I have been intrigued as of late, with the vast influx of Mindfulness and Mediation Information available today. What intrigues me more, however, is that when I incorporate these techniques and information into my classroom, the students respond favorably. They ask...
Once upon a time, when I was a bright and shiny new graduate student teacher at the University of Tennessee, I was assigned an office with two veteran instructors. Both women had been there for decades; both were best described as “old school” in their outlooks about...
In the movie Peggy-Sue Got Married, Peggy-Sue went back in time to her high-school days. One of the memorable scenes is when she met her high-school math teacher. She stated that she knew, for a fact, that she would never need to use math again in her life, so his...
I don’t know about you, but I will admit to being a hypocrite. I think most of us have been guilty of the occasional, “do as I say, not as I do” in one situation or another. I think the best examples for me was writing a paper for my own academic pursuits, the topic:...
A few years ago, Susan Odgers, Michael Anderson, and I received an NMC Foundation Grant to run a writing workshop with local people who had in the past or were then currently experiencing homelessness. With the help of Ryan Hannon of Goodwill Street Outreach, my...
When was the last time you greeted your class in a warm and sincere way? Have you ever said “I’m glad you’re here today” or “I’m really happy to see you! How was your …
In 1933, John Dewey, wondering how an alien race might see the American educational landscape pondered, “The Utopians believed that the pattern which exists in economic society in our time affected the general habits of thought; that because personal acquisition …
The answer is the question. What can I ask myself that propels my motivation? What piques my interest that beckons me further? What keeps me in motion once I have started seeking? What paths do I find that distract me from my goals? What routes are tangents that...