Discovering More
The best things to find are those we weren’t looking for. Looking back at my life’s trajectory, a pattern has developed. The best of what I’ve found are things I never sought in the first place. Take...
View ArticleOn Teaching
I continue to find new reasons to do what I do. Without returning to the question of why I teach, my profession would turn into a static transmission of knowledge: I would become a textbook, not a...
View ArticleGreen Clip-On
It all started with a child’s green clip-on tie.It was not your typical clip-on. It is the clip-on and the only clip-on that my son’s school accepts as partof its winter uniform. Purchasing it was the...
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More than more
I’ve spent six months re-arranging my priorities. The hope has been to get more out of life. I don’t know exactly what prompted the change. But I became certain of the need to change things up after I...
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Proof
Whether you believe nature or nurture is more determinate of a child’s character, a parent doesn’t have an excuse. If nature determines who we are most than our genes offer with the best insight into...
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Across the blissful threshold
I turn 40 today. Not that I timed up this post to publish on my birthday. It just so happens that I turned 40 on the last Monday of the month, the day in my calendar on which I publish a blog post....
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Reap
Something profound happened on the week-long bike tour I took with my son. Enough to write a book, actually. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words on this blog. And I’ve written hundreds of...
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Crisis
A midlife crisis in men is usually associated with pony tails and sports cars. I grew a long and bushy beard. Not that anyone who knows me should be surprised to find me in such a transition. My life...
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Changes
I am going through some changes. The catalyst was an 8-day bike trip with my son—a full week free from day-to-day worries. It was the best vacation I’ve ever taken. While touring, I thought of a...
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Nurturing Your Nature
My sponsor told me something this month that has stuck in my head like a good pop song. “There is only one finish line in life.” It’s been my March mantra as I tackle each day’s whirlwind of work and...
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Greatness
Teachers do more than just teach. The most teachable moments are not the ones on the lesson plan. Teaching is what occurs in between the lines of notes you make for the day, in the tangents and side...
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Mundane-verse
Welcome to the mundane-verse. It is an intricate and delicate system — a time-bending affirmation of existence — a fourth dimension of rapture — a profound ancestral imprint — it is everywhere and...
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Back for More
Guess who’s back? Technically, I never left. But many of you now reading this post haven’t received anything from me in four months. I can explain. My goal has always been to offer something rare on...
View ArticleBorn to Run
My two year old doesn’t walk; she runs. She runs from anything to anywhere at all times. And following her can be futile and exhausting. Imagine those little grabby hands of furry uncapping every...
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Challenge
This post finds me in my last hour of spring break. Sixty minutes remain in my paid vacation. With the last Monday of the month on the horizon, I knew I needed to take this interval to create a blog...
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Necessity
Necessity is a powerful force. It is also a force that is difficult to wield. Take it from this English teacher. You really can’t force someone to read. Unwillingness, especially in young people, is...
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Ulysses
I was asked to teach Tennyson’s “Ulysses” to my seniors this semester as part of a curriculum exchange across classes. Glad to do it. Breaking away from the tried and true is always a worthwhile...
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Just Believe
Best Christmas ever. And Christmas is not my thing. I’m more of a Thanksgiving guy. I’m not up for the bells and whistles, the tinsels and holly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sentimental person. I just...
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Fear
What we fear grows more complex each year, it seems. Fears used to be more clear, more primal, more physical. Physical fear is simple. I am facing something that can do me physical harm. This triggers...
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Faith
This is the first time I’ve missed a deadline for the blog. I know that means little to you. With monthly installments, who cares when they land in your inbox or on your feed? But missing a deadline,...
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