It begins.

Learn about Brett, this Substack, and its rather cryptic title.

It begins.

There it is: the first sentence. Written. In bold.

A simple, two-word, declarative sentence can set into motion something meaningful, worthwhile, connected, and energizing.

I hope that this new Substack will be all of those things.

Our Focus Here

This will be a newsletter about teaching and learning, about literacy and thinking and poetry and artificial intelligence and curiosity. With a list like that, you know it craves some order, some structure.

A Word on the Title

The title I’ve chosen may be a bit puzzling -- Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, Explanatory – but it provides a structure for what’s to come.

Sharp-eyed grammarians know that these are the four primary types of sentences we can write, the foundation of anything we put into words. Without these four basic structures, our words would be unorganized space junk with no gravity or orbit, but with them, we can create great things. And terrible things. And “mid” things, as the kids like to say.

I hope that this Substack will be one of the great things.

The title not only highlights the rich variety of expression even simple structures provide, but it also serves as a categorization strategy for each of my missives to the world of educators, thinkers, readers, and writers.

The first sentence of each post will always appear in bold font (see above) and will fall into one of these four categories, which then go on to define the post.

· Declarative posts: Reflective, philosophical, explanatory

· Imperative posts: Opinionated, action-oriented, visionary

· Interrogative posts: Inquisitive, persistent, exploratory

· Exclamatory posts: Excited, inviting, celebratory

Today’s post is declarative. It sets the stage.

A Bit About Me

Allow me to introduce myself.

I’m Brett Vogelsinger, an English teacher, author, and public speaker who has been working with students in the classroom for 23 years.

The first two decades, I worked in a 7-9 middle school building in the suburbs outside Philadelphia, PA. I teach in Bucks County, to be precise, home of Dorothy Parker and Oscar Hammerstein II and Margaret Mead and James Michener. And my student writers.

For the past three years, I’ve worked in a 10-12 high school, soon to become a 9-12 high school in a major realignment project in my school district.

I currently teach 10^th Grade English, AP Literature and Composition, Creative Writing and Debate.

I am in my 13^th year of starting each day of English class with a Poem of the Day. That habit led me to a collaborative blogging project and later to Poetry Pauses, a book about how engaging with poetry can help students strengthen their writing in any genre.

With the advent of artificial intelligence, I developed an interest in how to protect the writing skills students need to develop. I also wanted to explore the difference between artificial intelligence use that pushes our thinking and use that hijacks it. This led to my second book, Artful AI in Writing Instruction.

In all of my work and my writing, I strive to stay grounded in the realities I work with each day in my classroom. I write with the humble recognition that schools and classrooms around the country and the world can be so different from each other. I hope that balance shows as I share ideas and inspirations, questions and opinions and musings.

I also deeply value conversation, and I hope you will connect with me whether through comments, social media interactions, or email.

I stock a lot of resources on my website too, so I hope that will be a page to tag on your favorites bar and visit often.

Finally, I hope you will find things here worth sharing.

An Invitation

Is there someone you think would enjoy this journey from the start? Please forward this newsletter to them and encourage them to join the mailing list.

Our work as educators is declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory, depending on the situation, the place, and the day.

The next post is already in the works. It begins with an imperative sentence and will arrive soon.

Let’s begin – together!

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