the error: “There’s so many things I have to do today.” “There’s a lot of really good options here.” “There’s ten things on this menu I want to order.” NOW, EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T SPOT THE ERROR, YOU PROBABLY NOTICED A RECURRING THEME THROUGHOUT THESE SENTENCES: “THERE’S.” “There’s” is absolutely a word, and it’s grammatically correct in many, many contexts! However, let’s just remind ourselves of what i