I am not a parent. I’ve never given birth to a child and guided it through infancy into childhood and then into teenhood and adulthood. I haven’t had to be in charge of potty training and teething and discipline and all of those other fun things I see my friends and sisters go through with… Continue reading Dear Parents: Thank You for Investing in Each Other & in Your Kids
I don’t have all the answers to gun laws and the rise of mass shootings. I can’t solve the sin and the suffering in people’s hearts. I can’t fix the trauma that children and teens have gone through. But I have chosen the career of a teacher. And that means that I have every obligation… Continue reading I Am Only One Teacher. But I Pledge to Make a Difference.
If I could teach you, dear one – To dream in bright colors, To not be afraid of ideas That no one’s ever had before, To imagine the possibilities Of “what if,” And to believe in yourself Long enough to explore them – If I could teach you, my little scholar – To be… Continue reading If I Could Teach You, Dear One
Starting year four as a teacher is at once a blessing and a curse. At last I feel like I know what I’m doing, and I feel I’m able to start refining my craft. Yet that leads immediately to craving perfection and pushing myself too hard. I write out my schedule for the week with… Continue reading When You Feel Like There Just Isn’t Enough Time in the Day
Going “off-book” is a common theater term that often instills fear and panic in the hearts of actors. It’s the first time you have to set your scripts aside in rehearsal and prove that you have all your lines memorized – when you lose your security blanket and have to blunder ahead, memorized or not.… Continue reading Year 3 of Teaching – the Year I Went Off-Book
“I remember them because the little one who clung to his father’s leg, terrified of being abandoned, needed desperately to be assured he wasn’t a rascal – he needed to know he was loveable. “I remember them because they were grace to me. Years ago, these good people wrote these good words about me and… Continue reading When It’s the Hardest to Love
For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of directing an after-school Theater Club at our school. There are usually around 25 fourth- through sixth-graders who sign up for it – some of whom have done theater before, but most of whom have not. However, I have the same expectations for them that I… Continue reading Why We Need to Be Okay with Letting Our Kids Fail
