About Dissertate

In a nutshell: was a teacher, then a PD provider, now a freelance dev editor/fact-checker. I think a lot about the words used around/about teachers. I'm also writing a book about how teaching in America is impossible but doesn't have to be! I started this newsletter because I want to write something that doesn't fit in the book and I'm looking for representation for said book and a very kind agent suggested I start a newsletter.

The 3 R's

Rhetoric

In the style of Parker Malloy’s The Present Age or Anne Helen Petersen's Culture Study, I see my lane as being more about rhetoric than reporting. As if were. I write about what teachers and teacher-adjacent people are saying about teaching in the various places they are saying it, including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook.

Recommendations

I am incredibly fortunate. Not only do I have two awesome cats and a pretty swell husband, I get to spend my days reading words about teaching, teachers, and schools. Some of those words are from people who trust me enough to hire me to give them feedback and their writing is so good! I love talking with people who have deeply immersed themselves in teaching and teachers and I’m going to use this newsletter to sing the praises of their writing with you (with their permission!)

Regret

Since joining Twitter oh so many years, I've gone through a few stages in terms of engaging with other people. For entirely too long, I sealioned like it was my job. Then I moved to a more consent-based approach and asked people if they were open to a conversation. (That ask, to be clear, was more about me than them as it got me to break my sealioning habit.) I still try to be consent-based and have mostly broken the habit of fighting and find Bluesky to be much more calm and conducive to conversation. I'm reaching out to people I've had "conversations" with and/or those who've blocked me to talk about The Discourse and will share those as they happen. In some cases, it’s because my thinking has changed since we last talked, in others, it’s because of l'esprit de l'escalier.

Let's discourse!

Ask my friends and cats: I swear, I am a gregarious person. Likely a tad obnoxious but generally chipper! If you're one of the people who blocked me on Twitter (good for you for setting boundaries!), I'd be delighted to re-connect and find common ground. If you're interested in connecting about my freelance editing services, you can read what some of my clients have said over on my Schoolmarm Advisors website. If you have a trend or phrase or something about the discourse you want share or discuss, feel free to reach out directly!