May has always been a hard month for me. This year is no different. I think it’s because it is a time of transitions, endings, and beginnings, with old routines and comfortable schedules ending, and new patterns emerging – some of them far from home. Anticipation of the “next step” can be felt as early…
student advocacy
Educational Soapbox: Dander Up!
One thing I miss about not having my boys home anymore is the conversations we would have after dinner. This is true of my middle son, especially. He is a big picture thinker and a conceptual learner. Our current educational systems, in the U.S., at least where we live in the mid-west, do not cater…
Poetry Friday: Writer’s Circle This Summer
My new writer’s circle has been going well. It should really be writer’s triangle because there are only three of us. Myself as the instructor/mentor/coach and a soon to be seventh grader and fourth grader. If I had more students, I would have broken the grade levels up from 3-5 and 6-8. But, it is…
Out on a Limb
Last night, I did something spontaneous. It’s a big deal because I rarely work that way. Typically, I’m an over-thinker. But, I have been missing student contact. It’s been almost two years since I had a student group. Before that, you have to go back to 2004 to get to a year when I did…
Elements of Style
When you write nearly every day for four years, naturally you develop a style. Over my 1,334 posts since February of 2017, I’ve shared many opinions, moments, and memories. My topics vary from education to dieting, from travel and book reviews, to lamenting the broken systems of our society today, such as healthcare, education, and…
Sometimes, Life Gives You Just What You Need at the Right Time.
For the last few days, I’ve been in a slump. It’s really the first slump I can recall during the pandemic. Mostly, my “slumpiness” revolved around feelings about my own self worth and feeling undervalued. But, today, several things have happened to restore my sense of being valued by others. I realized that I do…
Slice of Life Tuesday: Provocation & Acceleration, Part I
One of my goals for this year is to ramp up my blog readership to at least fifty visitors a day. This month, February – a short month, that goal will be hard to reach. I was on target until a few days ago when I noted a failure to reach the previously attainable number….
Educational Leadership on the Line
In a few hours, the League of Women Voters in our area will host a candidate forum for those running for our local school board. As you can imagine, it has been a challenging year and it will be an interesting forum to watch. I intend to do so. Rarely, do I post more than…
When Leaders Don’t Listen
What happens when leaders don’t listen? Unfortunately, I know. Frustration results. Restlessness results. Even anger can result. Resentment can fester. Emotions can run high. Communications falter as concerns seem to fall on deaf ears. Essentially, you put your organization at risk for loosing good people, people who cared enough to speak up, people who were…
Slice of Life: Subjects of Substance
Lately, my posts have been pretty light. I’ve been thinking about why that is. Most likely it’s because I need to organize these posts before I write them. I need to find the facts to support my case. I need to be firm in my opinions and back them up. And, I just have not…