Empathy: Essential for Writing… and Life

By Lynn Slaughter | February 18, 2018 |

My professional writing skills students had to pretend to be a swim club manager who was writing a “bad news” letter to a long time member. The recently widowed member was distraught over the loss (probably theft) of her diamond engagement ring while she was swimming. She wanted the club to reimburse her, even though…

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End-of-Semester Blues

By Lynn Slaughter | December 6, 2017 |

            It’s the last week of the semester, and my college students stare at me bleary-eyed. Loaded down with upcoming exams and final projects, sleep is definitely high on their wish list for the holiday break. “I just want it to be over,” one of my students told me. “I am so freakin’ tired!”            …

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Students Say the Darndest Things

By Lynn Slaughter | July 8, 2017 |

Don’t get me wrong. In years of teaching dance, writing, public speaking, and sociology, I’ve had some fabulous students and some deeply appreciative ones. In May, I got a note from one of my writing students that didn’t just make my day. It made my year. 

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Dealing with my Own “Stuff”

By Lynn Slaughter | May 20, 2017 |

This past week, I took a professional development workshop on first aid for mental health, a program that originated in Australia and is now gaining widespread adoption in the states. It’s designed to teach skills in recognizing and responding to folks who may be in the early-stages of a mental health crisis

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Picking a Partner

By Lynn Slaughter | March 17, 2017 |

The other day, I was talking with my English composition class about the importance of identifying their criteria of evaluation in working on their upcoming “write a review” assignment. I pointed out that in our everyday lives, we’re constantly doing evaluations

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