Open in app

Sign In

Write

Sign In

srstowers
srstowers

3.2K Followers

Home

About

Published in Petness

·8 hours ago

Sorry, I Cannot Date You if You Insist on Misgendering my Tortoise

A true story — Ten years ago, I purchased a Russian Tortoise from Petco. I had no idea what the turtle’s gender was, so I named it Murphy, which, having grown up watching Murphy Brown, I thought was a sufficiently androgynous name. As it turned out, Murphy is a female. Her shell is flat…

Pets

2 min read

Sorry, I Cannot Date You if You Insist on Misgendering my Tortoise
Sorry, I Cannot Date You if You Insist on Misgendering my Tortoise
Pets

2 min read


Published in Grading with Crayon

·6 days ago

Teaching Shakespeare to High School Students

Why do we continue to torture them? — I like Shakespeare, and I understand why his plays have had such an impact on the western world, with their universal themes and infinitely quotable lines. I get it — Shakespeare is important and timeless. I get it, but my students don’t. They don’t understand what’s happening in Macbeth right…

English

3 min read

Teaching Shakespeare to High School Students
Teaching Shakespeare to High School Students
English

3 min read


Published in Grading with Crayon

·Jan 24

A New Publication about Teaching

Introducing Grading with Crayon — I’ve gone back into the classroom after a six-year unintentional hiatus. To celebrate my return to teaching, I’m starting a new publication: Grading with Crayon. Okay, it’s not completely new. I used to have a blog by the same name. What can you expect from Grading with Crayon? Stories about…

Education

2 min read

A New Publication about Teaching
A New Publication about Teaching
Education

2 min read


Published in Catness

·Jan 19

Help! I Have Barn Cats!

And it looks as if I’m stuck with them — My irresponsible nephew has an irresponsible mother-in-law. She moved in with him and his wife, bringing her un-spayed female cat with her. My nephew’s unneutered male cat is now the father of two litters of kittens. After work today, I’m stuffing my nephew’s cat into a carrier and taking him…

Cats

3 min read

Help! I Have Barn Cats!
Help! I Have Barn Cats!
Cats

3 min read


Jan 18

Forcing Kids to Journal

The joy of teaching English — I took a six year hiatus from teaching, but now I’m back in front of a classroom for two hours a day. Specifically, I volunteer as an English teacher at the small Christian school I attended. From 9:17 to 10:49, I’m a teacher again. The school has shriveled to almost…

Teaching

2 min read

Forcing Kids to Journal
Forcing Kids to Journal
Teaching

2 min read


Published in Boomers, Bitches, and Babes

·Jan 17

The Value of Routine for Making Life Comfortable

The worst part of moving is the disruption in the day-to-day — After my brother-in-law Paul died of colon cancer, my older sister Sherry became unmoored for a while. They had been married since she was in high school; she had never done life alone. She had never paid the bills or made the phone calls. Her days became shapeless, filled with…

Routine

3 min read

The Value of Routine for Making Life Comfortable
The Value of Routine for Making Life Comfortable
Routine

3 min read


Published in Boomers, Bitches, and Babes

·Jan 4

Living Out of a Suitcase

When home doesn’t feel like home — On December 21, I moved from Arkansas to Illinois with five cats. My sister and brother-in-law, on whose property I lived in Arkansas, had decided to come home to Illinois, leaving me no option but to move with them. Since they were uprooting me, they let me live with them. …

Moving

3 min read

Living Out of a Suitcase
Living Out of a Suitcase
Moving

3 min read


Published in Catness

·Dec 19, 2022

Saying Goodbye to Scooter and Frankie

My house is a little emptier — If you’ve followed the story of my cats, you know that I got Scooter around Thanksgiving 2021, and that, for my cat Fat Zombie, it was hate at first sight. They fought every day, and Scooter always had the scratches on his nose to prove it. Frankie showed up this…

Cats

2 min read

Saying Goodbye to Scooter and Frankie
Saying Goodbye to Scooter and Frankie
Cats

2 min read


Dec 18, 2022

Moving into a Closet with Seven Cats

“Make sure there’s a space for me,” I told my sister and brother-in-law as they searched for a house. After all, they’re the ones who decided we were moving. …

Moving

2 min read

Moving into a Closet with Seven Cats
Moving into a Closet with Seven Cats
Moving

2 min read


Dec 14, 2022

Coffee and I Had a Falling Out

It’s not you; it’s me — Last Wednesday, I dragged myself to urgent care. My colon was full of anger and inflamed diverticula. I needed antibiotics. I had already put myself on a liquid diet. “Good girl,” said the doctor, then she made that diet even stricter. She ruled out coffee through the rest of my…

Coffee

2 min read

Coffee and I Had a Falling Out
Coffee and I Had a Falling Out
Coffee

2 min read

srstowers

srstowers

3.2K Followers

high school English teacher, cat nerd, and owner of Grading with Crayon.

Following
  • Nancy Parish

    Nancy Parish

  • Ruby Lee

    Ruby Lee

  • Dr Mehmet Yildiz

    Dr Mehmet Yildiz

  • Christine Stevens

    Christine Stevens

  • Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她)

    Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她)

Help

Status

Writers

Blog

Careers

Privacy

Terms

About

Text to speech