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christmas past
During a staff meeting today, the conversation turned to what we were doing this time last year, and I realized that I couldn’t remember much about it. Looking around the room at the faces of people I see every day, I wondered if any of them could detect my unease. Could they see that I am much different today from the woman I was last year? Does it even matter? Surely changed and unsure, it was with some trepidation that I headed home to search through over a year’s worth of writing. When I landed on my first blog post, entitled “My New Pink Ribbon,” I held my breath. Not…
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when the shoemaker’s child goes barefoot
We know that from the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents—it is the teacher standing at the front of the classroom. ~ Arne Duncan, Secretary of United States Department of Education When the proverbial shoemaker’s children go barefoot, it is because he is too busy making shoes for other people’s children. Sometimes I think the same might be true for the children of educators. Ask anyone who has spent a decade or two in the classroom, and you are sure to find someone who has, more than they might care to…
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say thank you . . .
I’m supposed to be doing an assignment for my photography class. Weary of predictable photographs shot straight on, our instructor has assigned a prepositional scavenger hunt requiring us to shoot from various angles – against, across, beyond, beneath, around, behind, below, between, inside, outside, on top of, toward, through, and upon. And so it was that I found myself wandering the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol yesterday afternoon, eventually sitting below a canopy of shimmering green and pink. I don’t know how long I sat there, but long enough for prepositions and perspectives to give way to gratitude and grace, Amazing Grace and thoughts of Van Morrison in full flow at…
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remembrance day . . . for enniskillen, for granda & for me
Remembrance helps us to learn about our shared history, that includes people across faith and ethnic backgrounds. There’s no point in a shared history if we forget about it. ~ Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future An October 2012 YouGov poll commissioned by British Future, a non-partisan Think Tank dedicated to exploring national identity, the very crux of who we are, reveals that less than half of respondents aged 16 to 24 can identify 1914 as the year World War I broke out. More than half are unaware of the contributions of other countries to the British war effort. Australia, Kenya, India, Canada . . . all sent men, money, and munitions. In…
