Back in the day, my siblings and I would spend hours at our grandparents’ house during summer break.  To keep us occupied, my grandma would encourage us to play one of the many board games kept in her closet.  One of my favorites was Chaos.   The object of the game Chaos is to...
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Sequence: a particular order in which related events, movements or things follow each other.   Or, a board game my husband and I have been playing every night for the past month in a competitive, unending round-robin display of stubbornness.   Vince Lombardi famously said, “Winning...
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I’ve seen the quote dozens of times posted on social media: the one painted on the wall of schools, retweeted by parents with comments of how meaningful and great it would be if their school would do the same.   “Some kids are smarter than you. Some kids have cooler clothes than yo...
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It’s unbelievable to me that over twenty years ago I was preparing to complete my student teaching in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.  My first class, a dynamic mix of fifth-graders, challenged me to quickly learn about differences in culture, race, gender and social class...
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Summer social season is underway, and along with it comes the perfect excuse to sit back and do some good old-fashion people watching.  One of my favorite pastimes is to idly observe families in action and appreciate how generations come together to share in food and fellowship.   People...
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A few years ago, my family took a quick trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., and spent a week in the mountains.  Despite the presence of some pesky bears trying to steal our hotdogs each evening, we had a wonderful week exploring the trails of the Great Smoky Mountains.   As often happens, despite...
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“Your attitude determines your direction” is a phrase that is popular on inspirational posters lining high school classrooms. Its counterparts, “Attitude is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it,” and my personal favorite, “Punch today in the face,”...
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Author’s note:  In the following column I discuss an online quiz found on Twitter. It has been reported that these quizzes should be avoided due to the fact that many online quizzes, on and off social media, are using your answers, as well as your likes and dislikes, to get insights into...
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  How would you describe this to others who could not see the page?   There once was a professor who entered his classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin.   The professor handed out the exams with...
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  “If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).   I don’t remember the first day I met my best friend, but I know I wouldn’t be the same without her....
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