Tag Archives: Self-compassion

“We unite in the same dissonance: the need to produce effective writing, yet the failure to attain it by willpower alone.”

Ah, willpower!  Nearly everyone jumps to the conclusion that difficulty in writing has one root cause: a lack of willpower. It is easier to fall into the trap of blaming oneself than it is to consider another possibility: things are … Continue reading

Posted in Pedagogy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“But I slowly came to realize that self-criticism – despite being socially sanctioned – was not at all helpful, and in fact only made things worse.”

One of my English 1 students recently said, “I hate myself when I write essays.” Another student turned to her and said, “I thought I was the only one who did that.” Negative self-talk is very common among my students, … Continue reading

Posted in non-fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment