Laura Cullen (Stevenson)

She/her, English teacher, Yearbook Advisor, & StuCo Sponsor at Rockdale HS. Cut my teeth as a Venus Bulldog. Reader of IEPs. Crazy cat lady on the side.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

Jane Austen used 'however' at the beginning of a sentence, and so can you.

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

Rename, please. The workers, the movement, and the community still deserve the recognition just because one man failed to live up to his legacy.

[Austin Statesman @statesman]

Several districts, including Austin ISD and Houston ISD, have already cancelled or renamed days celebrating Chavez planned for the end of March. https://t.co/r8QmxJwZhE

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

There's plenty of reasons I miss teaching Lang and going to summer institute at TCU, but it occurred to me last night (watching for, let's say the 12th time) that there will probably be a session on rhetorically analyzing the halftime show this year. Am I right, @KMacOklahoma ?

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

An
-honest woman
-FBI memo
-hourly wage
-NFL player

A
-one hundred dollar bill
-united front
-unicorn

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

I just completed GT: Overcoming Roadblocks to GT Success on https://t.co/O808N0ISji! @eduherorocks https://t.co/BsZ66lf8nE

This one was significantly less awful but still had some pitifully weak questions.

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

I just completed GT: Growth Approach to GT Instruction on https://t.co/O808N0ISji! @eduherorocks https://t.co/lRI6o6vFvK

And it's one of the worst trainings I've ever seen! Bet you wish you would have given me more characters for my comment instead of prompting me to share now!

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

Kicking off @txstateteachers weekend at the Capitol, visiting my representatives' offices and telling their staffers why vouchers are an especially bad deal for my rural students.

[Nnedi Okorafor, PhD🕷️ @Nnedi]

Here's the cover for our forthcoming graphic novel, THE SPACE CAT (from First Second Books, due out August 12, 2025).

This is a book for ALL AGES (IGNORE the other labels). It's a book you can read with and to your cat or dog...& parrots, owls and chameleons will enjoy it, too.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

We totally care if you like this post about ‘sarcasm’ and ‘irony.’

These words are sometimes treated as if they mean the same thing, but they have distinct meanings that are interesting and useful to understand.

🧵⬇️

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

‘Irony’ can also refer to a striking reversal of what is expected or intended.

Giving your English teacher a coffee mug even though he never drinks coffee?

Not ironic. (Just unfortunate.)

Giving your English teacher a coffee mug that says “Your the greatest teacher”?

Ironic.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

This is a post about animal excrement and the English language.

bull$#!% = nonsense/lies
chicken$#!% = petty or cowardly
horse$#!% = nonsense/lies
dog$#!%= low quality
ape$#!% = wild
bat$#!%= crazy

Ordered above from oldest to newest: bull$#!% (1914), bat$#!% (1971).

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

clause =📝

Claus = 🎅

claws = 🐈

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

'Didactic' means "designed to teach people something," but is often used derisively.

'Pedantic' generally refers to someone who is annoying for their attention to minor details.

‘Didactic’ can be neutral.

‘Pedantic’ is usually an insult.

We hope you find this post didactic.

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

Well, I guess I'm going to watch some Sports Night later. Thanks, @TroutFlies .

[Stefan Stevenson @StefanVersusTex]

@MerriamWebster @VHSTeacherLady Octopie: One who enjoys eight pies at once.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

Happy World Octopus Day!

octopi = from the belief that words of Latin origin should have Latin endings

octopuses = an English ending to match its adoption as an English words

octopodes = from the belief that bc 'octopus' is originally Greek, it should have a Greek ending

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

@heymrsbond @unicornhomies I had the opposite problem! I couldn't find my little fire TV remote the other day, and when I got to work the next day, I found it in my work bag. I'm not sure if it fell in there or a cat had knocked it off the nightstand.

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

ascent =🚀

assent = 👍

accent = Ȁ

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

A bit of wisdom a middle-schooler just shared with us:

A cat has claws at the end of its paws, and a comma's a pause at the end of a clause.

Meow.

[Laura Cullen (Stevenson) @VHSTeacherLady]

@heymrsbond We lost a Class of 2021 grad this past Christmas Eve. That was hard enough. I can't imagine if it was a current student.