I decided at age nine that I would be a writer. Journalism was my track until I was thankfully sidelined by a rich career as a high school English teacher. After 21 years, I left the profession to raise our son (I know–way out of order, right?!), and I had a chat with my nine-year-old self along the way. She deserves her dream. Now, I take what I learned as a teacher and design curriculum materials for those who are still on the front lines. I am passionate about teachers spending their time on differentiation and feedback, not lesson planning and assessments.

Lesson plans pay the bills, but my passion is writing about people and the everyday mundane that is anything but. That kind of writing doesn’t pay, but it sure pays off.

Why Musing Mama K? Kratzer is a tough German name, and a student shortened it to Mama K.  It stuck.