As a teacher, I am incredibly sensitive to the way students in my classes speak to and treat each other. I work very hard to foster an environment that is emotionally supportive and open to new ideas and concepts ( Read more... )

Standing in the return/exchange line at a local retailer is something I avoid at all costs. Invariably there are twenty people in line, few with receipts, and one cashier wearing a tag "new member in training". If anything can send me off the deep end fast, this will ( Read more... )

A student I've been working with just got their class ring. On one side was the confederate flag. On the other, their initials ( Read more... )

I've heard that the way you feel on the inside is often reflected in how you look on the outside. I think there is a lot of truth to that ( Read more... )

One of the most powerful books I have ever read is called "The Blessing" by Gary Smalley and John Trent. It tells the story of two brothers. Traditionally, the eldest son inherited the land and received the father's "blessing". But the mother wished this for the younger son, and so she dressed him up in the elder brother's clothing and sent him in ( Read more... )

I have always been strangely intrigued and repulsed by the items one finds at truck stops. When I travel, walking through the isles on the way to the restroom is one of my secret joys. Perhaps I am on some mental quest to find the most "bizarre" thing ever so I can tell my travel companion about it. Or perhaps I am trying to reconcile, in my mind, ( Read more... )