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The Spinach Can
Like countless small children, I idolized my father. I couldn’t wait for him to get home from work at the end of his day. He wasn’t precisely the Norman Rockwell image of a father, but he had no equal to me. As I got into my teenage years, I realized things about my father that…
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Grace Has No Outdated Addresses
I spent thirty years as a high school teacher, and I learned something important about shame from watching my students. When I had to correct poor classroom behavior, the kids who actually needed it most—the ones I privately called the “Future Felons of America”—barely flinched. My words bounced off them like an errant skeeball headed…
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Words After the Storm
Note to Readers: These words were written after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston’s Bay Area. I didn’t lose everything like some neighbors did, but I’ve weathered enough personal storms to recognize grief’s strange familiarity. In the Days After the Water Came I returned to school today for a couple of days of work before the students…
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Reclaiming the Classroom from Cell Phones
As I near the end of my 27th year in teaching, I have observed a recurring trend in the past several years of my career: Every April for the past 7 or 8 years, I have experienced an inner tug urging me to explore career opportunities beyond the realm of teaching. I’ve discovered that many…
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Now, Not Later: Finding Joy in the Present
August: I’ll be so happy when football returns and dozens of games are on TV each week. September: I wish a real cold front would come through and rid us of this miserable heat and humidity. October: I can’t wait until Thanksgiving week, when we get a 9-day break from the grind. December: Can’t we…
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A Brunch of Thoughts
Simple Lives in an Affluent World My wife and I lead what we consider to be simple, unassuming lives. We still live in the same modest house we bought over 30 years ago when we were in our mid-20s. That’s a time in life when many couples buy their “starter” homes. Fast forward 30 years…
