One Small Step…

The day we landed on the moon—and it was very much a “we”— I was almost 13. The world was a very, very different place then in almost every way imaginable. The accomplishment of landing men on the moon and bringing them safely back to earth was nothing short of staggering. People understood that at

In Remembrance

I will be watching the second half of Ted Turner’s Gettysburg today. It depicts the third day of battle, on July the 3rd, when Robert E. Lee sent 12,000 men across a mile of open ground to assault Union troops atop a ridge in fortified positions. The result was a bloody slaughter, and the beginning

The Silent Ebbing

A 34-year old teacher in Virginia, Jessica Gentry, recently resigned her position and posted her reasons why on Facebook. She asserts that good teachers are leaving the profession “like their hair is on fire” because of the stress and frustration they feel trying to deal with large class sizes, with large numbers of students who

Not Only a Nation

I went back to school to get my bachelors and teaching certificate in the fall of 1983. The attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon took place that fall. I remember a girl running out of Ed 201, after we’d watched “Cypher in the Snow.” Turned out she had had a friend in that barracks,

Committing Academe

“We pride ourselves on making a good history of our lives, a good story to be told.”  Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight         Ancora imparo. Right now, I am learning how to come to understand an author through his work, without referring to biographical material. As I continue to do my podcast, I’m coming

Nexus (in perfect hindsight)

As I get older, I am spending more time surfing the Internet of memory. I’m finding it more and more imperative (and enjoyable) to find out what it was that changed the me of then into the me of now, and how. Seriously.         I’ve been trying to recall the specifics of my transition from

Spirituality and Memory

I came across this Terry Pratchett quote last night, It’s from his book Jingo. . “Night poured over the desert. It came suddenly in purple. In the clear air the stars drilled down out of the sky, reminding any thoughtful watcher that it is in the desert and high places that religions are generated. When

Outside In

Image by Peter H from Pixabay Spending four years as a substitute also helped give me an unusual perspective on teaching. When I went back to school to finish my bachelors and get my teaching certificate, my subbing time was disdained and I was made to take a bunch of courses I didn’t need, except

Dreaming and Teaching

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay It is said that some people are born teachers. This may be true. It is definitely true that some people are born with a love of learning, and that sometimes leads people into teaching. With me it was the latter. I had never given thought to getting a teaching

Dream World

About ten years ago, maybe more, one of my older sisters suggested I start a blog. Look, sis. Finally. Ultimately, this will be a blog that is largely about teaching and learning. The website is called “mindkindle” in reference to the Plutarch quote, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire