Thirty years of teaching taught me that shame doesn’t fade easily. Hardworking kids absorbed correction like wounds, while others brushed it off without a thought. Years later, I realized I was living out that same pattern myself, carrying old mistakes long after everyone else had forgotten them.
I taught through the biggest disruption most of us have ever seen. What finally made sense wasn’t the screen time or the tech—we were just trying to be present with kids who needed something steady. Now I know it wasn’t about keeping up with the chaos—it was about holding on to whatever sense of classroom felt human. As I think about my schooling in the 60s and 70s, I am amazed at the amount of technology available to teachers and students today. Back in my high school days, using a simple four-function calculator in math class was considered cheating. Back … Read more
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2 Four years ago, I stepped back into my school building alongside my fellow teachers, returning for the first time since we’d left for spring break in March 2020. COVID-19 was still in full force, and our return was marked by uncertainty, anxiety, and a sense that everything could change at a moment’s notice. Reflecting on those days now, I’m struck by how profoundly that season reshaped not … Read more