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An Open Letter on Book Banning – from a long-time educator who cares.
This letter has been sent to all of the board members of the school district where I taught for almost 30 years. I am very saddened, angry, and horrified by recent actions they have taken and the slippery slope they are stating on. It is a sad, sad day when an American public school embarks…
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A Time Not to Forgive
Are people basically good? Or…do we need to be wary of every one? What about family? Close friends? Your church? Coworkers? Yourself? [WRITER’S ADDITIONAL NOTE: If you saw a social media post with a new blog post from me or received an email update saying there was one yesterday and it disappeared, you aren’t imagining…
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God Winks at Me
Godwink. This is a term that I have come to love. I’ve heard people talk of having had a Godwink, and there have even been a few movies based on the term which tell of real life events. While some people may look at things and describe them as conincidence, others may notice them as…
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Rejoicing in a Weary World
This year, far more than any other year I can remember, it seems that I heard more and more people talking about the same thing. “I just can’t get into the Christmas spirit.” “I’m just not feeling it this year.” “Not in the mood.” I was one of those people. The busyness that comes with…
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Can a Book Be Too Good?
Have you ever read a book that was so extremely well written that you couldn’t finish it? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But it has happened to me several times now. The first time it happened was with Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. I was a high school English teacher. We had buried a…
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Let It Go, Let It Go
Letting go is difficult. We’ve all had times when we experience this, and thus the statement I made doesn’t surprise anyone. There are times we are forced to let go. Remember when you were a kid and your family moved? I remember my best friend and I trying to break things in the…
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Days We Thought Would Never End
On Saturday I went to the memorial service for my former principal and friend Rich Sterner. After the enjoyment of seeing so many former colleagues on Thursday night at a retirement party, seeing them on Saturday was an entirely different experience. It was a beautiful service that Rich planned himself filled with music and people who…
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Looking for Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver*
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I still have a lot of stuff I don’t know. There are things I try to do and haven’t mastered. There are ways that I know I could be living more effectively, more productively, or just more happily. Back when we were kids we couldn’t wait…
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“Who is Morrie Schwartz?”
Ted Koppel interviewed Morrie Schwartz in March of 1995 and began the televised segment asking the question above. I have just finished rereading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom for…well, I don’t even know how many times I’ve read it over the years since I read it to classes. It is one of the books…
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“Who is Morrie Schwartz?”
Ted Koppel interviewed Morrie Schwartz in March of 1995 and began the televised segment asking the question above. I have just finished rereading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom for…well, I don’t even know how many times I’ve read it over the years since I read it to classes. It is one of the books…