It’s always been hard for me to teach when I’m being evaluated. During unsupervised teaching, I try things, take risks. When things don’t work, I make mental notes – even plan my next attempts as I pick up the pieces. When no one is looking over my shoulder, I can more easily focus on the…
Love, one of my favorite words, has too many meanings. I’m going to have to invent a word for what I’m talking about in this article. Kinderlieb. It’s the kind of love healthy adults have for children. It’s the kind of love that inspires a lot of good parents, teachers, daycare workers, pediatricians, and more…
James Barrie may have been having a flash of insight when he thought of the name for Neverland. It was a place where you could experience eternal carefree youth. Those of you who really remember your youth must remember that it was never carefree. Let’s go back and look. Not back to infancy; that would…
I just had a talk with my father. I told him about this book, and he suggested that I write an article about history. I belong to a generation that wasn’t going to trust anyone over thirty, but we changed our minds about fifteen years ago. So I’ll write about history, but not because my…
Even more than we get political views as we grow up, we get religion. We don’t worry that we will burn eternally if we like a candidate our parents don’t, but we’re taught at a very early age whether to believe in a deity, and if so, which one to believe in, how to worship,…
I’ve recently made a new friend: sadness. I’ve known sadness for a long time, and it’s been hanging around with me even longer, but I’ve only recently made friends with it. I used to pretend it wasn’t there, bar the door when I saw it coming, and look for a way to get rid of…
Did you ever have one of those days? We humans are always trying to explain why “those days” seem to happen. Drop into the teachers’ room on one of “those days” and you’ll hear the latest theory on what causes “those days.” A sugar high after a holiday. A snow day. An impending or recent…
In 1974, I applied for teaching positions in the Boston area. I was hoping to teach in Boston, and help right the wrongs Kozol wrote about. That year, for reasons I support, Boston was looking for teachers who would help make the Boston Public Schools more racially balanced. My racial characteristics were pretty much like…
When I graduated from college and landed a job as a teacher, I was given a new name: Mr. Blue. I didn’t like the name. To me, it wasn’t a symbol of respect. As far as I knew, plenty of people respected me, and none, so far, had called me “Mr. Blue.” Furthermore, I was…