by KP | Jun 2, 2016 | Education, Journalism
It was March 2014, and I had just changed a student’s quote in a news story. In 2016, I would lose sleep over making a change like this. But a little over two years ago, I did not see the harm in adjusting a forceful statement to make it just a little less likely to...
by KP | Mar 5, 2016 | Ceramics, Education
When the art show approaches at the end of each semester, I ask my ceramics students to write artist statements. The reaction to this assignment is usually mixed. Some students took the class because they anticipated not having to write at all. Others ask for a...
by KP | Jan 30, 2016 | Ceramics, Education, Journalism
My phone rings at quarter to midnight. I don’t have the sort of life in which anyone ever calls me so late, especially on a school night.  I am jolted out of sleep, expecting a nightmare of something-gone-wrong. But when I see who is calling, I smile my way to...
by KP | Dec 6, 2015 | Ceramics, Education
She sat down at the wheel with a lopsided ball of clay, and most of the tools she would need. Her hands might have been shaking, but it was hard to tell, as I did not want to make her nervous by watching too closely. Her daughter sat right beside her, studying her...
by KP | Dec 3, 2015 | Ceramics, Education, Social Issues
One of my students is teaching himself to throw pots while blindfolded. Actually, all of the teaching has already happened. The porcelain bowls he has been throwing are as lovely as anything made with full vision – soft, fluid, and graceful. He ripped a soft old...
by KP | Nov 30, 2015 | Education, Journalism, Social Issues
When I became aware of anything besides my laptop screen, the first thing I noticed was that my hands were shaking. I suppose my fingers had been steady enough for keystrokes, letters into words into sentences. But my trembling hands symbolized how unsure I felt that...
