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Zeal – Making It Work For You

I have spent more of my life working with teens and preteens than I have without them. I have laughed, cried, fought with, defended, argued and loved my way through 33 plus years with “my kids.” I’ve learned a lot about this age group and one of them is, if you use the right approach,
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The Good and Bad of Yielding to Others

I have had the privilege of traveling some in my life. When I counted the other day, I was surprised that I have visited 10 countries outside U.S. soil. Experiencing life in the culture of a foreign country is fascinating and I could write of many unusual things that happened in my travels but I
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Xenodochy: The Lost Art of Hospitality

As a teacher of over three decades, there are several things I have noticed that have changed with kids through the years. Though children of the 21st century enjoy multiple advancements in the way our world operates and communicates, many come to school without training in the basics of life. As a middle school teacher
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Whining Does Not Work. Here’s What Does.

My middle school students both delight and frustrate me; on any day, they pour out a portion of each in my classroom. One day, as we were studying about Michelangelo’s art, a student raised her hand and asked, “What did he paint on the other fifteen chapels?” On another day, we were reading about elephants
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Value: The Economics of Self

Through the years, prices on all kinds of commodities have fluctuated. Early in my life, gasoline sold for 30 cents per gallon and in my teens, it went up to $1.19 a gallon. It’s obvious how much the price has gone up when we roll into a filling station. The value of many things fluctuates
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The Discomfort of Uncertainty . . .

And what you can do about it Uncertainty is a difficult place to be; it’s uncomfortable, disconcerting and even frightening. When situations in life demand our choice and action, it’s often hard to know what to do. I had to make this type of decision as a newlywed. I needed to trade cars as the
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Use Your Talents to Make the World a Better Place

I give my middle school English students journal prompts every day. Some topics are more difficult for them than others, and it might surprise you that the most difficult prompt for them has been: Describe three things you do well. At 11-14 years of age, this topic is a struggle. Many of them don’t know
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Your Scars Tell A Story

What type of stories they tell is up to you. “The optimist already sees the scar over the wound; the pessimist still sees the wound underneath the scar.” – Ernest Schroder When I was in fifth grade, I lived in a neighborhood that had no fewer than 8 boys. I was the only girl they
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Why Can’t I Rest?

What is hindering you from being well-rested and what you can do about it. “There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” – Alan Cohen I don’t watch a lot of television or subscribe to one of the many streaming services and this shocks my middle school
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How Questioning Can Improve Your Life

“By doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.” – Peter Abelard Sometimes I wonder if I was the most frustrating Sunday school student of all time. I have always had an inquisitive mind and I was not shy in asking questions; lots of them! I can remember asking, If
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