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CARITA GARDINER

What to Read When You're Avoiding School Work

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“Why”…Wednesdays

206. Why Let Yourself Go

Posted on December 7, 2022December 4, 2022 by caritagardiner

Did you know there’s a Green Day song called “Let Yourself Go”? I didn’t. Clicking the photo above should let you listed to it/watch the video, but I don’t recommend doing that if you have or are near someone with innocent ears. It’s got some salty language in it! I looked up the title phrase…

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205. Why Grateful Outshines Gifted

Posted on November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 by caritagardiner

The photo above captures many aspects of my life for which I feel incredibly grateful: I’m married to a supportive, thoughtful, fun, loving, smart, handsome, strong, safe, boat-driving husband. I work at a school with amazing people who do great deeds such as organize and participate in the Hotchkiss Swimathon to raise money for the…

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204. Why Deal with Our STUFF

Posted on November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 by caritagardiner

The photo above has nothing to do with the post, but isn’t he cute? Also, if you see my dad (RG) or cousin (CW) today, please wish either/both of them a happy birthday. I have a rule in my classroom check-ins that students aren’t allowed to say anything negative, including complaining about stress, workload, and…

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203. Why Generations

Posted on November 16, 2022November 15, 2022 by caritagardiner

The photo above isn’t Tuukka. I found it on someone’s Pintrest page. I wanted to post a photo of the generations of my family, but couldn’t find one I liked well enough to publish for eternity. Plus, how cute are Bernese Mountain Dog puppies?! Besides, today’s piece isn’t about my family; it’s about how I…

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202. Why PEAR

Posted on November 9, 2022November 8, 2022 by caritagardiner

I like the photo above because it’s a view of dawn across the road from my house. I wish our local governments put resources towards buried electrical and phone lines, but I didn’t include the image to give a message about the benefits of subterranean utilities. Instead, I wanted to talk about daily cycles. Every…

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201. Why I’m Writing a PSA

Posted on November 2, 2022January 1, 2023 by caritagardiner

If you’re a teacher or have met a teacher, you know that we get busy from September to June, which is why I usually take care of as many other appointments as I can during the summer. I was scheduled to have my yearly Ob-Gyn exam in June of 2020, but when the world went…

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200. Why WWED?

Posted on October 26, 2022October 26, 2022 by caritagardiner

Above is my favorite photo of my maternal grandparents, Esther and Albert Kegan, who were patent and trademark lawyers in Chicago. When I thought about what I wanted to write for my 200th post, I wanted to consider a topic that’s important for its history and its future implications. While the photo was taken almost…

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199. Why It’s Not “Toxic”

Posted on October 19, 2022October 19, 2022 by caritagardiner

I found the image above on Pinterest after I read this fascinating article from The Atlantic (thanks for sharing, AD!) about cutting people we’ve deemed toxic out of our lives. I agree with a lot of what’s in the article, which made me think more about the idea of people as poison. There are substances…

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198. Why “Not Yet”

Posted on October 12, 2022October 14, 2022 by caritagardiner

I took the photo above when we were in Maine in August to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary. We have a cabin onto which we’ve started building an addition; the whole structure will become our permanent home when we retire. When we were there, as you can see, we had a foundation but no…

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197. Why Moxie

Posted on October 5, 2022October 20, 2022 by caritagardiner

In July, I had the opportunity to talk with Main Street Moxie Podcast about literary characters with moxie. We had a great discussion and took some fun publicity photos, which will air with the show on October 17. Of course, I looked in my calendar to find out when would be the Wednesday before the…

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

Teach                    Tutor

Revise                   Edit

Entertain             Enlighten

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Contact Me

  • cgardine@hotchkiss.org

Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • NetGalley Review of Villa Coco
  • 388. Why Not “Could Potentially”
  • NetGalley Review of You Won’t Forget Me
  • NetGalley Review of The Valencia Expat Club
  • 387. Why Give Speeches
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