Fan Mail Wednesday #134: Audiobook Blues
Monday, January 30th, 2012 Posted in Bystander, bullying | No Comments »Hello, I am an 8th gr. teacher in Ashtabula, Ohio and I am currently teaching the book Bystander. I have searched high and low for an audio CD or cassette for this book to use in my classroom because I ...
Confession: I Finally Got Around to Reading “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Interviews & Appreciations, bullying | No Comments »- And indeed there will be time To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?" -- I'm not a ticker by nature. You know tickers, right, those bird-watchers who have the list in their back pockets, and are all too delighted at each ...
“Bad Decisions Make Good Stories.”
Monday, December 5th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, bullying, the writing process | No Comments »I came across this wall photo on the web. I wasn't too crazy about it, frankly, didn't strike me as hysterical, but number 10 got my attention: Bad decisions make good stories. (Click on the image if you wish to make it ...
One Book, One School: My Visit to John Winthrop Middle School
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, School Visits | No Comments »Trying something new today -- typing on my iPad from a hotel in Newberry, South Carolina, about my visit a few weeks back to Deep River, Connecticut. First, an article that gives you all the info you need, plus some snaps. ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #128 (student poem)
Sunday, November 6th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, bullying | No Comments »I recently received a letter from a student named Ellen. She included two powerful writing samples along with this note: Mr. Preller, My school is reading the bystander for a unit. Before starting it I remember laughing and thinking to myself ...
Reminder: The Concrete Temple Theatre performs BYSTANDER this Friday, 11/4, in Hudson, NY
Monday, October 31st, 2011 Posted in Around the Web, Bystander, Happenings | 1 Comment »Just a reminder for those of you in the area . . . Special thanks to the Hudson City School District Arts & Humanities Fund and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for making this debut performance possible. I'm honored, surprised, and eager ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #127 (Writing Advice)
Friday, October 28th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Fan Mail, School Visits, the writing process | 4 Comments »Certainly by this point, faithful readers of jamespreller.com have realized that for me, "Wednesday" is a mystical proposition rather than, say, an actual day. Fan Mail Wednesday happens when I get around to it, basically, and these days it's been ...
Bystander — the Play!
Monday, October 17th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Happenings, bullying | No Comments »"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." -- Chinese Proverb And on that note, look at this amazing, full-page newspaper ad . . . Pretty cool, don't you think? The group that's putting on the ...
Appreciation: The Ending of “The Bad News Bears.”
Friday, September 30th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, Interviews & Appreciations, the writing process | No Comments »To be clear up front, we are talking the 1976 original with Tatum O'Neil, Walter Matthau, etc. By the way, a shout out to the names of these characters: Amanda Whurlitzer, Coach Morris Buttermaker, Ogilvie, Engelberg, Jimmy Feldman, Rudi Stein, Tanner ...
“One Book, One School” — One Amazed & Grateful Author
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 Posted in Bystander, bullying | 2 Comments »Found this via Google Alerts today . . . Every student at Passage Middle School is reading "Bystanders," a novel about bullying by James Preller, during the school's "One Book, One School" initiative. The school spent about $5,360 to ...